SPICY FRIED RICE WITH BEAN SPROUTS, CHICKEN, AND PEANUTS

This was a tasty and healthy fried rice recipe. It uses pad Thai ingredients (bean sprouts, fish sauce, and peanuts). This recipe was part of our Food Matters Project and  was chosen by Keely of Keely Marie.  I used chicken in mine, Mark Bittman suggests trying it with shrimp or tofu. Keely added pineapple to hers and she used purple rice! You can find her recipe here.

We had just pruned our Kaffir Lime tree so I added some leaves to the stir-fry and served it over a bed of leaves. It gave it a great lime flavor.

SPICY FRIED RICE WITH BEAN SPROUTS, CHICKEN, AND PEANUTS

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup sliced scallions

1 carrot, chopped

3 cups bean sprouts

8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into pieces of the same size

1 tablespoon minced garlic, or to taste

2 cups cooked long-grain brown rice, preferably chilled

1 egg

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)

Salt and black pepper

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, preferably Thai

1 or more small fresh hot green chiles (preferably Thai), seeded and sliced

Lime wedges

Put 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When it’s hot, add the scallions, carrot, and bean sprouts and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat if the mixture threatens to scorch. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add another tablespoon of the oil to the pan, followed by the chicken pieces; cook, stirring occasionally, over high heat until the chicken is no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Add to the bowl with the vegetables, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

Put the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet, followed by the garlic. About 15 seconds later, begin to add the rice, a bit at a time, breaking up any clumps with your fingers and stirring it into the oil. When all the rice is added, make a well in its center and break the egg into it; scramble it a bit, then incorporate it into the rice.

Return the chicken and vegetables to the pan and stir to integrate. Add the coconut milk and cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has boiled off, just a minute or so. Add the fish sauce, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and stir in the peanuts, basil, and chiles. Serve with the lime wedges.

Recipe by Mark Bittman