Better than Takeout: Homemade Fried Rice

This past weekend was full of delicious food. From lobster rolls to burgers, guacamole and apple pie, it was a traditional Memorial Day feast. But one of the more unexpected dishes consumed in my gluttony this weekend was my friend's mom's fried rice. Many times I've heard about her rice; but never before had I tried...until now.

The fried rice was served as a side dish to a beautiful Chicken Marbella (recipe from the Silver Palate), but the rice easily caught my attention as the star. I literally could not wait to come back and make this on my own. I was too anxious to wait for her recipe that I went ahead and developed my own.

She explained the basic gist of it: sauté the veggies, add the cooked rice, drop in an egg, and voila! I cannot tell you how easy this recipe is, you just need to try it for yourself. The most time-consuming part is waiting for the rice to cook (but if you buy the pre-cooked rice from Trader Joes like I did, this will only take a minute in the microwave!) From start to finish this dish only took me 15 minutes to make--no doubt less time than it takes to order and wait for takeout delivery, not to mention a whole lot cheaper!

Knowing that I already had frozen corn and peas on hand, I decided to add some red pepper to the mix to keep with the bright colors, but you could use whatever vegetables desired--mushrooms, broccoli, shredded carrots. The egg gives that sticky texture to the rice that is so familiar in Chinese takeout, but without the extra grease and fat. This recipe makes about four servings, but I could not help myself from going back for seconds, it was that good. And just like takeout, this fried rice will taste even better as leftovers for lunch, dinner, even breakfast ;)

Fried Rice
Serving Suggestion: Serve with sautéed chicken, shrimp or tofu for a rounded meal

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked brown rice
2-3 tbs canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons soy sauce, or more to taste

1. Coat the bottom of a large pot with 1-2 tablespoons canola oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until fragrant and translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add red pepper, peas and corn (or other desired vegetables). Sauté until slightly softened, about 5-7 minutes. Remove veggies from pot and set aside.
3. Add another tablespoon of oil to the same pot. Add the cooked rice and stir to coat with the oil. Continue to stir the rice until it is glistening and starts to brown slightly, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the egg into the rice and stir immediately to distribute evenly throughout the rice.
5. Return the veggies to the pot and add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce. Stir to combine. Serve warm or cold.

One Dish Fish: Roasted Tilapia & Asparagus with Mustard-Chive Sauce

Cooking for one can be quite the challenge. Portioning out the right amount of ingredients; not wasting leftover produce. One of my least favorite things about cooking solo is the clean up—with no one to help, sometimes it feels silly to prepare such an involved meal when there’s no one to entertain. That’s why I’ve become a big fan of one pot dinners—meals where everything can be prepared in one dish. No multitasking involved and minimal clean up.

Usually when I think of one dish dinners I think of soups, stews or casseroles—always tasty, but not always realistic, especially as the New York temperature begins to rise. Thankfully, I stumbled upon a tasty, versatile tilapia recipe from Giada a couple weeks ago that is now one of my go-to dinners. The preparation of the fish is super simple—just drizzle both sides with some olive oil, season with salt & pepper, pop it in a hot oven (450 degrees) for 10-15 minutes and you’re done.

Here’s where I get thrifty…using some leftover asparagus I had in the fridge, I drop them in the same baking dish with the tilapia. Knowing that the asparagus also take about 12-15 minutes to roast in the oven, I can prepare my fish and vegetables all at once.

What takes this meal up a notch is the mustard-chive sauce from Giada’s original recipe. Also very simple—just whisk together Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard, honey, lemon juice, and chopped chives—and you have yourself an elegant sauce that not only works for this meal, but could be used as a marinade for grilled chicken. With the asparagus, the sauce gives the luxurious look of asparagus with hollandaise sauce, but much simpler and much healthier.

Between prep, cooking, and clean up time, this meal only takes about 25 minutes, and I can assure you is much more delicious than that frozen Lean Cuisine you’re heating up for dinner… Experiment with whatever fish, meat, veggies, or starches you like (note: do some research to make sure whatever you’re cooking together has a similar cook time), and you too will be a convert to the one-pot wonder.

