Nigerian Fried rice
Nigerian fried rice is a very popular party food. If you follow me on Facebook, you will know that sometime last year I perfected the art of making Jollof rice.
I was so proud of myself, I even had tasters. But like everything, I have gotten tired of Jollof rice. So I decided to try it’s cousin, fried rice.
I made Fried rice first more than six years ago, after learning it at a catering school. I only practiced it once or twice then, because I felt it was too tasking. Just got inspired again.
Inspiration actually drives my cooking. A friend shared meat from the slagter, cow liver included and mentioned it will be good for fried rice and I somehow jumped on the bandwagon.
Woke up ready to work, brought out all the ingredients I had bought the previous day, and discovered I did not have any bell peppers.
I am not a fan of bell peppers anyway, because I have discovered some of them (the green ones) can be bitter. So I am cooking this without bell peppers. (Putting an explanation before the professionals come for me).
After watching a ton of YouTube videos, well just two (Sisi yemi and zeelicious) to reassure myself that I still know how to cook it, I gallantly entered the kitchen.
Poured out all the ingredients and set them in little bowls. I love when everything is arranged and organized when I cook. Makes me feel like I am on master chef.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of my little setup.
Since I live ‘in the abroad’, vegetables like carrots, peas, green beans etc are sold in bags frozen, no need for plenty cutting. Just boiled liver to add.
Ingredients I used:
Rice
Green Peas
Green Beans
Carrots
Sweet corn
Onions
Boiled chopped liver
Curry
Thyme
Dried Pepper
Stock cubes (Know)
Cooking oil- Rapseed oil
Salt
Water
NOTE: I do not have any measurement for the ingredients because I eyeballed it.
My step by step preparation method:
- Boil rice in stock. Most people use chicken stock but since I didn’t have any, I mixed stock cubes with water enough to cook the rice in a pot. Added salt to taste and curry and put on the cooking stove to boil. When it was hot (not boiling), I added the rice.
(I had already washed the rice severally until the water was clear) - In a pan, I heated the oil, put in my chopped onions. ( I don’t wait for the oil to be so hot before putting in chopped onions. It sights, and I don’t want it be said of me, she got burnt while cooking.)
- When the onions were caramelized, I added the carrots and peas. This is because I needed to take out a little crunch from the carrots.
No one is trying to have headache because they want to eat fried rice, and we don’t want it soft like baby food either. - Added my spices (stock cubes, curry, thyme, pepper, salt). The curry gives it color.
- In batches, I put it my already parboiled rice, added the boiled liver and sweet corn last.
I added the rice in batches, because I wanted the proportion of the rice to the vegetables to be balanced.
Final product
The result was a delicious looking and tasting fried rice. That I definitely know would gladly accept a “you smell nice” compliment.
Just finished eating mine. Normally when I cook I don’t actually get the taste of the food until the next day, but I started eating this one from the pan.
On a good day, it can be paired with peppered chicken and salad on the side, but not today.
Have to pack up my friends portion though and put in the freezer because the way I am looking at it, it may not last till we meet.
I don’t want her texting me in the middle of the night with “you owe me fried rice”.
