Veggie Wok: Two Rice Recipes

Bring out the wok , we shall be using it for our first recipe, which is vegetarian fried rice. A good accompaniment to roasted meat dishes or as a standalone topped with chop suey or a stirfried spring vegetable combination for the vegetarian guests.

The other recipe will have us satueeing the rice kernels in butter and peanut oil before we cook it in broth. This is how we season rice for special occasions here in Asia. The sesame rice dish is flavored with gingerroot and sesame seeds. Good to serve with fried fish or crispy Chinese chicken.

Hope this will be received well. Serve sesame rice with sake or Asian beer when having guests over.

Vegetarian Fried Rice

Serves 4 to 6

2 T. peanut oil

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2/3 cup thinly sliced onions

1 cup fresh bean sprouts

3 T. soy sauce

3 cups cold cooked rice

freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in uncovered wok.

Add salt and eggs, scramble quickly, breaking it up into small pieces with spatula or cooking spoon. Stirfry 2 minutes.

Add bean sprouts, stirfry one minute.

Add soy sauce, rice, pepper stirfrying until heated through and soy sauce has been absorbed completely.

Serve hot.

Sesame Rice

Makes 4 servings

1 T. unsalted butter

1 T. peanut oil

1 cup long-grain rice

1/4 cup sesame seed

2 cups chicken stock (use vegetable broth or plain hot water as a substitute)

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. peeled and minced fresh gingerroot

1 T. soy sauce or to taste

Melt butter in oil in uncovered wok . Add rice and sesame seeds; cook stirring constantly, until light brown.

Add stock, salt and gingerroot.

Stir, bring to boil;cover and reduce heat.

Let simmer for fifteen minutes or till rice is done.

Uncover and season in soy sauce.

Serve immediately.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Cook's Notes:

Japanese rice or "malagkit", a Philippine variety is most often used to cook sesame rice. One can also use arborio rice-do remember that one has to add the stock a little at a time and keep stirring the rice over low heat if using it.

Cooks' in Asia test for doneness by eating a kernel of the rice to see if it is done. Cooked rice is clear and does not have a crunchy center. If the stock is absorbed already and rice is still not cooked, add hot water to dish and keep on stirring. Add water a little at a time.

You can saute rice and spices in a wok and transfer sauteed rice to a deeper cooking pan before stock is added. One can also use a rice cooker to cook the sauteed rice in..

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