Fried rice is a delicious, and makes for a pretty good meal. Sometimes you don't want to go out for Chinese food, or you are looking for a cheaper alternative. The good news is that you can make some at home pretty easily!
Ingredients:
1 cup Rice (White)
2 cups water
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot
1 stick celery
1 Green Pepper, diced
3 handfuls frozen peas
1-2 eggs, scrambled
Soy Sauce
Garlic
Oil (for frying)
Equipment:
Stir Fry Pan/Wok
Chef Knife
Cutting Board
Spatula
Directions:
1. Cook the cup of rice with the two cups of water, and chill in the fridge.
2. Heat the oil up in the pan. Once hot, add onion, carrot, celery, green pepper, and peas. Keep the vegetables moving.
3. Once the veggies are mostly cooked and the onions are translucent, add the rice.
4. When the rice has started frying, push it to one side of the pan. In the free space, scramble the egg.
5. Once the egg is scrambled, mix it into the rice.
6. When the rice is almost mostly fried, add soy sauce.
Should serve 3~4 plates as a main dish, and 6 plates as a side dish.
Possible alterations:
There are lots of things you can add to fried rice to make it really tasty. Of course, you can add meat, such as chicken or shrimp. Baby corn would also probably be a good addition, and I've heard rumours that adding some fish sauce is a definite must.
If you were unaware, fish sauce is a flavour enhancer, like soy sauce, that is made from fermented fish juice. It may smell terrible, but when mixed with other flavours, apparently makes for a savoury delicious taste that is hard to replicate. As always, comments are always appreciated!
Good Eats and Happy Gaming!
Showing posts with label side dish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label side dish. Show all posts
Friday, August 26, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Whatever's in the Kitchen Pasta Salad
I've been moving these past few weeks, and I've been shorter on time than usual. Couple this with entertaining people, and you've got a need to make some food that's quick and stores nicely. I whipped this up from scratch the other day, and it turned out pretty well.
Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (penne and rotini are both good choices. Tortellini would also work.)
1 15 oz can of Garbanzo Beans
1 15 oz can corn
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 cup onion (Note that, as my mom says, you can't have too much onion)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
dressing:
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup Vinegar (Balsamic is tasty)
2 T Mayo (add more if it tastes too vinegary)
Salt
Pepper
Equipment:
Bowls x2
Chef Knife
Cutting Board
Fork
Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions
2. Once done, strain and dry the pasta
3. Mix pasta, bell pepper, celery, beans, corn, onion, and peanuts together.
4. Mix ingredients for dressing together. The dressing should be very well mixed before coating the salad.
5. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, stirring to coat the salad.
The pasta salad can be served immediately, and should serve a party of six.
Possible alterations:
There are many different variations on pasta salad. This article on All Recipes was very valuable to making this salad as good as it was. While this recipe could use some more work, it did turn out very well for being a spur of the moment thing. Any improvements, as always, are welcomed in the comments section.
Happy Gaming!
Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (penne and rotini are both good choices. Tortellini would also work.)
1 15 oz can of Garbanzo Beans
1 15 oz can corn
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 cup onion (Note that, as my mom says, you can't have too much onion)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
dressing:
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup Vinegar (Balsamic is tasty)
2 T Mayo (add more if it tastes too vinegary)
Salt
Pepper
Equipment:
Bowls x2
Chef Knife
Cutting Board
Fork
Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions
2. Once done, strain and dry the pasta
3. Mix pasta, bell pepper, celery, beans, corn, onion, and peanuts together.
4. Mix ingredients for dressing together. The dressing should be very well mixed before coating the salad.
5. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, stirring to coat the salad.
The pasta salad can be served immediately, and should serve a party of six.
Possible alterations:
There are many different variations on pasta salad. This article on All Recipes was very valuable to making this salad as good as it was. While this recipe could use some more work, it did turn out very well for being a spur of the moment thing. Any improvements, as always, are welcomed in the comments section.
Happy Gaming!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Melon Salads
July is upon us, which means for myself and my American readership that the month of the out-door picnic and fireworks. To kick off this month of awesome food and good times, I'm going to introduce two recipes. They're both very similar, but they have some key differences that definitely have an effect on the flavour.
