BLUSHED FRIED RICE

Hi friends,

Chinese food is usually a hot favourite with most people around the world. So it is in my home too.

Usually it is a weekend fare in my home...reason being the chef, that is, me is on holiday and we have a replacement chef on the weekends....my husband. But one of the days when my husband was travelling I made the blunder of asking my kids what they wanted to eat and pat came the reply "Chinese" and I was stuck with having to cut numerous vegetables. So I decided to play a trick on my kids and served them Blushed Rice. They loved the colour and forgot to comment and compare it with my husband's cooking, which is outstanding.

Sometimes I add 1/4th cup of firm tofu cut in cubes stir fried or deep fried, just before adding the mixture of sauces. I like the deep fried version.
Or sauteed shitake mushrooms. I love them so I add 1/2 cup of these lovely mushrooms, blanched in hot water, de-stemmed and cut into halves, then sauteed.
If using tofu I serve it with a chili mushroom.
If using shitake mushrooms I make a brinjal and tofu dish as an accompaniment, so that there is some form of protein in the meal.


blushed fried rice with chili mushroom

 BLUSHED FRIED RICE
 
Ingredients:
.Rice...................................2 cups, cooked long grain rice
.Oil......................................1 tsp.
.Garlic..................................1 clove, crushed &chopped finely
.Ginger.................................1 inch, grated
.Fresh red chili......................2tsp, finely chopped
.Red onion............................1 small, thinly sliced
.Cabbage..............................1/2 cup, thinly sliced
.French beans........................1/4th cup, thinly diagonally sliced
.Carrot..................................1/4th cup, thinly julienned, diagonally
.Red bell pepper....................1/8th cup, thinly sliced
.Yellow bell pepper................1/8th cup, thinly sliced

.Spring onion whites...............3, thinly sliced

.Spring onion greens...............1/4th cup cut into 1 inch pieces

.Light soy sauce......................2 tsp
.White vinegar.........................1 tsp
.Tomato ketchup.....................2 Tbsp
.Tomato puree.........................1/4th cup
.Chili sauce.............................1 tsp
.Salt........................................to taste
.Black pepper powder.............1/2 tsp
.Sesame oil..............................1 tsp
.Chinese celery........................2 Tbsp, roughly chopped
.Coriander Leaves...................2 Tbsp, roughly chopped
.Sesame seeds.........................1 tsp, toasted


blushed rice



Method:

.Cut French beans, carrot, red and yellow bell peppers,cabbage and spring onion greens into 2 inch long

 pieces as advised above.

.Prepare the remaining ingredients.

.Heat oil in a wok.
.Add garlic, ginger and fresh red chili and saute for 30 seconds.
.Add onion and saute for 2 minutes.
.Add spring onion whites and saute further for 1 minute on high heat.
.Add cabbage and the bell peppers and saute for 1 minute.
.Mix together in a bowl soy sauce, vinegar,chili sauce,tomato ketchup,tomato puree,black pepper and salt.
.Add the cooked rice and mix well till glazed.*
.Add the chinese celery, coriander leaves and the spring onion greens.
.Drizzle with sesame oil.
.Remove in a serving dish and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.


note: glazing of rice: Mix rice and all the vegetables till well mixed. Continue to mix with a light hand but firmly and swiftly to get the glazed look.
You will be surprised to find rice that glazed without addition of extra oil.
.Chinese celery leaves look like coriander leaves only bigger.

Tofu is made by curdling of the soy milk. Soya bean is a vegetable source of protein with 52 gm. of protein for every 100gm. of soya, the highest amongst vegetable sources. It is also rich in Iron, Calcium,vitamin B-complex except vitamin B12 and is a good source of dietary fibre. When using soyabean always heat them to deactivate the trypsin inhibiting factor, an enzyme required for protein digestion in our body. Just as everything in life, even this (soyabean) should be eaten in moderation.