Hi, foodies in the Hive!
Days are shorter every time I check! Cooking is good way for me to disconnect and relax. Does it work for you, too? My late mother hated cooking--and house chores in general)--, but when she liked a dish and she wasn't in a rush, I could see she put some love into it. I think that if we are careful, we could make cooking a good therapy to de-stress mind and body. Plus it's free and if you do it right, it's also delicious.
I love fried rice. I rarely buy it because the one I find in local restaurants is quite greasy and has a lot of oils, seasonings and sauces that I prefer to avoid.
Like almost every meal we eat at home, fried rice is prepared by me. Although I do use soy sauce, I never use ajinomoto, but I'm happy with it and so is my husbandt, or so he says 😏
This time I made it with the vegetables I had in my fridge, and since I only had one pork chop, a smoked pork chop, I made egg omelets to complete the dish.
I'd make fried rice for lunch for two days; this is why a 250 gr chop was not enough.
I'll show how it went this time, as the recipe is never the same in my house 😋
INGREDIENTS
Rice:
- Bone & fat of a smoke pork chop
- 1 1/2 cups white rice
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 4 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds
- enough oil to fry
The goodness 😆
- the meat of a 250 gr smoke pork chop, chopped
- 3 tablespoons honey & 1 teaspoon salt to marinate the meat
- 2 cups julienned carrot
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup red bell pepper
- 5 eggs (M) for thin omelets + a pinch of salt
- 3 cups bean sprouts
- 2 cups fresh chopped spring onion
Also:
- soy sauce to taste, to add at the end.
THE PROCESS
FIRST
I always start with the rice because I need to let it cool and then store it in the freezer for a while. I put the water, rice, salt, and the smoke pork chop in a pot and let it cook over medium fire. I don't use oil and I don't have a secret to make rice, but it always turns out OK.
Once it was ready, I transferred it to a couple of dishes so it cools faster.
Once it's cool, it goes into the freezer until it's time to fry it.
SECOND
While the rice was getting cold, I marinated the chopped chop 😆
I washed it well and removed the bone, then chpped it, added honey and salt 👇
I rubbed it well and reserved it while I took care of the vegetables.
THIRD
I wash, peel and/or cut each vegetable as needed. Then I sautéed them and put them in the bowl where I would gather all the ingredients that would be waiting for the rice and the fresh spring onion. At this point, I also prepared the eggs.
- First, the carrot.
- Green and red bell pepper.
- Thin omelet.
I beat the eggs and added a pinch of salt. Then I poured enough mixture to cover most of the surface of the hot wok. I went on distributing the mixture making circular movements with the wok so that the beaten eggs would form an omelet as thin as possible, like when one makes crepes.
I went on gathering all the ingredients in the bowl.
- The bean sprouts were the last vegetable I prepared before meat.
- Finally, time to cook the marinated chop.
I already had everything I needed in the bowl.
I mixed it a little before I went for the rice, which had been waiting patiently in the freezer.
FOURTH
I added a litte oil in the hot wok, poured in the turmeric and sesame seeds to give the rice color and aroma--and flavor!
I mixed everything together.
When I stirred it, I thought it looked very loose and appetizing without the need for so much oil.
I soon removed it from the wok to prevent further cooking.
I gave a little heat to the fresh spring onion which I had chopped a little but not too much.
The spring onion always gives fried rice a fresh touch. I love it.
Time to eat!
I served the fried rice with sweet sliced plantain. We can't help it; we people of Cumana need a sweet touch for these dishes. I prepared the ripe plantain in a frying pan; I cut it in thick slices, fried in butter, seasoned it with clove and cinnamon, and sweetened it with homemade cane honey. Muack!
Bon appetite!
As usual, I hope you found this post useful 😁❤️ I felt relaxed when I finished cooking. I think cooking with love makes you feel good and makes food taste better. Although sometimes we don't have time for cooking, it's a matter of #lifestyle, but for those of us who love to cook, there is always a little while to enjoy in the kitchen.