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!