Taiwanese Tuesday

No, I'm not starting a new weekly series.  Trust me, if I started this one, you'd mostly hear the sound of crickets.  I know nothing about Taiwan.  And I know nothing about Asian cooking.

My friend Rachel, however, does.

Rachel shares a weekly feature on her blog called Taiwanese Tuesday, which frequently features Asian recipes (imagine that!).  I think they look fabulous, which is very high praise coming from me.  I am not a fan of Asian food, and I really don't care much for rice as a general rule (I have a lot of "general rules," don't I?). 

Although we would occasionally eat brown rice when I was growing up, we never had white rice.  And I can't remember ever being served an Asian dish.  My dad was stationed in Korea at the end of the Korean War, so he just doesn't like Asian food.  Especially rice.

Consequently, it wasn't until I was in high school that I discovered I love egg rolls.  Since then, I've branched out and tried different dishes over the years, but would still say that Asian food is at the bottom of my preferred foods list.  Which is sad for Scott, since it's one of his favorites!  On the rare occasion that I am in the mood for Asian food, he jumps at the chance to eat it.  He also frequently gets Chinese takeout whenever he's on his own for dinner.  :o)

Anyway, back to Rachel's blog...  :o)  Her recipes always sound so delicious (well, except for maybe that tofu one...), and I've been wanting to try some of them.  Of course, that hasn't been a priority since Asian food is not my preference.  In general.  ;o)  But last night when I got home from work, Scott had all the ingredients out and Rachel's Fried Rice recipe pulled up on his computer.  To be quite honest, I was disappointed!  I had my  heart set on the enchilada soup we were going to attempt to make from my disastrous crockpot enchilada experiment this weekend (don't ask).  But I gave in and started helping with the prep for fried rice.

In general, :o) I prefer noodle dishes when it comes to Asian food, but I would have to say that fried rice is pretty close to being my favorite entrée - specifically combination fried rice, but I enjoy it with a single meat in it, too.  As long as that meat is identifiable.  ;o)

I am happy to report that Rachel's fried rice recipe did NOT disappoint.  In fact, it was as good as any fried rice I've ever had, and Scott agrees.  We're both excited to have found a simple and delicious recipe, and we have great plans to use it over and over again.  So I wanted to share it with all of you. We made a few changes (noted in italics), simply because we didn't have the ingredients on hand, and it still turned out excellent.  I can't wait to make it again using all the correct ingredients!

So, here you go, without further ado...

Fried Rice

The key to making good fried rice is to use cold day-old rice. Freshly cooked rice turns into a sticky mess, because it is too moist for the rice grains to remain separate. Day-old rice from the fridge is easy to stir-fry and makes for yummy fried rice. You can add anything to this basic recipe, whatever leftover meats and/or veggies you have on hand.

Ingredients:
Peanut oil (we used vegetable oil)

2 eggs, beaten

3 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 pound shrimp, chopped (we used chicken)

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 cups cabbage, thinly sliced (we used broccoli-slaw)

Cold rice (about 2-3 cups)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Soy sauce (to taste)

Directions:
1.  Heat wok (we used a regular skillet) over medium heat and swirl in 1 tablespoon peanut oil. Pour eggs in wok and quickly stir with spatula. Cook until done and transfer to plate. Chop into small pieces.

2.  Swirl in 1 tablespoon oil and add bacon. Cook until crisp. Add shrimp and cook until just pink. Add veggies. Stir-fry until tender, adding more oil as needed.

3.  Add rice and peas, breaking up rice with spatula until heated through. Pour soy sauce around edges of wok and stir. Add eggs to rice and serve.

This is Rachel's picture.  Doesn't it look yummy??

 The next thing I'd like to do is purchase a carbon-steel wok, season it according to Rachel's directions, and start cooking Asian dishes the RIGHT way!  She is inspiring me to change the way I feel about Asian food. Which makes for a very happy husband.  :o)