Lemongrass Fried Rice
Try this lemongrass fried rice for a fragrant and aromatic dish. Throw in some vegetables and tofu like I have to turn it into a delicious meal. Subtle spices and aromatics truly make this a one of a kind fried rice.
Equipment
- Pestle and mortar or Food processor
Ingredients
- 600 g of cooked day old rice equal to 200g dry rice. Preferably medium or long grain white rice, brown rice, or jasmine rice
- 2 lemongrass stalks
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 red bird’s eye chillies
- 1 carrot thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper thinly sliced
- 150 g oyster mushrooms or any other mushroom of choice, thinly sliced
- 100 g tofu puffs or any other protein of choice
- 3 tbsp mushroom sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp white peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 spring onion greens finely sliced
- Handful of Thai basil
- 3 tbsp neutral oil e.g. vegetable, sunflower, rapeseed
Instructions
- First using the back of a knife or any blunt object, lightly bash the lemongrass stalks to break open the layers
- Then peel off the fibrous and woody outer layer of the lemongrass and trim the tough stem off
- Roughly mince the lemongrass as this will aid with the next step
- Place the lemongrass into a pestle and mortar and pound until it forms a rough, coarse paste. A food processor will also work here
- Then add in the garlic and bird’s eye chillies and continue to pound until coarsely ground
- Sauté this aromatic mixture in the oil over medium heat whilst continually stirring until fragrant. This will take around 2-3 minutes
- Next add in the carrots, mushrooms, and peppers and mix to combine
- Add in the tofu and once again toss to combine
- Meanwhile toast the white peppercorns, cumin seeds, and coriander seeds on a low heat until fragrant for around 1 minute
- Transfer these spices to a pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder
- Add the spices along with the mushroom sauce, dark soy sauce, and light soy sauce to the pan
- Add in the cooked (day old) rice and continue to mix everything together
- Finally turn the heat off and add in the fresh Thai basil and finely sliced spring onion greens. Allow the heat of the pan to slightly wilt the basil
- Best served immediately