Do you have days where the hours seem to evaporate? One
minute it’s noon, then in the blink of an eye - 6pm. The family needs dinner but what can you toss
together that is satisfying, filling and nutritious? My Fried Rice ‘Whatever’ Omelette takes
minutes to prepare and cook. A few simple standby ingredients mean it can be on
the table in 20 minutes – better than any takeaway.
Eggs, vegies, maybe some leftover roast chook and rice
create an easy, tasty meal – with ‘Whatever’ you have in the fridge!
TIPS AND HINTS : The secret weapon is your own cooked and
frozen rice. Any time I cook rice I make
double then spoon the extra into small freezer-safe containers or ziplock
bags. The key is to keep the rice a
little loose and fluffy, don’t push it down – just push the air out of the
container gently and seal. Small batches
defrost superfast and ziplocks can be flat-stacked in the freezer easily. The defrosted rice will not be quite as
lovely as freshly cooked rice but because it has dried out a little it is
perfect for fried rice or even as the base to soak up a rich curry sauce.
Preparation and cooking I slice, dice, stir, cook so allow 20 minutes including defrosting the precooked rice.
Serves I usually serve this for 4 people - just adjust amounts to your needs
Ingredients
This list is very flexible – main ingredients are the
eggs and precooked rice so vary the rest to suit yourself. This recipe I
made from the 'odds and sods' vegies I had in the fridge and pantry.
2 onions, chopped
A splash of Peanut Oil (or your preference)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ red capsicum – chopped
½ red chilli – finely sliced (leave out or increase
depending on your chilli preference)
1 stalk celery – finely sliced
Small chunk of eggplant – small dice
¼ cabbage – finely shredded
1 carrot – grated
Few mushrooms – sliced
Optional: diced precooked roast chicken, or ham or sausage
From the garden – sliced shallots, parsley and chives
From the freezer – handful of peas and corn
Couple handfuls of baby spinach
Dash of soy sauce (I like low salt)
Splash of sweet chilli sauce
Ground pepper – white or black
¼ teaspoon 5 spice powder
2/3 to 1 cup of defrosted pre-cooked Rice
6 - 8 eggs – lightly whisked (I usually find 6 large eggs enough)
Handful of snow peas – shredded for final crunchy garnish
Method
Use a good sized frypan that is suitable for stove top that can also go
under the oven griller.
Preheat the grill ready to crisp up the top of the omelette
prior to serving.
You want to cook the veg on the stove frypan but still
retain some crunch so just add the hard veg first then the meat and finally the
softest veg followed by the egg. Then grill til golden.
Heat the oil in the frypan on the stove.
Add the onion and cook gently til golden.
Add and cook the garlic, chilli, capsicum and eggplant.
Stir and heat through the diced meats.
Sprinkle the rice over and stir through until golden to
combine with the other flavours.
Toss through the shredded cabbage and carrot, celery and the
sliced mushrooms, followed by the peas and corn.
Add the spinach, chives, shallots, parsley.
Season with a splash of soy, sweet chilli sauce, spices and
pepper.
Taste and adjust to your preference.
Gently pour the whisked egg mixture through the veg. Check
stove top is not too hot.
Lift the veg slightly to allow the egg to coat the
base. Cook gently but avoid excessive
stirring.
When the egg is almost cooked, pop the pan under the grill
until cooked and golden – keep an eye on it – cooks very quickly.
Remove from grill. Allow to cool for a minute and drizzle
the tiniest amount of soy sauce over.
Cut into wedges and sprinkle with the shredded snow peas.
Enjoy! Colleen
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