Fried rice

I've gotten a lot of opportunity to put more effort into my lunch now that I'm working from home. Instead of hastily slapped together vegemite sandwiches, I get to dedicate a solid hour to preparing a meal. 

Food is a big part of life, and I am totally sold on having a few recipes that I am able to cook really well. That being said, I am not an expert in food, so this should be a really easy meal. Fried rice has just been my current project to figure out based on a collection of different recipes and tips. I've found that it's actually really easy to throw something together.

The 5 minute option

Fried rice really doesn't have to take very long at all, especially because it just uses things that are commonly in my fridge anyway. It's been a go to for speedy at home lunches.

Basic Ingredients (1 serve):

- 1.5 cups of leftover rice (Based on my research, the consensus says that cooked rice from the fridge is actually better)

- Clove of garlic, finely chopped

- Just any available vegetables to chop that would probably work in fried rice (e.g. spring onion, onion, carrot, capsicum, peas, boy choy, corn etc.)

- 1 Egg

- Drizzle of olive oil

The Sauce

The sauce is the thing that's crucial to measure right, and there's a couple of different ways of doing it. I experimented with just chucking a bunch of soy sauce in, this did not work. 

If you just add around a tablespoon of soy sauce, you can make that work. I've found other sauces are my preference. I never thought about what differentiated THAI fried rice from any other fried rice but have learnt that it comes down to the sauce. 

My preferred option is around 1/2 a tablespoon of oyster sauce (or fish sauce) + around 1/2 a tablespoon of soy sauce.

Method

Maybe there's some preferable order, but essentially, you just chuck all the basic ingredients and the sauce in a wok or frying pan. Stir it until the egg is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

Serving

Another important point. To serve, it's best to have:

- Salt and pepper

- Lime or lemon

- Chillies

Over 5 minutes

In the interests of time (and what I can get away with pilfering from my shared fridge) my 5 minute lunch meal is missing any major meat. To add this, just cook the meat first (with a drizzle of olive oil, and some garlic) THEN chuck in the sauce and basic ingredients. Prawns work really well.

There's a Thai sauce called "prik nam pla" which is a mix of lime, fish sauce, and chillies and goes really well with the meal.