Mikey’s Beef Fried Rice Posted by Mike Farley (03/15/2013 @ 9:33 pm) I’ve been on a mission lately to find Chinese roast pork in the grocery store. And I don’t think it’s gonna happen. One day I will stop being lazy and just pick up a container of it from the local takeout place and make my own fried rice with it. Because lately I can’t seem to find good fried rice. It’s either bland, too yellow and not brown enough, has too many onions or green onions, not enough meat, or all of the above. So yesterday I was in the grocery store and saw these really nice stir fry beef strips. The last thing we had on our weekly menu (yes, Mrs. Mikey and I try to do that) was fish, and I had not thawed it, and want to be especially careful thawing seafood. So now then. I suddenly had a vision in my head for fried rice. Basically watching a lot of “Chopped” and “Top Chef” has made me try to think more creatively than usual lately. So I took the beef strips and marinated then in teriyaki sauce for 15-20 minutes or until I prepped the other ingredients–Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice (poke a few holes in the bag and nuke for 3 minutes for absolutely perfectly sticky and delicious brown rice), carrots, 1/2 an onion, some snow peas, ginger, canola oil, sherry, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, some cilantro, a lime, and a couple of eggs. I chopped the ginger up fine, chopped the carrots (I used baby carrots) and the onion, and then sliced the snow peas into slivers. I put about a tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet and when hot to the 2-inches-away touch, put the veggies in the pan and stirred, adding a bit of salt and pepper. After the onion just started to brown I removed the vegetables to a plate and added the beef to the pan, with some salt and pepper. The beef started to brown but I wanted it to be slightly charred in spots, or in this case a bit overdone to make it like a sponge for the teriyaki sauce if that makes sense. Then I put the beef on a plate, and poured a little bit of sherry and soy sauce in the pan to deglaze it. I added a touch more canola oil, a sprinkling more of sherry and soy, a few drops of sriracha and a few drops of sesame oil. I put the veggies back in, chopped the beef into small pieces and added them to the pan, followed by the rice. Then I stirred, and added a little more teriyaki sauce and set aside to keep warm. Meanwhile, I heated a small nonstick skillet over medium heat and cracked two eggs in it. I put the rice in two bowls, topped each with a sunny side up egg, some chopped cilantro and a lime wedge, and there you have it….Mikey’s Beef Fried Rice! My only regret is I forgot to snap a picture. But I will say it was some of the best fried rice I’ve ever made, and Mrs. Mikey agreed. Damn, now I’m hungry again. Posted in: Chefs and Restaurants, Food TV, Grocery stores, Healthy, Ingredients, On the Grille, Recipes, Your Kitchen Tags: beef strips, brown rice, canola oil, carrots, Chinese takeout, Chopped, cilantro, easy fried rice, easy weeknight cooking, eggs, fried rice, fried rice for dudes, ginger, lime, Mikey's Beef Fried Rice, onion, pork, roast pork, sesame oil, sherry, snow peas, soy sauce, Sriracha, Top Chef, Trader Joe's
Easy Fried Rice Posted by Mike Farley (04/02/2012 @ 11:15 pm) I made this fried rice twice last week and it was awesome. If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, they have easy and delicious rice in their frozen foods section. You just nuke a bag of it for three minutes and you have perfect rice–either brown or jasmine or white rice. You can also buy the Uncle Ben’s or other easy microwave rice packets that are sold in the rice/pasta section, but trust me–this Trader Joe’s rice tastes better. I use the brown variety but either would work fine. So after you nuke the rice, set it aside. Chop a small or half a large onion. Chop some baby carrots, and put them along with a handful of frozen peas (and/or frozen corn) in a small pot and cover with water and boil for a couple minutes. Crack an egg and cook that in a small, nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray for a minute or two until set. Then, take a large nonstick skillet, swirl in a tablespoon or so of cooking oil such as canola. Heat over medium heat for a minute, then add the onion and rice. Stir fry for a couple minutes or until the onion is cooked and translucent. Drain the peas and carrots and add those. If you have any cooked pork, chicken or beef, chop that up and throw it in. Chop the scrambled egg and add that. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add a couple tablespoons of soy sauce. Continue to stir fry for another minute or so. If you have any cilantro, chop that and add in at the end (or green onion, or both). That’s it. It is easier than it felt typing it all out, trust me. And it’s delicious and not too greasy as most restaurant fried rice is. Posted in: Food on a Budget, Grocery stores, Healthy, Ingredients, Recipes, Your Kitchen Tags: beef, brown rice, carrots, chicken, cilantro, easy fried rice, easy rice recipe, eggs, fried rice, green onions, guilty pleasure, midnight snack, onions, peas, pork, soy sauce
Chicago meal number 1–The Purple Pig Posted by Mike Farley (09/20/2011 @ 10:19 pm) Mrs. Mike and I rolled into Chicago last Friday night, sans kid–that meant that it didn’t matter how late we arrived, that we could just drop our luggage and go grab some grub. And we did just that as the clock struck 10pm. The first place we intended to check out was called The Purple Pig–and their theme is “swine, wine and cheese.” It sounded too funky and cool to pass up. So we were disappointed at the 60 minute wait. However, the hostess assured us that a lot of folks did not stay, so that it could be much less than 60 minutes. We thought about not staying, but then decided to just have a drink and see what happened. Turns out 60 minutes was more like 3 minutes, and we were thrilled. Then we got a look at the crazy menu–which had sections such as appetizers, fried items, sandwiches, cheeses, sausages, and main courses. It is a tasting menu too, with most dishes being small portions that are meant to be shared. Okay. So we ordered some wine, and then chose a few food items–salt roasted beets with goat cheese and pistachios; fried manchego cheese; fried olives with chorizo; a coppa, cheese and fennel panini; and a JLT–their take on a BLT with the J standing for “jowels,” i.e. pork cheeks, i.e. just real tender ham-like meat. Anyway, Mrs. Mike was willing to try the fried pig ear and/or the bone marrow, but not me. The jowels were the extent of my ambition. Anyway, the beets were sweet, salty and had the creamy cheese–a crazy combination of flavors that just worked. The cheese was in squares and along with the really tasty olives were like sophisticated bar food. Seriously, that was some killer fried cheese. The panini was good, but the JLT was better–and the duck egg on top was the weirdest part of it. So much for tasting menus– we were rolling out of there, and ordered dessert to go–a nutella, banana and whipped cream panini–that I could not force a bite of until the following morning. But the meal itself, and especially the experience, was a great start to our weekend in Chicago. Posted in: Chefs and Restaurants, Product Reviews Tags: beets, cheese, Chicago, Chicago food, Chicago foodie weekend, Chicago restaurants, chorizo, coppa panini, duck egg, fried cheese, fried manchego, fried olives, great Chicago food, JLT, nutella panini, pork, pork jowels, salt roasted beets, swine, The Purple Pig, wine
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