Curried Rice

Curried Rice

This is a side dish I like to fix when I make Coconut Chicken, but I also make it with many other main dishes. Curry goes with so many things and it is eaten in many cuisines such as Thai, Chinese, Indian and African dishes. I learned to love curry chicken when I was a little girl in the Philippines where my parents were missionaries. In fact, I have the  recipe for Chicken, Curry and Rice my mom fixed HERE.

Curried Rice

Ingredients
1 cup white rice (or brown)
6 Tb butter (or coconut oil)
1 cup onions, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1-2 tsp yellow curry powder (I like it best with 2 tsps)
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional- golden raisins, ¼ cup sweet coconut flakes
Note: if you don't have coconut milk you can use 2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups water, instead of 1 cup coconut milk and 1 cup water, as in the recipe. I like the taste of the coconut milk, but have used all chicken broth many times. It kind of depends what main dish you're fixing with it.

Instructions
Saute onions and celery in butter (or coconut oil) in large frying pan or large sauce pan (this makes about 6 cups rice when it's finished so make sure your pan is large enough).
Cook onions and celery till onions are translucent. Add rice and curry powder to the onion mixture and stir all together for about 2 minutes to coat rice. Add water and coconut milk. When it boils, cover pan and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until rice is tender and rice is absorbed, about 18-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and coconut if desired.
Note: If using brown rice, you'll need to cook it longer than that and probably add more liquid.

I hope you enjoy this!

This Curried Rice goes
 great with Coconut Chicken.
The recipe I use is
HERE

Best Authentic Fried Rice

Mary Jane's Authentic Chicken

Fried Rice Before the Green Onions are Added

The reason I say "authentic"' fried rice is because even though I'm an American (ancestors from Europe) and was born in the US, my family lived in the Orient for 3 years when I was a child. We lived in the Philippine Islands where we ate Chinese Fried Rice along with other dishes at a Chinese restaurant every Sunday after church. Actually it was the restaurant at a Hotel, right next to the ocean. I can't spell it, or I'd list it. A sweet little old, very poor, lady insisted on paying for our family to eat there at her expense. "Auntie" was so special and thoughtful to do that for us. We learned to love Chinese food there but we also got to visit Hong Kong and Japan. The Filipinos had their style of fried rice too, so we got to experience different types and flavors. 
It's really difficult, though, in my opinion to find what I call  that "authentic" Chinese taste. I've had 100's of different versions of fried rice over the years, whether it be at a restaurant or recipes I've found in cookbooks or on the web. I was never satisfied with the taste until I decided sesame oil was the ingredient that made Chinese food taste authentic to me. Some people don't use as much in their recipes as I do, but I use a lot of it, even more than what I wrote down for this recipe. So add more if you want! You won't always see water chestnuts in fried rice, but I love it for the crunch. The onions and garlic are always in authentic fried rice too. Another note is that if you want your rice to separate and not stick together, then you need to cook it the day before and put it in the refrigerator so it will be cold. They say to rinse your rice before cooking it & even though I've done that many times, it turns out just as good when I don't rinse it. 

Mary Jane's Authentic
Chinese Fried Rice

Another secret is to use a good rice and my favorite to use with any dish is Basmati, which is the long grain rice used in Indian cooking. It costs more but believe me when I say it is totally worth it! And lastly, I want to say I use this Chicken Fried Rice as a main dish. Please don't put a totally different Chinese dish on top of this. It should stand alone! All the other Chinese dishes such as Cashew Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Almond Chicken, General Tso and other dishes need to be put over steamed rice or what many people call white rice. There are just too many flavors in fried rice that will compete with these other Chinese dishes. They have their own unique flavor. The steamed rice allows you to taste the flavors of the dish you put on top of it. I'm real touchy about this subject! I think  Asian people would agree!

*Whatever you do, do not leave out the sesame oil. I buy it in the large red can!*

Another secret ingredient I have not tried yet - Mirin a sweet rice wine

Ingredients - feeds 6 

Peanut or Canola oil
Butter

1 cup onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
4-5 cups cooked cold Basmati or Jasmine rice (cooked the day before)
2-3 cups frozen Grilled Chicken Strips, thawed or any other chopped meat.  

1/18/20 I'm using rotisserie chicken) 

6/22/21- I decided to use fresh chicken breast this time like I used to. See my note below of how I tenderize it.

