This rice bowl has loads of texture, thanks to the crisped rice bits, lacy fried egg and crunchy vegetables. It is also a complete meal, making it a great any-time lunch or dinner. Feel free to swap around the carrots and cucumbers for whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand.
Serves 4
Recipe adapted from www.smittenkitchen.com
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups minced scallions, white and light green parts only
- 2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger or 2 rehydrated Maranatha Farm Ginger Coins
- Avocado oil
- ¼ cup sherry or rice wine vinegar
- Fine sea salt
- 1 heaping cup julienned or coarsely grated carrots (from about 8 ounces fresh)
- 8 ounces small (Persian-style, about 2) cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 3 cups cooked, cooled rice (short grain brown or jasmine work great here)
- 4 eggs
- Tamari, for serving
- Toasted sesame oil, for serving
- Sriracha, gochujang or another hot sauce of choice, for serving
Method
- Make the vinaigrette: Mix scallions, ginger, 1/4 cup avocado oil and sherry or rice wine vinegar in a bowl. Season with salt (approximately 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt) and set aside.
- Crisp your rice: Heat a large frying pan over medium high. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons oil; you’ll want to coat the bottom with a thin layer of oil all over. Nonstick pans are more forgiving here, so you can use the lower amount. Heat the oil until it’s hot, another minute, then scatter half the rice over the surface; it’s okay if small clusters remain. Season lightly with salt and do not touch it. In 3 to 5 minutes, the underside will become golden brown and crisp. Use a spatula to flip it in sections then fry on the other side until it is also crisp. Divide between two bowls and repeat with remaining rice, dividing it between two remaining bowls.
- Crisp your egg: If there isn’t enough oil left in the pan (you want a thin layer), add another splash and heat this on high heat. Add eggs one at a time and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook until brown, lacy, and crisp underneath, and the whites are opaque, bubbly and the edges are brown. You can spoon some oil from the pan over the egg whites to help them cook faster. Place one egg on each bowl of rice.
- Assemble bowls: Arrange some cucumbers and carrots to each bowl. Spoon 2 tablespoons vinaigrette onto each bowls. Drizzle each egg with a half-teaspoon of tamari and toasted sesame oil, letting it roll onto the other ingredients, plus hot sauce to taste. Eat immediately.