Fried Rice Pilaf
Late night culinary adventures can lead to some strange yet beautiful creations.
One night, while whipping up a fried rice with an assortment of veggies I had leftover in the refrigerator and freezer (#UseItUp), I found myself wishing I could pack more flavor into the rice itself. Thus spawned the fried-rice pilaf!
This relatively quick and easy dish infuses the sweet and savory and spicy flavors of oyster sauce and gochujang (fermented Korean chili paste) directly INTO the rice itself by first dissolving it into the cooking liquid. The rest is business as usual (in terms of fried rice) and results in a hearty, savory fried rice that will satisfy ANY caliper of late cravings!
Check out the recipe below!
Yield : 2-3 servings
Ingredients
1 cup of Rice: I used sushi rice, I think short-grained rices like that will fare better in this kind of recipe!
1 tbsp Mushroom/Oyster/Vegetable Stir Fry Sauce
½ tbsp Gochujang
1 Egg
¼ cup Corn: I used frozen
¼-½ cup Edamame: shelled; I used frozen
½ Shallot: finely chopped
1 clove Garlic: thinly sliced
1-1.5 tbsp Soy Sauce: to taste
Sesame Seeds: garnish
Gochujaru: garnish. This is Korean red chili flakes, Italian red chili flakes will work as well!
Furikake: garnish. This is essentially a blend of sesame seeds and seaweed/nori, chopped seaweed/nori will work as well! I think this garnish is really important for the final flavor of the dish!
Preparation:
Rinse your rice well. Rinsing your rice will remove excess starch (that could otherwise make your rice too sticky/gummy). It may take 4-5 rinses to clear most of it out. Drain out all of the water from your rice in a mesh sieve and set to the side.
Prepare your shallot and garlic.
Add your stir-fry sauce and gochujang to however much water is required for your 1 cup of rice (I say this because most types of rice require slightly different volumes of water to cook thoroughly, check your package and reduce whatever amount it says by 10%) over medium heat and stir until it dissolves, add your rice, stir, and cover. Check every 3-4 minutes, making sure none of the rice is clumping together or sticking to the pot.
Add a neutral oil to your pan, heat on medium heat, and begin cooking your shallots, stirring frequently.
Once your shallots have browned and softened, add in your edamame, corn, and garlic, and stir well. Cook until your garlic/corn/edameme have just begun to brown. If they get there before your rice is done cooking, turn off the heat and scrunch them to one side of the pan to avoid burning.
Once your rice is done cooking, remove the cover, fluff up, add another ½ tbsp of oil to your cooking pan, and add your rice to the stir-fried veggies, mixing well to combine on medium-low heat.
Taste and add soy sauce to season accordingly
Once your fried rice is well combined and seasoned, remove from the pan and into a large plate or bowl.
Add a neutral oil to a small pan and fry your egg.
Place your fried egg on top of the fried rice, and garnish with the sesame seeds, gochujaru, and furikake!
Enjoy!
Best Practices:
As always:
Avoid packaged produce, or really anything packaged for that matter. This is not to say that you’ll always have the option, but when you do, go for it! For example, you may sometimes see shallots or garlic in plastic-mesh. These are all very often available sans any container, so take the opportunity to use your hands, smell the produce, build that relationship with your ingredients!
Try to bring your own bags when you go shopping for these ingredients
Make sure you’re not buying more than you think you’ll reasonably use! Ingredients like any fresh corn, fresh edamame, or eggs will not last very long, so make sure you buy with care! However, ingredients like shallots, garlic, rice, or your garnishes and sauces can last a long time in your pantry (but not forever), so if you buy more than you need, you’ll likely have plenty of other opportunities to use them.
These ingredients have been chosen with several things in mind:
Most of these ingredients are household staples that are relatively inexpensive and last a long time. If you don’t already have some of these garnishes and sauces, these are amazing staples in any pantry and can add so much flavor to any number of recipes/dishes.
The fried rice can so easily pair with any number of vegetables, so we encourage you to try new things and be creative!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know! If you really loved it, share it on social media and tag us (@groundedgrub), or, better yet, share it with your friends and family!