One of SoupAddict’s second tier New Year’s resolutions was to eat out less—eat more self-cooked, less-processed food—and save money in the process. She’s been doing pretty good with this resolution, especially for lunches, consuming lots of this and this and this.
She’s even better on the weekends: SoupAddict has found simple enjoyment in cooking a hot, fast lunch (rather than stopping at her guilty pleasure fast-food chain, Penn Station, for their crazy-delicious french fries). SoupAddict loves rice—it’s one of her favorite foundation ingredients. Everything goes with rice. Fried rice? Even better. Lots of veggies, stir fried? Yes, please. And get this, people: glazed bacon.
SoupAddict is becoming very antsy for summer vegetables and has been drawn to recipes in the foodie mags featuring anything resembling them. (Okay, yes, mushrooms are not veggies, they’re fungus, but bear with SoupAddict here.)
This is Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Brown Rice. Yummy and quick. It cooks while SoupAddict is slicing veggies with blazing speed and frying them up in her wok.
SoupAddict grossly underestimated the deliciousness of the glazed bacon in this recipe, and took only one photograph (and used only one slice [sob!]). SoupAddict exposes her mistakes to the Interwebs so that you will not have to suffer the same fate. The sugar-coated bacon is amazing and worth the recipe alone.
Garlic, ginger and spicy stir fry sauce sizzles in glazed bacon grease.
Next, broccoli gets its turn frolicking in the glazed bacon grease. SoupAddict wishes she could take a turn, too, but knows that oil burns is not her best look.
Then everyone joins in the glazed bacon grease fun.
Delicious brown rice gets a coating of spicy stir fry sauce. Meanwhile, SoupAddict takes a swig right out of the bottle.
Action photo goodness! SoupAddict loves this long exposure shot of an egg diving head first into the pan.
Scrambled eggs in glazed bacon grease and spicy stir fry sauce. With rice. And veggies. And glazed bacon. SoupAddict is beside herself.
Penn Station, eat your heart out. (But SoupAddict still loves your fries.)
Karen xo
Vegetable Fried Rice with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 pound thick-cut bacon cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons spicy stir fry sauce or soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 2- inch piece ginger peeled and minced
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 head broccoli florets cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 carrot sliced into thin disks
- 1 scallion thinly sliced
- 1/4 pound mushrooms sliced
- 2-4 tablespoons water
- 2 cups cooked long-grain white rice or your favorite
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Place a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetable oil and bacon and stir-fry until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar over the bacon and toss. Add 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce (watch out-the oil will bubble up) and continue to stir-fry until the bacon is glazed, about 30 seconds. Transfer the bacon to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to the drippings in the pan and stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli and cook until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the other vegetables and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice, the remaining 2 teaspoons soy sauce. Add water by the tablespoon until the dish is moist. Do not add too much, or it will become mushy.
- Toss to heat through.
- Push the fried rice to one side of the pan, crack the eggs into the other side and scramble until set, about 1 minute. Mix the eggs into the rice and stir. Divide among bowls and serve with mustard or chili sauce, if desired.
cozydelicious
Sunday 28th of February 2010
This looks even better than take-out! Yum! I love friend rice but last night's take-out was totally unsatisfying. I'm going to have to make my own this week.
habanerogal
Thursday 25th of February 2010
I love the shot with the stir fry river trickling down the rice mountain reminds me of spring runoff in the Rockies
SoupAddict
Friday 26th of February 2010
Spring runoff? Spring? Spring? What's that? (SoupAddict is grumpy that more snow is in the forecast. This time last year, she was already turning over her gardens for Spring crops!)
Rocky Mountain Woman
Thursday 25th of February 2010
I have been eating out way too much lately and, as a result, have a few little cartons of plain rice leftover from Chinese takeout in my frig. Guess what I'm going to do with them?
Thanks, Soup Addict...
therockymountainwoman.com
SoupAddict
Friday 26th of February 2010
Mmmm ... yum ... ;) (You're very welcome!)