Curry Fried Rice

Curry Fried Rice - when I shared the image on FB it triggered a lot of memories from my friends in Portland (Oregon). That's exactly what food can do and will do. My first introduction to this dish was at Eagle Thai in Portland. We had this ritual of having Thai for lunch for almost every Friday that Fridays became Thaiday. This Curry Fried rice was usually part of my 2nd serving shared with a good mate Satheesh. South Indian curry flavours have definitely influenced Thai food. Now I wonder if I should call it a Thai inspired pulao or Indian inspired Thai Fried Rice. Oh well...really doesn't matter. Now this dish is a great example for best of both worlds. Over the years I've eaten this in various names and different mixers such as crab meat, pineapple etc. Go for it - create your own version. So without much further ado...

Ingredients

1. Steamed Rice - I used Basmati rice but preferably Jasmine rice - 1 cup per serving
2. Beaten Eggs - 1 per serving
3. Diced mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, corn) - 1/2 cup per serving
4. Minced garlic about 1 tea spoon per serving
5. Diced red onions - a handful per serving
6. Curry Powder - Now you can buy ready made curry powder like Ayam's Curry powder or you can make your own by mixing turmeric powder with garam masala (which is what I did). You can use a ratio of 1:2. Turmeric is really important to bring out the colour and the flavour.
7. Seasme oil - 1 tablespoon to season the wok
8. Soya sauce - preferably light - 1 table spoon per serving
9. Vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons per serving
10. Salt to taste
11. Chilli powder  - to taste

The Method

1. Heat a large wok until it starts smoking.
2. Pour the seasme oil and swirl around to give the wok a nice coating.
3. Pour the vegetable oil and let it heat up.
4. Pour the beaten eggs and scramble it up.
5. Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes (if you want to add any type of meat - now would be a good time to do so and saute until cooked well)
6. Add the vegetables and the curry powder, chilli powder and salt and saute for a few minutes
7. Add the soya sauce and saute until mixed well.
8. Add the rice and sprinkle a few table spoons of water over the rice
9. Toss it up well until the rice and the veggies get mixed up well.

Serve hot with a few slices of cucumber to balance your palate. 

Happy Cooking !!

C

Khao Pad Tom Yum (Tom Yum Fried Rice)

Many have enjoyed the hot and sour Tom Yum soup, but this one is a fried rice with Tom Yum. Recently tasted this in a Thai restaurant in Sydney (@Bangkok) and found it to be a very interesting combination. One could call it the Thai Puliyogare for the sour taste. Apparently this is a popular dish in Thailand just not too popular in the westernized restaurants.







What goes in:

1) Tom Yum paste - just get it from the store. I think it's too much of a hassle if you need to make it on your own. And yes this has shrimp paste in it not sure if there is a veggie version of this.
2) Jasmine Rice (Cooked at least 6 hrs in advance)
3) Kaffir leaves
4) Bamboo shoot
5) Bean sprouts
6) Chives
7) Garlic
8) Mixed vegetables
9) Eggs
10) Thai Red chillies

The process:

1) Heat up a wok to as high a temperature as possible.
2) Add a generous amount of oil and wait for the smoke to come out of the oil.
3) Break open the eggs and stir quickly for a good scrambled fried egg.
4) Add the garlic, chillies and Tom Yum paste and stir well for about a minute.
5) Add the mixed vegetables and bamboo shoots and give it a stir for about 2 minutes.
6) Add the chives and kaffir leaves, give it a short stir.
7) Add the boiled Jasmine rice and give it a good mix. Add more tom yum paste if needed (not smelling the flavour enough?).
8) Add fish sauce as required to the amount of saltiness you need.
9) Toss in the bean sprouts for a final stir.

Tom Yum Fried Rice - Done!!

Enjoy!!

C

Nasi Goreng

Nasi goreng a.k.a. Fried rice Malaysian style is yet another variety of fried rice that brings it own twist to the "genre" of fried rice. The main ingredients that make this different from a regular Chinese (or Thai) fried rice is the Sambal paste, bean sprouts and fried onions (shallots). Sambal paste is a mix of shrimp paste and red chilli pastes. Am yet to figure out how to make this paste, right now under the courtesy of its namesake restaurant - Sambal.

Ingredients:

1. Sambal paste
2. Jasmine Rice
3. Minced Garlic
4. Eggs
5. Chicken (Optional of course)
6. Bean sprouts
7. Spring onions
8. Mixed vegetables (Carrots, peas and corn)
9. Fried onions
10. Soy sauce (not in pic)
11. Turmeric powder (not in pic)

Process

1. Cook the Jasmine rice, preferably few hours in advance and cool it down. The ratio I like for cooking rice is 1 cup rice : 1.5 cups water.
2. In a hot wok add 2-3 tablespoons of oil and swirl it around.
3. Sautee the garlic and sambal paste and turmeric for about 30 seconds.
4. Add the chicken and stir fry until cooked. 
5. Add the diced spring onions and the veggies and stir fry for about a minute.
6. Create an opening in the middle of the wok, add a bit of oil and scramble the eggs. 
7. Add jasmine rice and soy sauce and stir fry for a minute.
8. Add the bean sprouts and fried onions and give it a good final toss.

The result: