Sunday, January 25, 2009

Indo-Chinese Fried Rice

Dear foodies,

One of top things in my 'to eat' list during my trip to India was veg manchurian :) There is something soo addictive about Indo-Chinese cuisine and I can never have enough of it. Sweet corn soup, hot n sour soup, gobi/veg manchuria, fried rice, noodles, all of them are super delicious. And when I have left over rice, fried rice is the first thing that comes to my mind. The addition of tofu just makes it perfect, paneer does not make a good substitute here.
Indo-Chinese Fried Rice
Ingredients:
  • 2 1/2 cups - Rice, cooked and cooled (any short grain rice) [brown rice would be a nice substitute]
  • 3/4 cup - Vegetables - Carrots, French style green beans, capsicum (red, green, yellow) cut into thick matchsticks. Other choices are mushrooms, water chestnuts, baby corn, broccoli florets, bean sprouts
  • 1/2 cup - Onions, cubed
  • 10-12 nos - super firm Tofu, cubed (I used Sproutofu)
  • 2 nos - Indian green chillies/ thai bird chillies, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp - Garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp - Ginger, minced
  • 1/4 tsp - Red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp - Soy Sauce
  • 1 tsp - Vinegar
  • 3/4 Tsp - Black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1.5 Tbsp - Oil
  • Salt to taste
Method:
  1. Drain the tofu, pat it dry and cut it into cubes. Drizzle some soy sauce over them and let it sit for 10-15mins. With the oven set to broil, spritz it with some oil and line the tofu cubes on a sheet pan and broil for 5-6 mins, flip them and broil for 5 more mins. Do keep an eye on them though, since oven temperatures vary.
  2. Heat oil in a wide pan/wok. When hot, add the finely chopped green chillies, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Give it 5 secs and add the cubed onions. Saute until they turn translucent.
  3. On medium high heat, add the vegetables and stir fry for 2-3 mins. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, and freshly ground black pepper next. Saute until the vegetables are slightly tender but still retain crunch.
  4. Add the tofu cubes along with the rice and very carefully stir to combine with the vegetables. Taste to see if it needs more salt/pepper and season accordingly. Toss lightly without breaking the rice grains.
Left over rice gets a brilliant make over with this dish. Its so flavorful and crunchy from the vegetables, and I love the heat from the black pepper. To me that defines the dish. I also add sprouts to it when I have them on hand. Tofu adds bulk to the dish, making it extremely filling. I've also grown to favor the brown rice version of the same dish, the nuttiness of the rice goes really well with the soy sauce.

10 thoughts:

Sonia said...

All time fav dish.:) Simple yet tasty. hmmm...Chinese dishes in India...u made me nostalgic :(
N e ways, I saw ur collection in flickr. I wish I cud grab that cool earrings.;)Ahaa...tht Gujarati Handicraft(wall hanging)looks so beautiful. Did u buy it Priya...? Nice collection of pics.
Take care.
Sonu:)

sunita said...

That looks so inviting, Priya...I love rustling up some fried rice with leftover rice too :-)

zobars said...

Wow that is so tempting. I feel like grabbing a fork and going at it. thanks for sharing the recipe.

Pavani said...

Looovveee Fried rice anytime of the day. Your pics are very tempting too.

Anonymous said...

Indo Chinese is something which i can eat every single day. I miss the desi chinese so bad here. I am going to make some fried rice today:-)

amna said...

you are so right about indo-chinese food being addictive! i miss it all the time too!

Anonymous said...

The tofu looks lovely! I like the little buddha in the background.. well placed :)

Pooh said...

I agree with you completely on the indo-chinese addiction. Now you've made me crave fried rice for my next meal!

Anonymous said...

Hi Priya,

Lovely pictures and very nice and simple recipes...

veggie belly said...

Oh my gosh! This is making me hungry. I love Indo-Chinese. I've actually had a fried rice with deep fried paneer, and it was really good!

Blogging tips