fried rice a thousand ways

i completely, utterly, unabashedly adore rice. steamed rice with spicy satay sauce or soy sauce and sesame oil... oh, so good!


this is a little more work, but so worthwhile; it can be done alone but it is best done, as it is many mornings each week, with another person: one to chop and one to fry.


anything can be used (especially little leftover veggies), but my proportions are usually 20% rice, 30% extra firm tofu, 50% veggies. i use a wok and a frying pan to speed things up.


steam the rice the night before, and allow to cool overnight in the fridge. 


cut tofu into 1cm or smaller cubes. pan fry with salt, ground pepper and garlic powder or fresh ginger, remove from heat and set aside.


chop all veggies into 1cm pieces; my favourites are carrot, cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower, enoki mushrooms (the long stringy ones found prepackaged in asian supermarkets) and snowpeas, but will use anything i have.


heat the wok and fry all the veggies at once; cook for 2 minutes, then add in a crushed clove of garlic; cook 3-4 more minutes, then tip the veggies into the frying pan on top of the tofu and set aside. 


lower the heat in the wok, add a little oil and then the rice. try to keep it moving for a minute, then add crushed garlic to taste (2 cloves might do it, though i do more); fry for another 1-2 minutes, then add the veggies and tofu back in. fry together for 1 minute, then add soy sauce and serve. drizzle with sesame oil for extra deliciousness!

vietnamese rice paper rolls

beautiful salad ingredients wrapped in rice paper with fried tofu; delicious, fun and healthy!


it's also my favourite hot weather meal due to the minimal cooking and refreshing flavours, which can be included to taste- here are my favourites, all of which can be found in most asian grocers and many supermarkets:


shredded carrot
finely sliced cucumber
mint
coriander
bean shoots
fried tofu
satay or hoi sin sauce (i like to drizzle some inside the roll rather than use a dipping sauce)
shredded black fungus (sold dry, soak a handful in boiling water for 5 minutes, then pan fry with ginder and garlic for 5 minutes)


the rice paper needs to be wet, not soaked; you can either run the sheet you are about to use under a tap, or dip in a bowl of water (it does not need to be hot or warm) so that the whole sheet is wet. lay the sheet on a dinner plate, and line up a little of each desired ingredient about 2cm inside one of the edges of the paper; then you're ready to roll!


don't worry if your roll doesn't work so well the first time, or falls apart- it'll still taste great!

collingwood

crispy bean curd rolls

i can't remember when or where i ate the dish that inspired these rolls, but the memory of the textures and flavours is impossibly vivid. crisp, light wrapping; chewy tangles of vermicelli and beansprouts; the rubbery crunch of black fungus... too good!


1 package dry bean curd sheets 
1c mung bean vermicelli, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes then drained
1c shredded black fungus, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes then drained
1c shredded carrot
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed
3-5tsp grated ginger
1c bean sprouts
finely chopped fresh chilli, to taste
1tsp ground five spice 
1tsp ground pepper
2Tbs sesame oil
0.25c vegetarian oyster sauce (mushroom sauce)


set a large bamboo steamer on top of a pan of gently boiling water. without unfolding, lay the bean curd sheets on the steamer, cover and turn every couple of minutes to keep them soft. over medium heat, fry all ingredients except vegetarian oyster sauce for 5-7 minutes; remove from heat and stir in oyster sauce.


remove the bean curd from the steamer and unfold so that it is two thick. slice into workable pieces (depending on the size of the sheets, try for pieces approx 20cm x 20cm). spoon filling into the sheet; roll and tuck in the ends, and fry in a frying pan until golden (3-4 minutes).


serve with chilli sauce!