10.13.15 Taste

Green Fried Rice

Breakfast Fried Rice with Greens

I have a thing for rice with breakfast.

Growing up, I never cared for the typical breakfast dishes – cereal, eggs, pastries. My mother could get me to eat toast as long as it was topped by minced chiles and melted cheese, but somehow not with butter and jam.

Rice was a different story. I was always happy to eat the previous night’s leftover rice, mixed with lentils or or other leftover vegetables. There were times I’d feign a stomachache just to eat white rice lovingly mixed with ghee, oregano seeds, and salt in bite-sized balls. That particualry dish was good for the stomach, even better for the soul.

Nutritious, not so much.

These days, I’m not at all picky about breakfast. But while I’m ambivalent about my morning Cheerios or a fried egg over toast, I’m downright jubilant at the prospect of a nutrient-packed rice.

I made this particular version for a late breakfast the first time a week ago, but have prepared and eaten it several times for every meal imaginable. This is an ideal recipe for a fridge-clean-out-meal – whatever veggies, protein, cooked carbohydrates you may have can go straight in here. This dish meets all the requirements of extremely busy people like yourself: it’s fast, easy, nutritious. It works for just about any meal.

Most importantly, it’s delicious.

Healthy Fried Rice

Green Fried Rice
serves 1-2 people

Ingredients
GREEN SAUCE

  • 2 packed cups of baby spinach
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons of walnut oil
  • 1/4 cup of water

FRIED RICE

  • 1 packed cup of baby spinach
  • 1 cup of cooked brown rice
  • 1 tablespoon of walnut oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon of turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (2 teaspoons if you prefer it spicy)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Hot sauce of your choice (I prefer Chalula’s green sauce for this dish)

Directions

  1. Blend all of the green sauce ingredients in a blender on high until all the spinach has been blended and the sauce is smooth, with the consistency of heavy cream.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook until wilted
  3. Add the rice and half the sauce to the pan, mixing well. Once they are combined, press the rice to the bottom of the pan until tightly packed. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until a nice crust has formed at the bottom of the rice.
  4. Reduce the heat to low. Push all the rice to one side of the pan, leaving the other side clear. Crack eggs into the empty section and continue to stir until they have cooked.
  5. Mix the rice and eggs together. Season the dish with turmeric, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Add the remaining sauce and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
  6. Plate the rice and enjoy!
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