4 eggs, scrambled
1 can sliced water chestnuts, sliced into strips
1 cup corn
1½-2 cups frozen peas and carrots, pre-thawed in the microwave for 2 mins
2 Tb Toasted Sesame oil (add this toward the end)
4 tsp Lite soy sauce or Coconut Aminos to taste (mostly for color. Too much will make it salty)
Chinese cooking wine
Oyster sauce
1 tsp Accent (unless you are gluten intolerant)
Salt to taste

Ground white pepper - toward the end. Not too much or it might be too hot/spicy for you.
For Top:
1-2 Tb toasted sesame seeds
6-8 green onions (raw), chopped (for top after the rice is cooked)

Optional:  
Oyster sauce and Chinese cooking wine (most Chinese use this in their fried rice), dash of garlic powder, onion powder, ½-1 tsp fresh grated ginger (I don't like ginger but sometimes use powdered ginger), fish sauce. If you have white pepper by all means use it. The Chinese use it a lot in their cooking, which gives it a distinct flavor.
Note: sometimes I use chopped pork, ham or shrimp, but my favorite is chicken. 
Note: 6/22/21
I used an Asian tenderizing technique called "velveting", which is totally worth it. That's how meats in Chinese dishes are so tender. You just cut up the meat in small pieces and soak it in a little cornstarch or baking soda for about an hour. Some will tell you to add an egg, Chinese cooking wine, rice vinegar, soy sauce, etc. You can find that technique many places online including YouTube videos.

Mary Jane's Authentic Fried Rice

Directions:

Make sure your onions, garlic, water chestnuts and chicken are cut up into separate bowls before you start anything. Believe me, prepping ahead of time will make this easier. 

      This is just some of the  ingredients I use

Cut frozen chicken (or other neat) up into small pieces. Then cook it in oil on medium high heat in a frying pan or wok. Remove chicken to another bowl and set aside. In same pan, add about 1 tsp oil and fry onions and garlic for a few minutes til tender. Remove this and add to chicken or into another dish. Try to keep each cooked item warm by putting a plate or lid over them. Next, quickly fry the sliced water chestnuts in same pan then remove to another dish or add to chicken. Then fry the peas, carrots and corn to get them warm for a few minutes. Remove from pan.  Put a little more oil in the same pan and scramble the eggs, stirring constantly. Remove from pan. 
If you have a wok that would be best te use, but it's not absolutely essential.

Update 1/18/20: Katie from the show "The Kitchen" on Food Network put her fried rice in the oven and it came out crispy. I'm trying that today!) Hopefully you have the kind of wok that won't make the food stick. Melt about 1 tablespoon butter in the wok (med hi heat). Butter helps to brown the rice. Add half the rice and stir fry till it is separated and heated. This would be a good time to add half the soy sauce and half the sesame oil. Add some Chinese cooking wine and oyster sauce if you have it. After that is heated, move rice to another dish and do the same with the other half of rice. We are doing this because we do not want to crowd the rice. Having too much rice in the pan will cause it not to separate and heat the right way. Add the other half of the soy sauce and more sesame oil. (Also more Chinese cooking wine and oyster sauce if you think it needs it)

Put other half of heated rice in the wok and add all the other ingredients. Now add salt and pepper to taste. Stir all ingredients. Add toasted sesame seeds and stir. Just before serving, toss in the chopped green onions. Serve immediately. You can either purchase sweet and sour sauce or use my recipe, which  I will try to add later! Enjoy!

UPDATE: (2/6/2019)
Since I fix a lot of Chinese and Thai foods, I received a larger wok for Christmas. I've needed it for years but still have to "season" it before I use it. 

2020 - I finally seasoned my new wok! But it took me practically all day. That thing is heavy so it wore me out, even though I had help!

                         My New Wok!

Another Recipe Idea:

 Another great idea would be to Make Steak Fried Rice using this same recipe, but also adding Shitake mushrooms. Get a ribeye steak, freeze for about 30 minutes and then cut it thinly on the grain.

Hope you enjoy this! Let me know if you have any questions!

Indian Peanut Chicken over Rice

Indian Peanut Chicken Curry

This dish reminds me of Chicken Korma, an Indian dish, and  Butter Chicken, also an Indian dish. It's a lot like a Thai dish too (because of the PB and coconut milk)

Indian Peanut Chicken over Rice – Mary Jane’s recipe

This will take about 1½ hours to make, which includes cutting up the chicken. I like making this, not only because it's delicious, but also because you make it in one big pot! (Not including the rice - that is separate). Indian bread (called naan) goes great with this. You can buy it ready made at the grocery store or try to make it yourself.

