Spring is here and lighter recipes are the order of the day! Leah Itsines, food guru and co-founder of the Bare Guides, offers us a great selection of creative and healthy dishes in her latest cookbook Good Food Made Simple (Murdoch Books). This Curry Chicken Fried Rice will be a winner at the dinner table!
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) quick-cook long-grain rice (see Tip below)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
3 eggs
500 g (1 lb 2 oz) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced
1 bunch (about 150 g) broccolini, chopped
1 carrot, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
½ cup (65 g) frozen baby peas
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, crushed
150 g (5 ½ oz) snow peas (mange tout), halved
3 spring onions (scallions), chopped
1 handful coriander (cilantro) leaves
Method
I’ve given traditional fried rice a big boost of green veggies! Prawns or firm tofu would be wonderful substitutes for the chicken – cook them in the same way as the chicken, but remove them from the pan while you make the rest of the dish and add them with the egg at the end.
1 Combine the curry powder, tamari, fish sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. Set aside.
2 Gently massage the packets of rice to break up the rice inside.
3 Heat 1 teaspoon of the peanut oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Whisk the eggs with 1½ tablespoons water and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring to scramble, for 1–2 minutes. Spoon the egg into a bowl and set aside.
4 Add the remaining peanut oil to the pan. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add the broccolini, carrot, peas, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
5 Stir in the rice and cook for 2 minutes. Add the curry mixture, stir well and cook for a few more minutes. Stir in the snow peas, spring onion and egg and cook for 1 minute. Serve the rice topped with the coriander.
Tip: You could use 3½ cups (650 g) of cold leftover cooked rice instead of the quick-cook rice.
Images and text from Good Food Made Simple by Leah Itsines, photography by Ben Dearnley. Murdoch Books RRP $36.99
