That is the fried rice model of conventional Vietnamese crimson rice, a plain tomato rice made by steaming in a pot. I added ham, peas and egg to show it into a fast and straightforward meal. Frying up the tomato rice with garlic provides further flavour which is on level!
Crimson Vietnamese Fried Rice
Fried rice all the time makes for an important fast meal in the event you can incorporate sufficient “stuff” into it to fill it out from a diet perspective so you possibly can justify calling it “dinner” quite than only a aspect dish. Immediately we’re turning to frozen peas, pre-chopped ham and egg for literal no-effort, no-prep add-ins to make this tasty dish I’ve referred to as Crimson Vietnamese Fried Rice.
In case I wasn’t clear about it within the opening, this isn’t an genuine Vietnamese recipe! At the least, to not my information. It’s primarily based on a standard Vietnamese dish, Crimson Rice, which is a tomato-flavoured rice served with meats and different mains, considerably like Mexican Crimson Rice. I’ve all the time beloved the flavour however I needed to show Vietnamese Crimson Rice right into a extra substantial, can-be-a-standalone meal. So I believed I’d spin it right into a fried rice dish, and right here it’s!
What you want
Right here’s what it is advisable make this fast meal.
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Day-old cooked rice – Cooked rice refrigerated in a single day or frozen cooked rice (thawed) is finest for all fried rice recipes to get the the best texture. Freshly cooked rice is just too moist and your fried rice will clump and change into sticky. The style is okay, however the texture shouldn’t be superb! Tip of the day: I all the time have luggage of frozen cooked rice within the freezer for this objective. I get the jitters if I’m out!
If it’s an emergency and also you’re all out of day-old cooked rice (it occurs): Prepare dinner rice of selection, unfold out on a tray to speedy cool on counter. Then refrigerate for so long as you possibly can till cooled.
Rice sort: I’ve used jasmine rice which is in style in Vietnamese cooking. Nevertheless, any plain cooked rice can be utilized (white, brown, basmati).
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Tomato paste – For the tomato flavour and crimson color.
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Ham (or bacon) – I take advantage of pre-chopped ham bits for comfort (being that this can be a fast meal) and likewise as a result of I like that they’re chunkier than chopped sliced deli ham.
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Fish sauce – The soy sauce of Vietnam! It has a extra advanced, deep flavour than soy sauce. It smells pungent by itself however when cooked out what stays is a scrumptious and incomparable savoury flavour. Having stated that, I did discover that utilizing simply fish sauce for the seasoning was a bit fishy even for my style so I’ve used a mixture of half fish sauce, half soy sauce.
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Soy sauce – As talked about above, I discovered utilizing a mixture of fish sauce and soy sauce works finest for this dish. Use mild soy sauce or all-purpose soy sauce, not darkish soy sauce, which is just too intense and can overwhelm the dish. Extra on totally different soy sauces and when to make use of which right here.
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Butter – My fats of selection; extra flavour than utilizing plain ol’ boring oil! Should you’re considering, “butter isn’t an genuine ingredient in Asian cooking!!!”, don’t overlook Vietnam was as soon as colonised by France, the land of bread and butter! (Banh Mi is one other tasty legacy of the French occupation)
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Garlic – I doubt you’ll ever see a fried rice recipe on my web site that doesn’t embrace garlic!
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Eggs – To get some further protein into this dish, and since delicate golden curds of scrambled egg littered by means of crimson rice each appears to be like and tastes nice.
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Frozen peas – Some veg and color! Be happy to substitute with any chopped greens you want (eg. carrot, corn, zucchini) or throw in a handful of quick-cooking leafy greens (child spinach, kale, cabbage).
How one can make Crimson Vietnamese Fried Rice
Use a pleasant massive pan to provide your self loads of house for tossing the rice with abandon so you will get good caramelisation on the rice. It additionally makes it simpler to shove the rice to 1 aspect to make room for scrambling the eggs within the pan with out interference.
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Aromatics and ham – Soften the butter and begin by sautéing the garlic for simply 10 seconds to flavour the butter, however don’t let the garlic go golden but. Subsequent, add the ham and prepare dinner for 30 seconds. Now add the peas (nonetheless frozen is okay) and prepare dinner for an additional 30 seconds. By this time, the garlic ought to have turned virtually golden and the ham will even be on its approach to getting some good color on it.
