Basil Fried Rice
Few things hit the spot like Chinese takeout after a long week, and no order is complete without a large order of fried rice! Bring that takeout goodness to your own kitchen with our versatile and delicious basil fried rice!
Ingredients
- 2 cups jasmine rice
- 1 cup mushrooms, I used white mushrooms
- 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, ground
- 1/8-1/4 cup red onion
- 1 cup fresh basil, trimmed
- 1 tsp fresh garlic, ground
- 1/4 cup pecans, roasted
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp liquid aminos, tamari, or soy sauce
Instructions
- Prepare! Crush and mince the garlic, dice the red onion, and peel and mince the ginger. You can choose to chop the mushrooms, but I prefer putting sliced white mushrooms in so they retain some size/shape when cooking amongst all the other ingredients.
- Make the jasmine rice. For rice, we have a foolproof how-to that will explain exactly how to perfectly make Thai jasmine rice at home without a rice cooker or anything fancy.
- Place your skillet or any non-stick pan on low heat, and let the pan heat for a minute or two. Then, add the olive oil until it’s shimmering and appears to be less viscous. Rotate the pan so it’s coated, and wait about 30 seconds until the oil becomes fragrant. That’s when you know it’s ready!
- Time to add the good stuff! No matter what I’m cooking, I always start with aromatics. Not only will it instantly improve the smell of your kitchen, but it’s essential to make sure the flavors have a chance to release properly into the oil before adding the rest of your veggies. Think of it like infusing olive oil in a pan. I first add the minced garlic, minced ginger, and red onion. I sautee them on low heat until evidently fragrant and softened. You want your onion to be almost flimsy and garlic/ginger sizzling but not burnt or browned. If this happens- truly, it’s not the end of the world… Just continue, lower the heat, and add a dash of water to cool everything down/un-stick the burnt bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add mushrooms and other veggies. Add your mushrooms to the pan and about half of your basil. Make sure everything is coated in oil and well-mixed, and let that baby cook for about five minutes, stirring every once in a while! This shouldn’t take too long unless you decide to add a more dense vegetable, like carrots or potatoes. I do all of this on low to medium heat, but that’s because I have a very temperamental gas stove! Figure out what works best for you- but just remember, you don’t need anything flash-fried or cooked at a high heat here! We’re just sauteeing, not deep frying!
- Roast the pecans Now, this isn’t a necessary step, but I love the smell and prefer a bit less of the bitterness that comes with raw pecans- so I toast them in a separate little pan. No oil, nothing, just pecans on very low heat until I can start to smell them. This can take three to five minutes on low heat, but stay tuned in! You’ll know when they’re a little too toasted by the burnt-peanut-brittle smell. Put them to the side for now- we’ll need them soon!
- At this point, your veggies should be comfortably cooked and ready for the rice. I like to push all of my cooked veggies to one side of the pan, leaving the remnants of oil on the other side. Sometimes if I feel like most of the oil has already been soaked up, I’ll add a dash to the empty side of the pan, but rarely do I have to. I then add all the cooked rice to the empty side and loosely press down so all the rice is either making contact with the pan or close to it. Now you should have what looks to be half a pan of perfectly white rice and half a pan of fully cooked veggies.
- Add soy sauce, tamari, or liquid aminos. I prefer liquid aminos over tamari or soy sauce, but feel free to use whatever you like! I add a few good healthy swigs of the liquid aminos directly to the white rice, about three tablespoons, and then mix the rice, still sectioning it from the veggies, until it’s all lightly brown from the liquid aminos and the remaining olive oil.
- Finally, you can stir it all up! Using a wooden spoon, combine the rice and veggies together. Flatten everything down closer to the bottom of the pan and let the bottom layer of rice get just a little bit crispy! This should take about three or four minutes on low-medium heat. Then, repeat! Mix it and let it sizzle for a few!
- Now’s the time to throw in your pecans, the remainder of your basil, and your pomegranate seeds! Turn the heat off on the rice and stir it all in. The hope is that none of those additions need to be cooked but instead brightened with a small amount of heat.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!