Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Jalapeno Fried Rice




My family has decided if I put jalapeno in any dish I make, it instantly becomes a hit.  This rice dish did not disappoint the family on a day when it was cold, rainy and gray.   

Very, very gray is how I would describe this time of year at the beach.  We get very few brights sunny days and having a bit of color in our food and on our walls helps with the blues.  When we were looking at homes the one thing that seemed to be common in each of the homes we liked were the painted walls.  Not white, cream or beige but bright orange, vibrant blue, canary yellow, and cherry red.  Bright and cheery and a bit of an eye sore when you see these rooms in person.  

I get it now though.  I see why the homes here have a lot of personality on the inside.  Those of us that live on the Oregon Coast spend a great deal of time inside the walls of our brick and mortar dwellings.  What has saved us from being down on these extended gray days are the windows in our own home.  Our living room has 10 huge windows and each and every day we get to watch the gray roll in and the gray roll out.  There is beauty in a monochromatic scene that I did not appreciate until we found ourselves immersed deep inside the gray-dom of living along a stretch of the West Coast that is simply breathtaking.  


I have never lived in a place that is constantly changing.  One day the beach has sand dunes and the next day it is flat.  The logs the size of telephone poles come to the shore with such ease that you forget that they are 25 feet tall.  They stack themselves like toothpicks near the sand dunes and in any nook they can find. Walking on the same beach you will have sun and then rain and probably more sun.

The weather is always changing and the weather is always changing the landscape.    Change, in my opinion, is good.

I guess this why I need to change up our fried rice a bit.  I won't lie and say I don't miss the bacon, egg and fried onion of my old fried rice recipe.  Bacon just adds a level of saltiness and smokiness that is hard to find in other products.  I don't like the Vegan Bacon and so I am learning to live without bacon.  My mind misses it but my body does not.  This body of mine does not process meat very well and we have been eating a plant based diet for some time.  

For this recipe I went with the spicy route.  We love all things hot.  Jalapeno's are a great way to infuse flavor and color into any rice dish.  This dish is flavored with a combination of Tamari (wheat free soy sauce) and Braggs Amino Acids.  I kept the veggies simple: garlic, onion and bell pepper with jalapeños and green onions thrown in at the very end.  

The ingredients on the list are the basics--designed for individuals who don't want raging hot fried rice, BUT, if your dinner crowd likes it extra HOT HOT HOT, well then, you might want to up the Sriracha Sauce and the jalapeños. Just go for it!


Jalapeno Fried Rice 

2-3 cups of day old prepared rice
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1/4 cup red onion, sliced
1/4 cup bell pepper, sliced
1 teaspoon garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce or Tamari sauce
2 tablespoons Braggs Amino Acids
1/2-1 whole fresh jalapeno pepper, I remove the seeds
salt to taste
chopped sliced green onions for garnish
Sriracha Mayonnaise 

1.  Heat oil in large saute pan.  Add onion and bell pepper.  Let cook until tender.  Add garlic.  Cook for 1 minute.

2.  Sprinkle day old rice over cooked vegetables.  Add the soy sauce/tamari/ Braggs and stir.  At this point--add more of these liquids--as needed.  If it looks dry, then add more.  Stir to combine.

3.  Slice jalapeno's thinly and add to cooked rice and vegetables.  Remove from heat and let jalapeños warm and wilt a bit.  

4.  Prepare Sriracha Mayonnaise by combining equal parts--if your brave--and mixing well. OR add more mayonnaise and a dab of the red stuff.   Dish up rice, criss cross the sauce across the top with a piping bag or a spoon and sprinkle with green onions.

OH, and be prepared to share the recipe--people want this one!


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