Pork fried rice with veggies

Pork fried rice with veggies (photo - Dan Jones)I thought I was going to make chicken fried rice, but I guess that bag in the fridge that my girlfriend took out of the freezer was actually pork.

I wouldn’t really call this a recipe because one could put anything they want in this dish and really, the only thing required is to cook the rice early and then cool it in the fridge. All Chinese restaurants use this technique for fried rice, or at least they should. Using freshly cooked rice will result in a huge lump of goo.

Mixing the other ingredients with the rice in a bowl and then serving isn’t fried rice, although it may also be tasty.

To start off, I seasoned some vegetable oil by combining it in a small pot with fresh ginger, garlic, lemongrass, a chili pepper, star anise, and white peppercorns. I let this simmer for about an hour, before straining and setting it aside until it was time to start cooking.

I used a couple hundred grams of pork, an egg, half a yellow bell pepper, a small handful of green beans, five small mushrooms, one stalk of celery, a small carrot, and 1/3 cup of frozen peas and corn (thawed in microwave, water drained).

I stir-fried the meat, veggies, and egg on medium high heat, and then added the cooled rice, along with several shakes of soy sauce, a few drops of fish sauce and sesame oil, and a small splash of rice wine vinegar.

I also toasted some sesame seeds and sliced a couple of green onions for garnishing the dish when serving.

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Bio: Dan Jones is a food, drink, and travel writer from Saint John. Follow him on Twitter: @danjjj

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A lighter dish for BBQ

BBQ season is definitely in full effect, at least at my place.

BBQ doesn’t have to be all pulled pork and ribs though, so on a nice March evening I put together a lighter dish. Jasmine rice, grilled baby bok choy, and marinated chicken skewers.

The chicken was marinated in coconut milk, rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, lemongrass, hot chili pepper, and galangal. Everything was very tasty, take a peek.

Chicken skewers (photo - Dan Jones)

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Bio: Dan Jones is a food, drink, and travel writer from Saint John. Follow him on Twitter: @danjjj

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