Fried Rice

I'm holding up my promise today by featuring a recipe that reuses that fish sauce you purchased to make the red curried shrimp recipe from last week.  This not-so-pleasant smelling fish sauce is a basic ingredient in Thai cooking.  While we may not love the smell of cooking with this sauce, it certainly makes big difference in creating the authentic Thai cuisine taste we often crave.  Best part is, once it's cooked in the meal you can't taste the fishiness!

This week's fish-sauce recipe is fried rice.  I was addicted to this recipe when I first read it in my 2008 Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine and have enjoyed several variations of it since.  I've used many proteins, primarily shrimp and also chicken, pork, and tofu, and have added additional vegetables such as sliced shitake mushrooms and chopped red pepper to pack more nutrients and create a 'one bowl' meal.  I've never cooked with the lemongrass, so don't worry about not being able to find that at your grocery store.  It's a fine dish with or without it!

Fried Rice Photo:  Levi Brown, Rachael Ray Everyday

 Ingredients:

6 cups cooked white rice, at room temperature

4 large eggs

1/4 cup fish sauce

1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chili paste (I use Sriracha hot sauce)

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil*

1 onion, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

One 10-ounce bag frozen peas and carrots, thawed

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Preparation:

In a large bowl, fluff the cooked rice with a fork. Add the eggs and stir until just combined.

1. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, lemongrass, chili paste and pepper. Stir into the rice mixture.
   
2. In a large, heavy skillet**, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. (Add any proteins here). Add the peas and carrots and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the rice mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.
   
3. *When recipes call for this much oil, I usually start with two tablespoons and only increase as needed from there. 
4. **If you think you'll be hooked on these fish sauce recipes, consider investing in a large wok pan.  You can get great ones at Bed Bath and Beyond with the 20% off coupon that they circulate.
5. Makes about 6 meal-sized servings.
   
   Cheers!
   Ana