Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Easy fried rice with ham

Another cheat's dinner!


How easy can dinners get.. with fried rice? A bit more work than instant noodles because you'll have to have rice cooked first.. that's why you should always cook more rice than needed and save the leftovers in the fridge!

I ALWAYS cook extra rice. So I don't have to cook again the next day, or the next.. or the next (^^) lazy is as lazy does! More so, so that I can cheat a dinner cook out by making fried rice!


What's so easy about fried rice? It's basically adding whatever you want, but more importantly, whatever you have, to make a meal. No planning required! You can be as creative as you want. Add whatever seasoning or ingredients you fancy.. there's no right or wrong.

A fried rice is a fried rice even if you only add garlic or an egg (^^), and some seasoning.. Well, this is not the most balanced of meals, but it'll fill you up nicely. Here's what I found in the fridge for our dinner tonight.

Fried rice with lots of veggies and ham

2 bowls of cooked rice
1 bowl of frozen mixed veggies
1 slice of ham, sliced to small pieces
2 eggs
1 pip garlic, minced
3 shallots, sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
Some chilli powder, optional
Pepper and salt, to taste
Some lettuce, finely sliced (optional)
Very little oil

* actually, everything is optional except rice and garlic or shallots, or eggs, and seasoning to make fried rice.

1. Saute garlic and shallots in a bit of oil till brown and fragrant. Push aside in the pan/wok, and fry eggs. Scramble when almost cooked.

2. Add frozen veggies and ham, and stir fry. Add rice and cook together. Mix in some lettuce if you like.

3. Season with soy sauce, chilli powder, salt and pepper.

4. Garnish with finely sliced lettuce for extra crunch.


I normally use non-stick pans for cooking, to avoid using too much oil. Feel free to saute garlic and shallots in more oil if you like. Professional cooks use quite a bit of oil to cook fried rice, so that each rice grain gets nicely coated and doesn't stick together. Since I'm not, and am only cooking to please myself, I shall cook it my way, with very little oil and definitely NO MSG! (^^)


I just realized I could have made a simpler dinner using the same ingredients! Better still a no-cook meal! Using staples like cooked rice, sliced/diced ham and finely sliced lettuce, and adding gochujang and sesame oil, I would have a cheat's BIBIMBAP! And top it with a sunnyside-up egg.. heavenly (^^)! Why didn't I think of it just now???


Not as tasty as the MSG-laden fried rice you get outside. Still it's simple, homey and nice, my fatty says so (^^)

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