South East Asian-ish Fried Rice.
A medley of Sri Lankan, Indian, and Pakistani flavours.
My ultimate comfort food, if anyone asks, is a big bowl of Kimchee Fried Rice, either plain or with Kewpie mayonnaise and sriracha drizzled over the top. But, sometimes I either don’t have any kimchee in the fridge, or I’m in the mood for something different.
Fried rice in our house is sometimes just a Chinese-flavoured lunchtime fridge-clearer with leftover roast meats from our Sunday joint (usually when we’ve over-ordered steamed rice from the Thai or Chinese over the weekend), but sometimes it’s my vehicle for a solo supper of the flavours I’m craving. This is one of those fried rice recipes and something that I think is perfect for this time of year when you’ve had enough of festive food for a moment and just want dinner.
In my head I wanted to make an ‘Indian Fried Rice’, redolent with spices, perhaps with some lamb or chicken in there, and regular egg pieces like egg fried rice when you order in. I had chicken in the fridge, but the first time I made this I wanted something vegetarian, topped with a fried egg, and I was craving the crunchy, aromatic topping of fried cashews and curry leaves that usually makes up part of the adornment for my Sri Lankan Yellow Rice to counterbalance the fiery Thai birds eye chillies I had in the fridge.
So, I started frying up some shallots until they were golden and soft in the style of my best friend Sherin’s mum’s British Pakastani celebration rice. Then, in with the chillies and ginger, then plenty of Indian and Sri Lankan-style spices (always including some earthy, vibrant turmeric) to toast and bloom before adding the rice to get nice and coated in fragrance. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, once the curry leaves and cashews are toasted in coconut oil, the egg is fried up in the infused flavours until crisp around the edges, basted in that perfumed oil. Some fresh coriander added at the end for freshness, and you’ve got a very happy plateful.
South East Asian-ish Fried Rice with Fried Cashews & Curry Leaves
Serves: 1 (easily scaled up in a bigger, wok-style pan), Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 15 minutes
I think it is obvious from how I created this plateful in the first place, it is open to your own twists and interpretations. Regular, milder chillies instead of the heat of the birds eye, golden onions instead of shallots, egg within the rice rather than on top of it - or omitted entirely to suit a vegan diet or plant-based mood. If it belongs in any of the cuisines I’ve mentioned, you have it to hand and you like to eat it, it probably belongs in this rice dish.
1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, divided