Peas & Rice

Meals

Jan 22

Written By Ben McElroy

Why Make It?

Increasing the amount of peas turns a classic fried rice into a more complete meal.
The ginger, peas and mint make a perfect pairing. The soy sauce and peas add a surprising amount of umami.

Keys to Success

With recipes this simple, salt plays an important role. Ensure the rice and peas are salted during cooking. The soy sauce will not provide enough salt.
This dish is easier to get right with day-old rice. The key is to strike a balance between warm soft rice and crispy fried pieces. If using rice cooked on the same day, give it more time in the pan before tossing to allow for evaporation and browning.

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Author Thoughts

This recipe is simple. The purpose was to find a way to make frozen peas delicious. Rice and peas are a great pairing. The mint and ginger make this vegetable fried rice variation worth making over and over again. The biggest variable with this recipe is the rice. If you salt your rice, you will need to add less here.

Getting Crispy & Crunchy

I like my fried rice nice and crunchy. To get this result you have to fry the rice in the pan before adding anything else and only move the pan/rice when there is color development on the rice. This is not the typical way people make fried rice. Stirring and tossing the rice less creates more crispy and crunchy contrast—the choice is all yours. If you want some extra crispy crunch, use a little more oil.

How long will it take to fry the rice? Well, it depends on the rice. Rice that has been sitting in the fridge will take much less time to fry than fresh rice. If you want to make rice and fry it right away, I would simply recommend using a little less water than usual.

Equipment

medium pan [non-stick or carbon steel]

Peas & Rice

Makes: 1 Servings | Prep Time: 2 min | Cook Time: 8 min | Total Time: 10 min

Ingredients

1 cup cooked rice
1 cup frozen peas
½ inch [5 g] ginger
¼ tsp soy sauce
½ tsp neutral oil
5 mint leaves
salt [to taste]

Instructions

Prep: Grate the ginger. Roughly tear or thinly slice the mint leaves.
Fry: Turn a burner to medium-high heat with a medium non-stick pan or wok. Add the oil followed by the cooked rice. Toss when there is some browning on the rice, every couple of minutes. After 2-4 minutes. Move the rice to one side of the pan and add the peas and ginger. Salt the rice and peas. Toss every minute and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add the soy sauce. Remove from the heat and toss a final time.
Serve: Add the peas and rice to a bowl or plate. Top with mint.

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Comments

Substitutions

Egg: This dish is calling for a fried or scrambled egg. Add it if you are in the mood.

Aromatics: The mint, ginger and peas are core to the recipe. You can substitute ginger for garlic, mint for other herbs like scallion, parsley, and peas for any other vegetables. It will just be a different dish.