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Rice and tomato – Subsequent add the tomato paste and rice. Prepare dinner them for two minutes to prepare dinner out the uncooked flavour from the tomato paste. In the meantime your ham may have properly bronzed.
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Seasonings – Add the fish sauce, soy and sugar and prepare dinner for an extra 1 minute till the rice begins to caramelise. Don’t shortcut this step – caramelisation = further flavour!
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Scramble eggs – Scrape the rice to 1 aspect of the pan. Soften a bit of additional butter (actually simply 1 teaspoon is sufficient) within the cleared house, pour within the eggs and scramble them. With the warmth of the pan this may take simply 1 minute or so.
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Toss the cooked eggs by means of the rice.
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Carried out! That’s it, you’re performed. Time to eat!
Function a meal – or a aspect
I’ve been making this for myself as a fast lunch however it will additionally make an important aspect for a Vietnamese or Asian unfold. Typically I additionally throw in a handful of bean sprouts and finely sliced cabbage to freshen issues and kick up the vegetable quotient of my bowl. It’s a fairly versatile dish on this regard, although you don’t need to go overboard lest you dilute the flavours. As a result of we will’t have that!
I hope you give it a go. Let me know what you suppose in the event you do! And don’t overlook my tip of the day: hold luggage of cooked plain rice in your freezer. It’s tremendous helpful to have rice on cue to serve with all of your stir fries or (extra relevantly to as we speak’s recipe) to make a fast fried rice on demand, whether or not this Vietnamese fried rice or any of my different ones! – Nagi x
Watch the best way to make it
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Crimson Vietnamese Fried Rice
Prep: 8 minutes
Prepare dinner: 7 minutes
Dinner
Vietnamese
Servings2
Faucet or hover to scale
Directions
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Soften a lot of the butter in a big non-stick skillet over excessive warmth (save a dab for scrambling eggs).
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Add garlic, prepare dinner for 10 seconds.
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Add ham, stir for 30 seconds.
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Add peas, stir for 30 seconds.
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Rice and tomato paste – Add rice and tomato paste, prepare dinner for two minutes.
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Sauces – Add fish sauce, soy and sugar, prepare dinner 1 minute to get a little bit of good caramelisation on the tomatoey rice.
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Scramble eggs – Push rice to 1 aspect of the pan. Within the cleared house, soften reserved butter then pour within the egg and scramble till simply set.
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Serve – Toss cooked egg by means of the rice. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
2. Rice – Any rice can be utilized (white, brown, basmati) however jasmine is in style in Vietnamese meals. In a single day refrigerated or frozen (and thawed) cooked rice is finest for fried rice to attain the best texture. Freshly cooked rice is just too moist and your fried rice will clump and change into too sticky. The style is okay, however texture shouldn’t be superb! If it’s a fried rice emergency (and it occurs….), prepare dinner your rice of selection, unfold on tray to quickly cool. Then refrigerate for so long as you possibly can till cooled.
{PS I all the time have luggage of frozen cooked rice within the freezer. I get the shakes if I’m out.}
3. Fish sauce is a staple of Vietnamese delicacies and provides further flavour. Don’t fear, the fishiness is cooked out. Sub with extra soy (but it surely ain’t actually Vietnamese in the event you skip it!! Simply sayin’…. 🙂 )
4. Soy sauce – Mild or all-purpose soy sauce. Not darkish soy, it’s too robust!
Diet Info:
Energy: 544cal (27%)Carbohydrates: 72g (24%)Protein: 22g (44%)Fats: 18g (28%)Saturated Fats: 9g (56%)Polyunsaturated Fats: 2gMonounsaturated Fats: 5gTrans Fats: 1gLdl cholesterol: 211mg (70%)Sodium: 1375mg (60%)Potassium: 521mg (15%)Fiber: 6g (25%)Sugar: 8g (9%)Vitamin A: 1412IU (28%)Vitamin C: 34mg (41%)Calcium: 84mg (8%)Iron: 3mg (17%)
Love fried rice? Me too!
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