Thai Inspired Fried Rice

I say Thai "inspired" because I used ingredients like lemon grass, green curry paste, coconut milk that are used widely in Thai cooking, but I cannot vouch for the authenticity of the manner in which it was cooked. This is kind of “Passport to Thailand” kind of a recipe made using ingredients on hand.

It is also “clean your fridge for next week’s grocery shopping” recipe too.This dish came about while thinking of IVAW-Thai being guest hosted by talented Priya @ Akshayapaatram and looking at the stragglers in the fridge. Its A Vegan World is a monthly blog event started by Lovely Vaishali @ Holy Cow.

This makes a quick dinner and great for lunch boxes too. Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice – 1½ cups
Extra firm Tofu – 1 12 oz. package, drained and cubed
Mixed veggies – 3 cups (I used carrots, French cut beans, green pepper, peas)
Onion – 1 large, diced
Green chilies – 2, sliced
Scallions – 1 bunch, chopped
Green curry paste – 3tbsp (I used store-bought)
Coconut milk – ¼ cup (I used store-bought)
Ginger – 1” piece
Garlic – 2 cloves
Lemon grass – 2tbsp of the chopped soft fleshy part
Soy sauce – 2 tsp
Sambal Oleak – 1tsp (optional)
Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Cook rice and keep aside to cool.
  
• Heat 1tbsp oil in a large sauté pan on medium high; sauté tofu till lightly brown on all sides, about 10-12 minutes; remove from the pan and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add ginger, garlic, lemon grass and sauté for 30seconds.
  
• Add green curry paste and sauté for couple of minutes until fragrant.
  
• Next add all the veggies and stir-fry on medium high until crisp tender. Add coconut milk, salt and pepper; cook for 5 minutes until the mixture dries out just a little bit. Add cooked rice, mix well and cook until heated through, another 5 minutes. Enjoy this spicy fried rice with some raita.