Leek and ginger fried rice

Categories:eggs, veggies
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ginger fried rice

I am apparently the most pathetic part-time vegetarian ever. All my friends say so.

My buddy, Mary Ann, has been concerned. She has many suggestions for jazzing up my less than inventive vegetarian meals. At church yesterday, Bari Horton stopped me to offer condolences on my sad Facebook photo of dinner last Friday: A baked potato with sour cream. “Did you think of adding some black beans to that?” she asked with more than a little worry in her voice. And my pal, Kim Council, posted this on Facebook: “It appears I need to challenge you a bit. How about Quinoa Stuffed Peppers? Or come on, you can come up with something amazing using Tofu! I know you can. And there is always the use of protein crumbles. Yeah, I know it doesn’t sound like it would be good, but I made Stuffed Pepper Soup with Morning Star Crumbles and it was excellent. Do you need one of my Vegetarian Cookbooks? I want you to make Chickpea and Vegetable Curry. Should I go on?”

No, please don’t. I know I am failing the creativity test here. So with three weeks to go until the end of Lent (which by the way, is all about self-denial and look how good I’m doing!) I will rededicate myself to inventing something fit to eat that doesn’t have meat (oh, look, I made a rhyme!). In the meantime, I’m pulling out a favorite from a few years ago, Mark Bittman’s ginger-fried rice.

I will have my own inspiration shortly. For now, I’m not above stealing a little.

Ginger-fried rice

8 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced ginger

2 cups sliced leeks

4 cups day-old cooked white rice

1 tablespoon ancho chili powder

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons soy sauce

4 large eggs

Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a small skillet. Add 1 tablespoon each of the garlic and ginger and fry until golden brown. Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add the remaining garlic and ginger. Saute for about 30 seconds and add the leeks. Continue cooking until the leeks soften. Add the rice, chili powder, sesame oil and soy sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet. Fry the eggs sunny-side up.

Place the rice on a platter, top with the eggs and sprinkle with the browned ginger and garlic.

2 Comments

  1. Mary Ann
    Mary AnnReply
    March 12, 2013 at 6:50 pm

    May I respectfully say that your friends may be well aware of your creativity. The comments suggest they are more concerned with nutrition which must include actual vegetables (potatoes don’t count) and protein (duram wheat and cheese not enough). I am totally making this recipe since I have month old leeks and ginger plus sesame oil and soy sauce thant need using. Adding some jarred roasted red peppers, less oil but I love Mark Bittman? and done. Thanks, sounds so good.

    • Catherine Mayhew
      Catherine MayhewReply
      March 13, 2013 at 1:09 pm

      I’ve rededicated myself. Cannelloni with spinach for lunch and I think I’ll do eggs in purgatory for supper. I’ll get good at this just as Lent ends.

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