Vegetable Fried Rice is a Chinese preparation thatz very
famous in India. The recipe calls for a lot of vegetables naturally making it
healthy. When it comes to taste, there are two key things to be noted in a
restaurant version of fried rice that we find more tantalizing than the
homemade version. One is the smoky flavor and the second is the MSG based
taste.
Though we know that ajinomoto/MSG is not good for health it is the main
ingredient in all Indo-Chinese recipes prepared at the restaurants. So if you
want to achieve the taste you have to use MSG. I have a tip here. It is said
that only when MSG/ajinomoto is heated too much, it breaks down to form
undesirable/hazardous chemical components. So switch off the flame and add in
to avoid much damage. Then coming to the smoky taste, the Chinese recipes are
cooked in high heat in a special dish called wok which gives that unique smoky
flavor. If you are an ardent Indo-Chinese foodie then you must have a wok made
of carbon steel. You do get non-stick ones. Use them for the best results. Even
if you don’t have a wok, just cook in high heat in any kadai/pan. I have cooked
this in the wok and it turned out exactly to be the same like the one you get
in restaurants.
Ingredients:
Basmati Rice-1 cup
Carrots-1/2 cup, finely chopped
Green Beans/French beans-1/2 cup, finely chopped
Cabbage-1/2 cup, finely chopped
Capsicum-1/2 cup, finely chopped
Garlic-5 cloves, finely chopped
Spring onion/scallions-2 stalks, separate the green part and
white part, finely chopped
Black/White Pepper powder-1 tsp
Soy Sauce-1 tsp (preferably dark)
Ajinomoto/MSG-1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt-as needed
Sugar- a pinch (optional)
Refined oil/Sesame oil/Garlic Infused oil/Peanut oil-2 tbsp
How It Happened:
1. Wash the rice and soak it for 1 hour. In a wide pan, add
4 cups of water and salt and let it boil. When it starts boiling, add the rice
and regulate the flame to medium. Let it cook for 10-15 minutes./cook as per
package instructions. When the rice is soft and cooked, switch off the flame,
drain the water from the rice completely. Then add a tsp of oil to the rice and
slowly fluff it with fork and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok, add the white parts of the scallions
and chopped garlic and fry until they golden brown.
3. Add the chopped veggies except capsicum and fry for 5-7
minutes. Keep stirring and regulating the flame else they will get burnt.
4. Add sugar and salt (you have added salt in rice too) and
mix well and cook for another 2 minutes.
5. When the veggies are cooked, add soy sauce and pepper
powder and mix once.
6. Toss in the cooked rice and mix carefully without
breaking the rice grains. Once the veggies and rice are mixed well switch off the
flame, add in the ajinomoto and toss again.
7. Garnish with chopped green scallions and serve hot.
Notes:
* Adding oil to the cooked rice ensures each rice grain
remains separate.
* Vegetables should be chopped very fine. This helps in fast
and easy cooking of the veggies.
* The wok really heats fast so the chances of getting
ingredients burnt is very high, so keep all ingredients near and ready before
you switch on the flame.
* Adding sugar helps in retaining the color of the veggies.
That sounds like a very easy recipe :) But do we have to add 4 cups water for 1 cup rice?
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