Some Salt... To Taste!: Asian Style Fried Rice

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I believe that salt is to food, what food is to life. In right proportions, it can heighten the taste of what you eat..and in the wrong - destroy! Even the most delicious sweets come added with some salt...to taste!

As for me, I've never enjoyed cooking. And as contrary to my owning a food-blog as it may sound, I always think about daily, routine cooking as a chore. But my tryst with the pots and pans began when I got a kitchen all to myself...I began experimenting and exploring new worlds in my own home. Some outcomes were excellent and some plain disasters. Then sprouted the need to keep track of all those good ones...and hence this blog!

Here, I share those experiments that pleased more than one palate!

June 10, 2010

Asian Style Fried Rice

We all end up doing some ridiculously dumb things some time or the other. For me, one such time was when I was really out of ideas as to what to make for dinner and I simply cooked up rice and sat wondering what to do next! I wanted to eat something beyond the regular Tomato Rice, Pulao or any other rice preparation that I would normally churn out. I sat watching TV and suddenly like a lightening, it struck me: Indo-Chinese. I mean HOW could I have not thought about it earlier. And, to my luck I had scallions stocked up from my Chicken Manchurian fiesta I had the previous night. The rice had cooled down to room temperature, I had a good stock of soy and chillie sauce...everything was so in sync and yes, and you guessed the rest - Asian Style Fried Rice was born!

Ingredients

1 Cup Rice, washed and drained

1 Bunch of Scallions, washed and chopped

1/2 Cup Onions, julienned

1 Green chillie, slit (Add more if you like things hot :P)

2 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste

1 tsp Fresh Garlic, coarsly chopped (Yes, I love additional fresh garlic in just about anything!)

3 tbsp Soy Sauce (Add more if you desire)

1 tbsp Red Chillie Sauce

1 tsp Ground pepper/Pepper powder

Ajinomoto or Regular salt, to taste

1/4 Cup Oil (You can use olive oil for extra flavour)

Method

- Cook the rice in 1 3/4 cup of water and set aside to cool to room temperature. Spreading the cooked rice over a large plate speeds this process and yields fluffy rice

- In a large wok/kadai, heat about 1/4 cup of oil

- Once it is hot, add the slit green chilli and onions and stir until the onions are translucent

- Add the coarsly chopped garlic and stir fry

- Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for another minute or so

- Throw in half of the chopped scallions and fry

- Now, lower the flame and add the red chillie and soy sauces and stir

- Toss in the rice, salt/ajinomoto and pepper and stir fry thoroughly (Boy, they dont call it 'fried' rice for nothing...all you do is fry in every darn step!)

- Fry (Yea! again) the rice on a medium high flame until it is coated well with the sauces and onions mixture

- Top up with the remaining half of the chopped scallions and serve piping hot with your choice of favourite gravy. I served mine with some tangy, spicy Thai Curry...so you know what is coming next on SSTT! Ah, can't I keep one little secret?

SERVES 3