First is a favourite of my family, and it makes an appearance at many cookouts throughout the summer. It's referred to as Cucumber Melon salad, and while one can use just about any kind of melon, I like it with Watermelon best.
Cucumber Melon Salad
Equipment:
1x large bowl
1x small bowl
A Chef's Knife
A cutting board
A spatula or spoon
Measuring implements
Melon baller (optional)
Ingredients:
Salad:
3 cucumbers, quartered and sliced
8 cups watermelon balls (or cubed watermelon works fine)
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
1T chopped kalamata olives
Dressing:
2 tsp olive oil (extra virgin is nice)
2T lemon juice
2T white wine vinegar
1T onion
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients for the salad in a large bowl
2. In a separate bowl, place the dressing ingredients and stir.
3. Pour the dressing into the salad bowl, and mix together.
It can be served immediately, but if dried mint is used the salad should set for a while for all the flavours to come out.
Now a lot of these ingredients can be a bit of an investment, especially if you don't have a place like Trader Joe's nearby to pick up pine nuts and olives at a good price. There is, however, a much simpler watermelon salad out there.
Jeff Potter, author of "Cooking for Geeks", mentions this salad in the previously mentioned book when discussing tastes. It does show how dissimilar flavours can come together to make some seriously tasty food. His recipe is also much simpler than the Cucumber Melon salad, so it may be better for those of us looking to save time and money (which is probably most of us)
Watermelon Feta Salad
Equipment:
1 Large bowl
1 spatula/spoon
Measuring implements
Ingredients:
2 cups watermelon, cubed or scooped
1/2 cup feta cheese, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup red onion, sliced, soaked and drained
1 T olive oil (extra virgin is preferred)
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Directions:
1. Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to coat.
Bring it to parties, serve it around the table, just enjoy it. It should be noted that this does not make nearly as much as the Cucumber melon salad, but the recipe should scale well.
Possible Alterations:
The Cucumber Melon salad can, of course, be done with lots of different varieties of melon, or even mixtures of melons such as watermelon and honeydew. Jeff recommends adding black olives, mint leaves, or red pepper flakes to his Watermelon Feta salad. It's probably best to not add them all at the same time, although you should notice that the cucumber melon salad has both olives and mint, so it's probably worth experimenting with.
Jeff also mentions that anytime onions are going to be served raw, they should be soaked in water. There are some very scientific reason behind it, but the TL;DR version is this: chemicals that are released when an onion is cut will stabilize as a gas. It reacts with water to create sulfuric acid. By soaking the onion, the chemicals that would end up reacting with the water in our eyes becomes dissolved into the water. Drain off the water, and all the nasty stuff goes with it. Problem solved!
Cooking for Geeks is a great book. If it seems like something that interests you, definitely pick up a copy. I'd recommend a hard copy. E-readers are cool, but I don't think they're up to the rigors of the kitchen.
Happy gaming!
First is a favourite of my family, and it makes an appearance at many cookouts throughout the summer. It's referred to as Cucumber Melon salad, and while one can use just about any kind of melon, I like it with Watermelon best.
Cucumber Melon Salad
Equipment:
1x large bowl
1x small bowl
A Chef's Knife
A cutting board
A spatula or spoon
Measuring implements
Melon baller (optional)
Ingredients:
Salad:
3 cucumbers, quartered and sliced
8 cups watermelon balls (or cubed watermelon works fine)
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
1T chopped kalamata olives
Dressing:
2 tsp olive oil (extra virgin is nice)
2T lemon juice
2T white wine vinegar
1T onion
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients for the salad in a large bowl
2. In a separate bowl, place the dressing ingredients and stir.
3. Pour the dressing into the salad bowl, and mix together.
It can be served immediately, but if dried mint is used the salad should set for a while for all the flavours to come out.
Now a lot of these ingredients can be a bit of an investment, especially if you don't have a place like Trader Joe's nearby to pick up pine nuts and olives at a good price. There is, however, a much simpler watermelon salad out there.
