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Fried Rice
updated: Dec 04, 2010, 8:15 AM

By Leah Etling

This month I am testing recipes with the hope of putting together a fun and inventive all-vegetarian menu for my family this Christmas. Over the last few years, our dining table has drifted away from meat in a gradual but significant way. While I am not a confirmed non-meat-eater myself, I enjoy many meatless dishes and make them regularly.

As a result, this week I got reacquainted with my friend Mark Bittman, author of the great comprehensive vegetarian cookbook, "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian." His fried rice recipe had the colorful and festive qualities I'm looking for on a Christmas menu. By using a red bell pepper as one of the ingredients, I even ended up with a distinct red and green result.

Here's the ingredient list:
1 cup peas
3 tablespoons peanut or grapeseed oil
1 bell pepper, chopped
½ onion, chopped
1 cup cubed tofu (optional, can substitute cashews)
2 cloves minced garlic
¼ cup minced ginger
3 cups cooked rice, basmati or jasmine
2 eggs
¼ cup wine, sherry, stock or water
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3-4 scallion tops, minced, or chopped cilantro to garnish

Process:

Cook rice according to package directions and reserve. (You'll see why I stress something so obvious in a minute.)

Heat wok with one tablespoon of oil; add the onion and bell pepper. Cook for about 5-7 minutes over medium heat.

Remove the cooked onion and pepper and add the tofu, if you are using it. Cook for another 5-7 minutes.

Remove to the same bowl as the onion and pepper and cook the peas. Remove.

Add another 2 tablespoons of oil and cook the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Then add the rice, about a quarter cup at a time, stirring and distributing the oil as you go. When all the rice is in the wok, add the two eggs in the center and scramble and mix with the rice.

Add the contents of your reserved bowl (onion, bell pepper, tofu, peas) and the ¼ cup wine or broth. Cook for one minute. Then add the soy sauce and sesame oil.

Now we get to the part where I admit that I can be a total idiot. After a long day of work (which started at 4:30 a.m. on this particular day), and rushing to get dinner on the table, I completely forgot to cook the rice ahead of time. I just threw it in the wok with everything else and kept on cooking. When I got to the last step I realized - wait a minute - this is not right. It's crunchy. And not in a good way. Oops.

Luckily this is a recipe where I was able to save it. I added about a cup and a half of water to the whole mess, put the burner on low heat, and boiled it off. End result - delicious, flavorful and completely edible (I did add a little extra sesame oil and soy sauce). So when I make it again for Christmas I'll do it right, and maybe it will be even better.

Got a great recipe I should add to my vegetarian Christmas menu? Add it to the comments section. Fun and festive are the only recommendations.

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Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 125686	2010-12-04 10:18 AM
Oh, that looks very good. Thank you for it! I bet it would be good substituting wild rice which I've been making recently, although I love Basmati rice. A propos of Christmas, I am looking for two very good recipes: one, for fruitcake and the other, real mincemeat, for the rich-tasting pies I remember (definitely not vegetarian.) Any suggestions?
COMMENT 125760	2010-12-04 05:10 PM
I'd make it with forbidden rice for the Holidays. That's a deep, dark purple rice that holds its color when cooked. You can finish it with some aromatic sesame oil. For color I'd use orange squash cubes and green peas and perhaps red bell pepper for color. You could put cashews or tofu or seitan chunks in it too.
COMMENT 125790	2010-12-05 07:49 AM
You should have been at our Thanksgiving table. All vegetarian and the best meal I have had in a very long time.Many dishes by several people. No one missed the dead bird at all.
COMMENT 125798	2010-12-05 08:46 AM
Here's a veg dish for a Christmas feast, as you asked, Leah: For Thanksgiving, I tried roasting brussels sprouts and jumbo red grapes together, and it was a fantastic, colorful and earthy combination (roasting brings out the hidden sweetness in the sprouts). Heat oven to 375 F. and in a large plastic bag toss some trimmed, washed and dried brussels sprouts and as much of the large red grapes as you'd like together with a bit of good olive oil, and some freshly ground kosher salt and black pepper. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the sprouts cut-side down on the pan, scattering the red grapes among them. Roast in open pan about 25 minutes, until sprouts can be pierced with a fork but are not mushy -- serve forth this delightful red/green vegetable side-dish with pride!

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