Ginger Fried Rice

Ah, fried rice! One of those delicious Chinese take-out foods of my childhood. And yet once an adult... not vegan, due to the egg. So the next time everyone else is ordering Chinese take-out, don't miss out! Just make this vegan version.

Ahead of time, cook one bag of boil-in-a-bag instant short-grain brown rice, to yield two cups cooked rice. Spread thinly in a shallow bowl, cover and chill for eight hours. Chilling the rice ahead of time makes the recipe easier later on so the rice doesn't stick together, but if you need to skip this step, it's not the end of the world.

Flash forward eight hours, and pull out a large skillet. Heat a teaspoon and a half of grapeseed oil over medium heat. Add one and a half tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger and one tablespoon finely chopped garlic, and saute for ten minutes, stirring often. It will be crisp and brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add one cup thinly, vertically sliced onion. Cover and cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle the onion with a dash of salt, then increase the heat to medium-high and stir in your chilled rice from earlier. Cook four minutes, stirring frequently.

Here's the part where I took a gamble; skip this step if you don't need to be quite so exact with your vegan substitutes! Make a well in the center of the rice, and add the equivalent of one egg, according to your egg substitute package directions. Stir the "egg" so it scrambles slightly, then stir gently to incorporate the "egg" into the rice. It will have a rubbery, approximately-egg like taste and texture, but again, if you don't care about being exactly faithful to the original recipe, skip this step.

Remove the skillet from heat and add in the reserved garlic mixture, two tablespoons chopped green onions, one tablespoon soy sauce and one teaspoon sesame oil. Stir to combine.

Two, one-cup servings of 380 calories each.

Cost:
ginger $1.04
onion $1.01
green onions $0.99