Thursday, January 8, 2009

Divine Rice with Prawns


I've always loved fried rice but have never made it. My mom is the master of throwing together all the leftovers in the fridge to make fried rice. This recipe can easily be adapted according to your tastes, or to whatever meat and veggies you might have on hand.


I usually keep two types of bagged frozen vegetables in my freezer at all times. One type includes red, green, and yellow bell pepper slices with onions. You can find all sorts of uses for these... from an Asian stir fry, to fried rice, to chili. You'll save a lot of money if you buy them frozen, as red and yellow bell peppers can cost a fortune. The other type of frozen veggie bag I usually keep on hand is the "stir fry" variety that contains snap peas, carrots, water chestnuts, etc. These are great for dishes like Orange Chicken.


When I saw this fried rice recipe on Cate's blog, it finally gave me the push I needed to make my own at home. I'm surprised I've never made fried rice before, especially since we eat so much rice in this household and always have leftover rice sitting in the fridge. If you haven't visited Fresh From Cate's Kitchen before, I encourage you do to so. She's got a lot of great recipes over there, and I've been dying to make the Char Siu Pork she posted.


The key to making good fried rice is a really hot wok (or skillet), and having all your ingredients ready ahead of time. Once you start making it, you don't really time in between each step to get things together. It's really nice, though, because it comes together in less than ten minutes, making it a great weeknight meal.

Divine Rice with Prawns
adapted from Fresh From Cate's Kitchen (who adapted it from Thai Cooking from the Siam Cuisine Restaurant)


12-15 prawns, pre-cooked
2 tsp canola oil
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup frozen stir fry vegetables, partially thawed (you can either use a bell pepper/onion stir fry or the ones that include snap peas)
2 eggs
3 cups cold cooked rice
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp chopped cilantro
6-8 basil leaves, chiffonade
juice of 1 fresh lime
cucumber slices (optional)


In a small bowl, mix together the fish sauce, sugar, ketchup, and soy sauce.

Heat a skillet over high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onions. Stir-fry until light brown.

Crack the eggs into the pan and scramble, cooking for about 10 seconds.

Add the bell pepper and stir fry for about 30 seconds.

Add the rice and stir-fry, breaking up clumps of rice and egg.

Add your sauce mixture and stir fry for a few minutes.

Add the prawns and cook until they are heated through, throwing in the basil at the last minute.

Transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle the lime juice and cilantro over the top, then serve with cucumber slices on the side if desired.

19 comments:

  1. Delicious Jaime, I love fried rice. In South East Asia, fried rice is very popular. I actually can eat fried rice anytime, even for breakfast which is pretty common for people in south east Asia. Yours look very delectable.
    Cheers,
    Elra

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  2. I totally agree this looks indeed divinly delicious.

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  3. Thanks for the shout-out! I'm glad you like this - it's one of my favorite dinner-in-a-hurry recipes, and using frozen stir-fry vegetables makes it even quicker!

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  4. That looks like delicious comfort food!

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  5. I love fried rice, and really ought to plan to make it for those busy weeknights. Using up ingredients hanging out in the fridge is definitely something I need to do by the end of every week.

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  6. looks really divine :) better still its quick to make :) thanks for sharing this jewell

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  7. I completely agree about frozen vegetables. I always have a bunch in my freezer too! I use the pepper-onion blend in fajitas as well.

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  8. I, too, love fried rice. Your recipe sounds so delicious! I will have to try it sometime nexr week.

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  9. It looks wonderful. I have tried to make fried rice several times. Notice how I use the word tried. I think I mess up by not having everything ready to go. I will try this recipe too and read your friend's blog.

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  10. I just showed this to my husband whose sitting next to me, I asked him if he'd like this, he said...it has to be good it has shrimp in it! Bookmarking!!

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  11. This looks delicious! I love fried rice.

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  12. This looks like a delicious and easy dinner! I'm a big shrimp fan.

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  13. Kethcup? Really? Count me in. I'm a Heinz addict. This looks so delicious, Jaime.

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  14. That looks so delicious! Where are my chopsticks? I want some now!

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  15. I love rice and if there is prawns in them, i love and adore .
    About my pannacotta,
    as i mentioned in my post if you make them take care you add enough gelatine as mine didn't set as a pannacotta shoudl set.

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  16. This looks yummy! I love fried rice but haven't made it...yet!

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  17. I do like having all sorts of frozen vegetables on hand. Some people argue they're better than fresh because they're frozen right after picking.

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