The first time I went out for diner as soon as I landed in the Orient was with hubby's Indian colleague and his family who luckily happened to be my neighbor.We planned to dine at the restaurant that was just across the road.
Another lucky thing was that the menu card had the English names and I immediately ordered Chinese fried rice.Little did I know what would land on my table.After half an hour the dishes arrived and I was shocked.It was Chinese fried rice all right but with scrambled eggs and shrimp and something small and pink[which I later found out to be pork!].
In India Chinese fried rice has a vegetarian option and I totally forgot the fact that I should have informed them that I was a vegetarian before I ordered the dish.Anyways,I told the waitress that I was a vegetarian and she looked at me like I had told her something that should not be told.So I explained that I don't eat meat.She nodded and took the dish away and in a few minutes came back with the same plate minus the pork!So again I had to explain that I don't eat eggs and shrimp so off she went again to remove the 'offenders'.After all this I was in no mood to order rice / noodles and ended up having a large serving of french fries and a banana split.
That was just the beginning of my ordeal of my 'eating out experience'.Everywhere I went,they were happy to remove the non vegetarian stuffs and bring back the same dish.How did they imagine I would eat the same dish even if they had moved the pieces of pork and mutton.
I have now learnt how to order food outside and still give a big list of stuffs I don't like to eat and yet today I found pieces of pork in the otherwise delicious looking Stir fried noodles!Such being the case I rarely go to any new restaurant.The places I go regularly know my preferences and serve me accordingly.
So why am I telling all this,you might wonder.I used to try Chinese fried rice in Indian restaurants and wanted to taste the authentic recipe here but I did not get lucky.So here is my own interpretation of the famous Chinese fried rice.
In the oriental style of cooking,vegetables are stir-fried with oil on high heat and they still maintain the crunch.I love this fact and have used it in this recipe.
I used:
Cooked rice -2 cups,grains seperate
Capsicum -1,finely chopped
Boiled edmame-1/4 cup
Sprouted lentils-a handful[I used sprouted green gram and horsegram]
Onion-1,finely chopped
Tomato-1,firm,finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon
Soya sauce-1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil-1 tablespoon
Spring onions,chopped to garnish
- Heat the oil in a wok on high heat add the ginger garlic paste.
- Stir once and immediately add the onion and saute.
- Add the onion,capsicum and stir for a couple of seconds,
- Add the sprouts,edmame and the soya sauce.
- Keep stirring continuously for a minute and add the cooked rice and lower the flame.
- Check for salt and add a little.The soy sauce will have some salt so check before adding.
- Stir and cook for a minute for the flavors to blend.Remove from flame and serve hot garnished with spring onions.
I am satisfied with my version of Chinese fried rice and I sincerely hope that one day I would get to taste the real , authentic ,vegetarian version of this famous rice,so until then I am going to stick to this method.The next time I prepare this version I have planned to add scrambled tofu / Tofu bhurji to give it more texture and color.
Bon Appetit...
Labels: KLBRice, Rendezvous with Rice, Touch of the Orient, Vegan varieties
