Fried Rice

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I grew up in a small town with limited resources for going out, which meant a home cooked meal was always on the table.  There weren’t any options for take-out or delivery either.  I do have a memory of going to a cigarette smoke-filled restaurant with big red vinyl booths.  It was a restaurant in a casino and the sound of money clanking drowned out the sound of conversation.  Once a week they offered different menu options from a seafood buffet to Chinese food.  Platters of sticky food filled the tables, and our tiny hands attempted to use chopsticks.  The fried rice, cleverly hide overcooked carrots and what use to be bright green spring, spring peas (probably frozen), along with silvers of chewy pork.  It was all I knew of Chinese food at that point in my life, and it was good.  I am happy to say that my recipe for Fried Rice is not the same as the one from the 70’s.  This recipe is full of flavor using really fresh simple ingredients.

This recipe for fried rice is definitely not the same as what was served in the dimly lights casino restaurant.  Instead, it is filled with flavorful ground pork, fresh carrots, and bright green peas.  Earthy mushrooms happen to be the secret ingredient that makes this recipe over the top.

I developed this recipe for the Mushroom Channel, using the Blend Approach.  Typically, I only use meat in my fried rice recipe, this time I cut the meat portion to half, and replaced with cremini mushrooms.  If you want to make the recipe vegetarian-friendly, you could leave out the pork, and replace it with only mushrooms.  Using the Blend Approach makes it easier to do so, and it is great for picky eaters who think they do not like mushrooms.  Trust me they will never know.

This recipe is great served with a big bowl of chicken stir-fry or even a piece of grilled fish.  Keep some left-overs as it is almost better the next day served with a fried egg on top.

Yield: 6 - 8 servings

Fried Rice

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This is a great recipe to use leftover rice with. I always make extra rice to purposely have fried rice.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds of crimini mushrooms
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 eggs, beat
• 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
• 8 green onions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
• 1/2 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 4 cups of cold white rice
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of mirin kosher salt
• black pepper

Instructions

Place 1 pound of the mushrooms into a food processor and chop to resemble ground meat.

Thinly slice the remaining 1/2 pound and set aside. In a large wok or frying pan add the ground pork, and cook over medium heat, stirring often. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the ground mushrooms to the pork, stir and cook for 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir and cook for another minute. Place the mushroom/pork mixture into a bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, there should be enough fat from the pork, add the beat up eggs and scramble over medium heat until light and fluffy. Remove and place the eggs into a small bowl. Add the thinly sliced yellow onion to the hot pan. If there is not enough fat left from the pork, add a little canola oil, about 1 tablespoon. Stir and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.

Add the garlic to the onion mixture, stir and cook for another minute. Add the carrots, stir and cook for 3 minutes. Add the thinly sliced mushrooms, stir and cook until they are golden; about 3 – 5 minutes. Sprinkle the Chinese Five Spice over the mushroom mixture and stir. Stir in the frozen peas and cook for 1 minute. Remove the vegetable mixture from the pan and place into a bowl.

Raise the heat of the stove to medium-high, and add the 2 tablespoons of canola oil to the hot pan. Add the green onions and ginger. Stir, and cook for 1 minute. Add the cold rice, stirring, until the rice is lightly crisp, about 3 – minutes.

Drizzle the sesame oil, soy sauce and mirin over the rice, stir and cook for another minute. Stir in the pork and vegetables, and cook for 1 minute. Lightly fold the ingredients together. Stir in the egg, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes

Save some extra rice for breakfast, then pop a fried egg on top!

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disclaimer:  This post is a collaboration between the Mushroom Channel and Chez Us.  All content and photos are my own and were not influenced by other parties.  We appreciate our readers supporting sponsors that allow us to create exciting content for Chez Us.