MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CHICKEN FRIED RICE - SERVES 4

 

I found today's recipe at Kitchen Sanctuary hosted by Nicky. The recipe was excellent and we will be making it again. The original recipe came from this website. Always encourage going to their blog to see not only notes, tips and photos, but the measurements are metric. I have only used Imperial.

Chicken Fried Rice - serves 4 - calories per portion approximately 477

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion peeled and diced

1 red bell pepper deseeded and finely chopped 

2 cloves garlic peeled and minced

2/3 cup frozen peas

2 cups cooked shredded/sliced chicken

½ tbsp sesame oil

4 cups cooked and cooled long-grain rice

2 eggs

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

¼ tsp salt

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

3 or 4 spring onions, chopped (for garnish)

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large wok on medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly for 5 minutes until the onion starts to turn soft and translucent.

Add remaining vegetable oil, chopped red bell pepper, garlic, and peas. Cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring regularly.

Now add chicken and sesame oil. Stir together, then add in the rice and turn up the heat to high.

Use a spatula to mix everything together. This also prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Stir until all reheated for about 5 minutes.

Push the rice over to the side of the pan and crack two eggs in the space. Add a splash of soy sauce to the eggs.

Making sure the part of the wok with the eggs in is over the heat, fry the eggs, giving a mix with the spatula until the egg starts to cook and look scrambled, but is still a little runny.

At this time mix the egg into the rice.

Pour in the remaining soy sauce, sprinkle on the salt and mix it all together.

Add the lemon juice, stir and taste. Add a little more lemon juice if required.

Divide between 4 bowls. Top with spring onions. 

Nikki's notes state that this can be made ahead. She suggests spreading the cooked rice out in a large dish so that it will cool quickly. Then cover and refrigerate for up to a day. 

Important to note do not leave at room temperature as bacteria can grow on cooked rice very quickly.

This being the case, refrigerate very quickly.

Don't store for more than 24 hours in the fridge and thoroughly reheat it. 

Reheat in a wok, over a medium-high heat, moving it around the pan with a spatula, until piping hot throughout. 

You may need to add an extra splash of oil, as the rice will have absorbed the oil whilst in the fridge.

She also says this can be frozen.

Again, cook the rice, then spread it out in a large dish (so it will cool quickly) cover and freeze.

As before, don't leave cooked rice out at room temperature. Bacteria can grow on cooked rice very quickly, so it's important to freeze it as quickly as possible and defrost in the refrigerator overnight (don't store for more than 24 hours). Thoroughly reheat it in a wok, over a medium-high heat, moving it around the pan with a spatula, until piping hot throughout. You will need to add an extra splash of oil, as the rice will have absorbed the oil upon storing.

Add an extra squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh chopped spring onions on top before serving.

If you have any doubts, please read Nikki's notes at her website.

Changes made:

We added a bag of coleslaw after cooking the onion, along with the other veggies. There was red cabbage in the mix, and I only mention this because I read recently that there are more nutrients which you can read about here. The coleslaw wasn't bought for this reason, it was the only one available. I seem to be reading more articles on nutrition and health these days.

Gregg thought - for our own taste - this dish would benefit from either Thai basil or chopped Cilantro. We like both and I think he has a point.

Gregg was in the chair, so he also added 2 tablespoons of Chili Garlic Paste, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce. He is an adventurer, more so than I am, and it all turned out great.

You can obviously leave all of this off if you prefer.

I thought sliced mushrooms would be a nice addition also.

I also must remember not to cut the cooked chicken into such teeny pieces. It just about disappeared into the mix never to be found again!  I dislike chunks and suggested to dear other half that I would do the task this time. Afterwards, when we sat down to eat, he said where was the chicken (it was an already cooked rotisserie from the store the day before - we already had one meal and there was a lot of it left). I did go a little overboard and promised to do better next time. Yes I am smiling. My brain was racing that day and that knife was flying. The knife was giving the cutting board a real workout.

There were two meals left for the next day, and it tasted even better. 

That's it! If you have any questions let me know in the comment section and I will do my best to answer.