Fried Rice Again!

Good afternoon everyone...

I am very happy because I did something...

FRIED RICE!

Ha, probably you guys will be thinking: "Duh, it is just fried rice! Nothing special!"

Well, now you know this blogger here. I tend to get really happy over things that I do totally by myself, even if they are simple things like making a salad and frying rice. Being able to do things by myself means that I am a step closer towards independence.

Best of all, this time, I get to fry rice without egg a.k.a. chicken period!

I like to load up my food with vegetables. Here, I use cabbage, French beans, monkey head mushroom, tomato and one sort of green which I do not know how to call it (In Hokkien, I call it "kiu mo cai"), with some garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil as seasoning.

I think I need not go into the details of frying rice, no?

Here is my fried rice! The portion was just nice for me, but I found it a little bland. In fact, I reduced the amount of soy sauce used to cut down on sodium intake, so I think I need some time to adapt to the taste of low-sodium food. The rice is not too dry and I can feel the crunch in every mouthful, thanks to the cabbage. Who says only deep-fried food can be crunchy?

One thing I love about home-cooked fried rice is that I can always choose my own ingredients and control the nutritional value. I find the commercial fried rice to be so oily that I can squeeze out the oil using two spoons. Besides, the amount of veggies in the rice is pathetic. I should consider myself lucky if I can find three decent-sized veggie leaves in my plate. The portion size is also huge, which means that I end up with loads of oil and refined white rice. Refined carbohydrates and fats are certainly a recipe for catastrophic health!

Frying rice is a good way to use up leftover rice and learn cooking because it is really easy. One can get really creative with fried rice, otherwise there will not be food like "Nasi Goreng USA", "Nasi Goreng Kampung", Apple fried rice, pineapple fried rice, etc. Fry it to your heart's content, but enjoy this food in moderation.

P/S: Other ideas to use up leftovers and incorporate vegetables into your diet (for those who are too busy for a decadent meal or those who are novices in cooking, like me)

• Fried noodles
• Soup noodles-this is healthy because it has less fat and sodium
• Oat porridge. Oats does not have to be always sweet.
• The lazy pasta-just cook pasta and stir-fry or roast the veggies separately. Toss into the pasta and drizzle it with some olive oil, or sesame oil for an Oriental kick.

Of course, the ways of using up leftovers and consuming more veggies are endless. The sky is the limit.