Jeff Potter, author of "Cooking for Geeks", mentions this salad in the previously mentioned book when discussing tastes. It does show how dissimilar flavours can come together to make some seriously tasty food. His recipe is also much simpler than the Cucumber Melon salad, so it may be better for those of us looking to save time and money (which is probably most of us)
Watermelon Feta Salad
Equipment:
1 Large bowl
1 spatula/spoon
Measuring implements
Ingredients:
2 cups watermelon, cubed or scooped
1/2 cup feta cheese, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup red onion, sliced, soaked and drained
1 T olive oil (extra virgin is preferred)
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Directions:
1. Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to coat.
Bring it to parties, serve it around the table, just enjoy it. It should be noted that this does not make nearly as much as the Cucumber melon salad, but the recipe should scale well.
Possible Alterations:
The Cucumber Melon salad can, of course, be done with lots of different varieties of melon, or even mixtures of melons such as watermelon and honeydew. Jeff recommends adding black olives, mint leaves, or red pepper flakes to his Watermelon Feta salad. It's probably best to not add them all at the same time, although you should notice that the cucumber melon salad has both olives and mint, so it's probably worth experimenting with.
Jeff also mentions that anytime onions are going to be served raw, they should be soaked in water. There are some very scientific reason behind it, but the TL;DR version is this: chemicals that are released when an onion is cut will stabilize as a gas. It reacts with water to create sulfuric acid. By soaking the onion, the chemicals that would end up reacting with the water in our eyes becomes dissolved into the water. Drain off the water, and all the nasty stuff goes with it. Problem solved!
Cooking for Geeks is a great book. If it seems like something that interests you, definitely pick up a copy. I'd recommend a hard copy. E-readers are cool, but I don't think they're up to the rigors of the kitchen.
Happy gaming!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Sweet Potato Fries
Last week we covered how to make Salmon patties. They're very tasty, but on their own they don't make a really filling meal. So, you serve them with some Sweet Potato fries! They're pretty easy to make, but can take a while, so prepare them in advance.
Ingredients:
Water
Kosher Salt (or Sea Salt)
1~2 Sweet Potato(es)
Olive Oil
Equipment:
1 plastic container/bowl large enough to fit the sweet potatoes
1~2 cookie sheets
spatula
Directions:
1. Peel (optional) and slice the sweet potato(es) into fry-shapes. (If unpeeled, make sure to wash them!)
2. Place them into the bowl and cover with water.
3. Add kosher salt to the water, and mix until dissolved.
4. Cover and allow sweet potato(es) to sit in the salt water for at 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Preheat oven to ~450 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Place the sweet potato pieces onto the cookie sheets.
7. Sprinkle olive oil onto the sweet potato pieces.
8. Place in oven until cooked all the way through.
One large sweet potato should make plenty for a party of 5~6.
Possible alterations:
This recipe could easily be adapted to using regular potatoes. One can also add spices on the fries after they come out of the oven, or possibly bake them in after the olive oil is applied. I've seen recommendations of using taco seasoning, but I haven't tried it. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
Happy Gaming!
Ingredients:
Water
Kosher Salt (or Sea Salt)
1~2 Sweet Potato(es)
Olive Oil
Equipment:
1 plastic container/bowl large enough to fit the sweet potatoes
1~2 cookie sheets
spatula
Directions:
1. Peel (optional) and slice the sweet potato(es) into fry-shapes. (If unpeeled, make sure to wash them!)
2. Place them into the bowl and cover with water.
3. Add kosher salt to the water, and mix until dissolved.
4. Cover and allow sweet potato(es) to sit in the salt water for at 30 minutes to an hour.
5. Preheat oven to ~450 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Place the sweet potato pieces onto the cookie sheets.
7. Sprinkle olive oil onto the sweet potato pieces.
8. Place in oven until cooked all the way through.
One large sweet potato should make plenty for a party of 5~6.
Possible alterations:
This recipe could easily be adapted to using regular potatoes. One can also add spices on the fries after they come out of the oven, or possibly bake them in after the olive oil is applied. I've seen recommendations of using taco seasoning, but I haven't tried it. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
Happy Gaming!
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