Today I want to share a simple fried rice dish that I made last night that my family really liked. When you order fried rice at a restaurant, there is a huge oil to vegetable ratio. The trick to making healthy—but no less delicious—fried rice is to flip that ratio on its head. This also happens to be one of the tricks to making just about any dish lower in calories and more nutritious. And if you’d like to eat more but weigh less, apply a similar algorithm to the relationship between the grain and vegetables in a recipe. Eating out? Ask that dishes be made with double the veggies and half of both the oil and grain or noodle—your heart and rear end will say thanks.
Ingredients
1″ ginger, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
3 cups day-old cooked brown rice (long grain such as basmati works better than short, which is very sticky)
1/4 cup frozen, shelled edamame
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce (I use low-sodium, gluten-free tamari)
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 cup leftover chicken or tofu*, diced
1/2 cup snap peas, cut in halves
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/2 cup cilantro, rough-chopped
1/2 cup peanuts or cashew pieces, for serving
Sriracha sauce, for serving (if desired)
Method
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the ginger and garlic, sautéing over low-medium heat for one minute. Add the broccoli and mushrooms and cook for three minutes. Add the rice and stir well. Add the edamame and mixed vegetables, mixing all to combine. Blend in the soy and teriyaki sauces as well as the toasted sesame oil. Let the dish cook for another several minutes, stirring occasionally. If using, mix in the chicken or tofu, keeping the pan cooking until they are warmed through. Taste and add additional soy and/or teriyaki sauce as needed. Add the snap peas, scallions, and sesame seeds. Combine and taste one last time for seasoning. If all is well, transfer to a serving platter and top with cilantro. (Use parsley or basil if you’re one of the people to whom cilantro tastes like soap.) Serve with Sriracha sauce.
*If you’re using chicken or tofu that isn’t already cooked, just add with the broccoli. You may need to adjust seasonings since they won’t already have flavor. Just keep tasting!
It’s pretty astounding how much sugar most recipes include. I frequently see cake recipes that call for 2–3c worth, and assuming you get about 10–12 servings from an ordinary cake, that can be 1/8c (or 8 tsp) of sugar—or more—for every piece you eat. A better plan is for bakers to rely on the natural sweetness of fruit whenever possible.
Sometimes someone is not ready to hear what you have to say, even if somehow they sense you’re right about something. In my husband’s case, he failed to be ready for over a dozen years to finally hear that his animal protein-based diet was dangerous for his heart and overall health.
Indian food is awesome, but it can be intimidating for home cooks with all of its exotic spices, ingredients, and sauces. Also, there’s the perennial issue: will the kids eat it? Here I adapt a simple recipe for dal from Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking. My kids are warming up to it, and it’s the perfect dish to serve your vegan friends, or keep on hand for lunch as it will live in your fridge for days. Pair it with naan or any kind of brown rice, and kachumbar salad (recipe below).