Burmese Fried Rice Recipe
Okay… maybe this isn’t “traditionally” Burmese. But, I learned how to make it from Naing Naing (who is Burmese), so therefore… it’s Burmese.
Also, I’m aware it isn’t THE MOST healthy thing on this site. I generally try to avoid frying of any kind, including sauté frying, but I’m trying to end my Deprivation Diet and appeal to Naing Naing’s tastes a bit, so this is what we’re doing.
I never was all that much of a Rice Eater. I like rice, but it never was top priority. When I first started eating an alkaline, steamed food diet to get rid of candida, I relied on rice as something extra to stave off hunger and to add an extra element of enjoyment to my meals. But slowly, I ditched the rice in favor of a heaping pile of steamed vegetables. In addition to that, I only ate brown rice during that period of time (I’ve never been a huge fan of brown rice). Needless to say, my rice-eating days were apparently over when I started that diet.
But here I am eating rice again. I’ve decided that white rice is acceptable again, so long as it isn’t some refined, fake Instant Rice thing that’s been refined beyond recognition. Maybe white rice doesn’t have as many nutrients as brown rice, but I don’t think that it’s any less healthy overall. Of course I could discover something to the contrary later, but this is my current perspective based off of the information I have right now.
Here in Ecuador right now, I make this fried rice recipe almost every day for lunch. Try it yourself!
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Cooked White Rice, chilled
- 2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil OR Peanut Oil, unrefined
- 2-3 TBSP Water
- 2 Tsp Sea Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Cumin
- 1 Tsp Ginger, fresh chopped
- 1 1/2 Tsp Curry Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1/2 Tsp Sassafras
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 Onion, finely chopped
- 3-5 Fresh Chillies (green is best, but any kind is fine), finely chopped
- 1/4 Cup Peas
- 1/4 Cup Carrots, minced
- Optional Additions:
- Corn
- Mushrooms, sliced
- Bell Peppers, finely chopped
- Spinach
Instructions
- Chop the vegetables. Put the ginger, garlic, onion, and chili peppers in one pile and the carrots and peas in another pile.
- Heat the oil on the stove at a medium-low heat. When the oil is heated, add the spice powders and the ginger, garlic, onion, and chili peppers. Stir gently then allow to cook.
- When the onions are translucent, add the other vegetables (carrots and peas, specifically, but feel free to experiment with other vegetables too). Stir gently and again allow the veggies to cook.
- When the veggies are cooked, remove the rice from the fridge and add it to the pan. Fold the rice and vegetables together, making sure that every spot of rice is well coated with the spiced oil (the rice will be orange/yellow).
- Add the water slowly if needed to add moisture. Mix well, allow the rice to fry for approximately 1 minute before mixing. Repeat approximately 4-5 times.
- Serve warm by itself or with a fried egg! This fried rice is also excellent with curries.