Quick and Easy Thai Food Recipe: Thai Fried Rice

I am not Thai, but I do enjoy Thai food. Over the last few months, Thai food has become really popular because of its richness in seasonings and spices. I'd like to share with you one of my favorite quick and easy recipes: Thai Fried Rice. This hot and spicy dish is easy to prepare and makes a complete meal in itself. This recipe serves 4 people. It takes less than 15 minutes to have this ready on the dining table.

Ingredients

8 oz Thai fragrant rice

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 small red pepper, seeded and cubed into 2 cm cubes

12 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 cm cubes

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp mild curry paste

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp ground turmeric

2 tbsp Thai fish sauce

2 eggs, beaten

salt and ground black pepper

fried basil leaves, to garnish

Some of these ingredients may be new to you. I'm going to clarify what ingredients can be substituted and what some of these ingredients actually are. Thai fragrant rice is almost no different from your typical Jasmine rice. You can easily substitute Thai fragrant rice any other type of rice, however, a sticky textured rice will not work. You've probably seen curry powder, but how about curry paste? Curry paste is essentially the same thing as curry powder. Curry paste is just curry powder mixed in either water or coconut milk. I suggest sticking with the curry paste. Turmeric looks almost exactly like curry powder, except turmeric has a more yellowish color. Do not add too much turmeric, for it might make the dish bitter. The turmeric is in this dish for color and smell. Thai fish sauce is the same this as your ordinary fish sauce. Just remember that soy sauce and fish sauce are not the same thing. Soy sauce is dark and black. Fish sauce is brown and carries a strong stinky smell. Don't worry, it won't make the dish stink.

Directions

1.) Put the rice in a sieve and wash well under cold running water. Put the rice in a heavy-based pan with 6 ¼ cups boiling water. Return to the boil, then simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes; drain well. Spread out the grains on a tray and leave to cool.

2.) Heat a wok until hot, add 2tbsp of the oil and swirl it around. Add the onion and red pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute.

3.) Add the chicken cubes, garlic, curry paste and spices and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.

4.) Reduce the heat to medium, add the cooled rice, fish sauce and seasoning. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the rice is very hot.

5.) Make a well in the center of the rice and add the remaining oil. When hot, add the beaten eggs, leave to cook for about 2 minutes until lightly set, then stir into the rice.

6.) Scatter over the fried basil leaves and serve at once.