CHICKEN AND CABBAGE FRAGRANT FRIED RICE

This is a super adaptable recipe, it’s one of my favourite fridge clean out meals and you really can use the basic ‘technique’ and simple flavours to make fried rice out of whatever you have leftover. It’s really simple comfort food at its best! This combination is so tasty though, especially with build your own toppings I like to serve on the side.

 

For me fried rice is a vehicle for flavour. But if I try to add too much during the cooking process then you risk overcrowding your wok and pan and not getting any delicious crispy bits or wok flavour into your food. That’s why I’ve taken to adding things to my rice at the table. Usually chilli oil and a little extra soy are involved, along with something crunchy like a green vegetable, nuts or some radish slices, and something fragrant like coriander leaves and finely sliced spring onion.

When it comes to cooking the rice I tend to focus on one or two flavours, ginger is always in there and I sometimes add some coriander stems and root to the pan if I’m using it as a topping. Ginger along with the LOTS of white pepper are my must haves. Everything else you can switch in and out. The white pepper has a really different flavour to black pepper, it’s more subtle. I also use salt rather than soy in the pan as I find it easier to evenly disperse.

I love the chicken and cabbage combo because both enrich the final dish with savoury flavour without overpowering things. I’m also a big fan of a little egg in my fried rice. These additions turn a side dish into a main meal for me. You could easily serve this as part of a banquet or just tuck into a bowl as is.

Serves 4 as a main meal 6-8 as part of a banquet

Ingredients

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 tsp soy sauce

3 cups cooked and cooled brown rice

1 Tbs Rice Bran or Coconut oil (plus a little extra for the eggs)

1 Tbs finely chopped coriander roots and stems

2 Tsps finely grated ginger

1/4 cup finely sliced spring onion

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

4 cups finely shredded cabbage, I used wombok

2 carrots, finely diced

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp white pepper, do this to your tastes (plus more to serve)

1 tsp butter

To serve (all are optional!)

2 cups blanched green beans

4 Tbs finely sliced spring onion

4 finely sliced radish

1/2 cup coriander leaves

4 tsps chilli oil

4 Tbs cashews, dry roasted

1 Tbs soy sauce

1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

Prepare all ingredients before you start. Beat soy sauce into eggs.

Heat a wok or large high sided fry pan on medium high heat. Add a little oil, enough to just lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Once hot add the eggs, spread around to create a very thin omelette, once just set fold over and remove from the pan. Slice into thin ribbons and then roughly chop into 2-3cm length pieces.

Add oil to the pan/wok again. Once hot add the ginger, spring onion and coriander roots. Stir fry until fragrant, less than a minute. Add the rice, increase heat and stir fry, moving around the pan to ensure each grain of rice gets a little oil and flavour. Stir fry for a minute and then add cabbage, chicken and carrot along with salt and 1 tsp of white pepper. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. You can leave for 30 seconds at a time and allow things to get a little crisp and some golden colour to develop.

Once chicken is heated through and cabbage and rice have just a touch of colour, stir through the butter if using and then you’re ready to serve!

Serve with all the ‘to serve’ additional toppings piled on top or on the side for whoever you’re feeding to add to their tastes.

HH. x

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