Roasted Tilapia & Asparagus with Mustard-Chive Sauce (for one)

Ingredients:
Tilipa filet
Bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed
Olive oil, for drizzling
Salt & pepper, to taste
3 tbs Greek yogurt
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tbs chopped chives

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Drizzle both sides of tilapia with olive oil, season both sides with salt & pepper. Place in a glass baking dish.
3. Add asparagas to baking dish, making sure not to overlap too much, or else everything will just steam instead of roast. Drizzle asparagus with a little olive oil, salt & pepper. Place baking dish in oven, and cook until asparagas is tender and tilapia is opaque in the center (about 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven).
4. Meanwhile, whisk together yogurt, mustard, honey, chives, and lemon juice in a small ball. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Once the asparagus and tilapia are cooked through, remove from the oven and allow to sit for a minute. Drizzle a generous amount of the sauce on top of the tilapia and asparagus. Serve immediately (trust me, you'll want to).

In one pan...

To one plate!

Going Green: Asparagus, Edamame & Artichoke Risotto

Since starting a full-time job in November, it's taken me a while to get into a "food routine"--knowing how much produce to buy without going to waste, planning meals ahead for busy nights. While there is still plenty-a-night when the last thing I feel like doing after work is sautéing or chopping, it's safe to say I've got a better handle on time management.

One of my favorite time-savers is making a week's worth of lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Not only does it free up a few minutes each night during the week, but it's always a nice distraction from my dread of work the next morning. Plus, since I have more time on a Sunday afternoon to cook than I would on a weeknight, I can get a little fancy with my creations.

This week's lunch is inspired by the veggie of the moment and one of my personal favorites: asparagus. When cooked properly, asparagus is perfectly tasty sans butter or salt. Obviously just asparagus isn't enough to satisfy my insatiable appetite, so I've incorporated it into a well-rounded risotto dish.

This is only the second time I've ever made risotto--the first was at last year's Christmas. I planned to make butternut squash risotto, but the squash was already spoiled by the time I went to use it. So I was forced to improvise using red wine and a mish-mash of herbs. The finished product was more of a grayish mush than risotto. Needless to say, the "risotto" ended up in the trash along with crazy Aunt Helen's presents (family, you know what I mean).

So I went into today's dish a little nervous that it would wind up like last Christmas' trash, but my nerves were soon calmed by the creamy sound as I stirred the risotto. My one piece of advice with risotto is to add the liquid in small batches very slowly. If you add too much liquid at once, it will just be absorbed before the rice is done cooking--no one likes a crunchy risotto.

In the end, the dish wound up better than I'd hoped, and now I have a delicious, gourmet lunch for the whole week! Now if only I could be as excited about work as I am about tomorrow's lunch...

Green Spring Risotto (recipe inspired by Eating Well magazine)
Serves 4-5, or a week's worth of lunches for one

Ingredients:
1 lb asparagus, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
1 cup frozen edamame
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs chopped fresh thyme
grated Parmesan, for garnish

1. Boil 4 cups water. Add asparagus and cook 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In another saucepan, bring 2 cups water and chicken broth to a simmer.
3. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, cook 4 minutes. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes.
4. Stir in rice, edamame, and salt. Cook 1 minute then 1/2 cup broth mixture. Stir until nearly absorbed. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring in between until liquid has been absorbed. This should take about 20-30 minutes.
5. Lower heat and add asparagus, cream cheese and pepper. Stir to combine.
6. Top with Parmesan and thyme.

Spring Awakening

Welcome to the new and improved The Daily Bite! Previously known as Food 4 Thought, this new blog will focus more closely on eating, dining, and cooking in New York City: where to find the best bagel (Murray's) or the best slice (Bleecker Street); the latest foodie events and trends; and of course, simple, tasty recipes for when your wallet just can't keep up with the New York Diet.

After recently feasting over Dean & Deluca pesto pasta salad and mac-n-cheese, I said to my friends, "Why can't I just be a professional eater?" We all laughed, but seriously, why not? I'm still working on the how-to-get-paid-to-eat part, but this blog is a start!

I hope you all enjoy my eating and epicurean adventures as I take a big bite (or several) out of the Big Apple! Welcome to The Daily Bite!