The motivation for this vegetable fried rice came from a combination of things. Firstly, I needed to utilize the existing produce in my fridge (as always). Secondly, I wanted to make sure my family enjoys the comfort food they love while sneaking in highly nutritious components. Kids are back in school; the warm summer weather is behind us and colder days and approaching quickly. Now is the time to strengthen our internal systems. This fried rice dish is full of ingredients with immunity boosting qualities: garlic, ginger, onion, turmeric and spinach. The recipe is easily adaptable to bulk it up with more veggies or pair it with a healthy protein such as an oily fish, high in omega-3 fatty acids (which also happens to be on the list of foods to boost the immune system).
Yields 6-8 servings
Ingredients:
- Jasmine rice, 2 cups
- Onion, ½ medium size, small dice
- Ginger, 1 tbsp., purée
- Garlic, 1 tbsp., purée
- Green finger pepper, 2-3 pcs, slice
- Scallion, ½ bunch, slice
- Spinach, 1 bunch, stems removed and rough chop
- Olive oil, 3-4 tbsp.
- Ground turmeric, 1 tsp.
- Ground coriander, ½ tsp.
What you’ll need:
- Knife and cutting board
- Rice cooker
- Microplane
- Wok
- Wooden spoon
What to do:
Start by washing the rice in cold water. The water will turn white which is the starch expelling from the grains. Drain and discard the white water. Pour the rice into the rice cooker and fill with 2 cups of fresh water. Season with salt, close lid and set function to cook.
While the rice is cooking, prep for mise en place. Peel the onion and chop into a fine dice. Using a microplane, grate fresh garlic and ginger into purée. Remove the stems from the spinach leaves, rinse under cold running water and roughly chop. Rinse the pepper and scallion before cutting them into thin slices.
Allow the rice time to cool before you begin the cooking process to fry the rice with the rest of the ingredients. Moving too quickly from one cooking method to the next can potentially overcook the rice.
When ready, heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Start to build the aromatics by adding the onion and pepper. You do not want the onion to caramelize so lower the heat slightly if needed. As they start to soften and onion is translucent, add in the garlic and ginger. After they’ve cook for a minute add in the turmeric, coriander and salt. A higher heat setting is key to good fried rice but be aware of the aromatics and adjust the heat levels as needed to avoid scorching their taste.
Now that the base flavors have blended, add in the rice and thoroughly mix until it is well incorporated and all rice is yellow a color (from the turmeric). Once coated rice fries for a few minutes, remove from the heat and add in the spinach and scallion.
Serve this vegetable fried rice along side the protein of your choice or bulk it up with more veggies for an awesome vegan dish.