Serves 8 people

Ingredients

• 1 Tb peanut oil or other oil
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
• 3-5 tsps yellow curry powder (or to your taste). I like a lot.
• 1 tsp salt (add more later if needed)
• ½ -1 tsp crushed red pepper 
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 can coconut milk (not lite)
• 4 – 5 tsps brown sugar (or to taste)
• ½ cup Half & Half or plain Greek Yogurt (could use more than ½ cup – I didn’t measure)
• ½ cup (or more) golden raisins
• Optional - Small amounts (1 - 2 dashes each). If you don't have these spices, it's ok because most of these are already in yellow curry powder. Just go by your taste if you think you need more spice. coriander, turmeric, ground cayenne pepper,  cinnamon, & cardamom.
• 8 cups hot cooked white Basmati rice
• Chopped peanuts (or cashews) for garnish. I add this to this dish at the end and stir but put more on top after its on my plate.

Optional : 3 – 6 chopped fresh plum tomatoes 

Indian Peanut Chicken
Curry over Rice

Preparation

Chop chicken and set aside. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes till tender, stirring frequently. Add chopped chicken; cook 4 minutes or til chicken is done, stirring frequently. Don't cook too long because the chicken will be too tough. If its not all the way done, that's ok because it continues to cook. Stir in peanut butter and next 9 ingredients (through half & half); bring to a boil. Reduce heat (so it won't curdle); add other spices (dashes) and golden raisins; stir and simmer 15 minutes til heated and slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. If you are adding fresh tomatoes add them before you simmer for 15 minutes. Serve chicken mixture over rice; top each serving with chopped peanuts or cashews and more raisins if desired. 

I didn't find a recipe I wanted to make so I came up with this and we all loved it. Reminds me of Chicken Korma. You could substitute cashews for the peanuts to be more like Chicken Korma if you like. 

Filipino Chicken Curry & Rice

Chicken, Curry and Rice

Mary Jane Hall's recipe from Mama (Margie Perry)

When I was 5 years old, my family moved to Zamboanga City, Philippines as missionaries. In fact, my dad helped start a Bible college over there. We learned to love Asian food while in the Philippines and when we came back to the states (when I was 9) my mama fixed this dish. Then after I grew up and had a family of my own, I started making it, and it's always been a favorite of ours too! What prompted me to post this recipe is that my youngest son called and asked me for the recipe, and I thought I might as well share it on my blog. I hope you enjoy it! By the way, I loved living in the Philippines. It's beautiful there, and we had Coconut trees, Pineapple trees, Guava trees, Papaya trees, comonchilis trees snd banana trees in our yard! One of my favorite memories of living in the Philippines was the avocado ice cream! I've made it several times. And I always add avocado to my fruit salads with fresh fruit like they did over there. If you've never put avocado in your fruit salad you won't believe how delicious it is!

I will post a photo of this Chicken, Curry and Rice dish next time I make it!

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Boiled Chicken Pieces
(you can either buy a small whole chicken & cook it on the bone, chicken pieces already cut up or boneless chicken breasts/tenders) - I boil the chicken, let it cool and then take it off the bones. (Boneless chicken is easier!) 

Note: If you want your chicken to be very tender see below how I tenderize it before cooking to do what Chinese recipes say is "velvetizing" it. It's a quick easy step!

Steamed White Rice - plain (i don't even add salt to it, but you can - for you & Ashley just make 3 cups steamed rice, which is 1 cup of UNcooked rice. Unless you want to have left overs, make more rice :-)

Curry Powder - the yellow kind

Condiments - Peanuts, coconut, chopped green onions, golden raisins, chopped green pepper

When I was growing up we always just put peanuts on top, but sometimes now I like adding a little coconut & golden raisins. This goes very well with curry.

Curry Sauce - see below
For the curry sauce, all you do is make a white sauce (from any basic cookbook) and add curry. You can add the curry to taste and depending how much white sauce I make, I may use 2-4 teaspoons of the yellow curry, but if you like a strong curry taste, you can add more. Just add to taste.

Basic White Sauce (I usually make 2 - 3 cups of white sauce, depending on how many people are eating the meal)

For every 1 cup of white sauce, you will need: (this makes 1 cup, so you may want to double or triple it)

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons white all purpose flour

1 cup warm milk

For curry flavored sauce - add 1 - 2 teaspoons of curry powder to the flour & butter mixture, before you add the milk.

Melt butter in large flat frying pan on low heat. Add the flour gradually, using a whisk to stir it & keep it from getting too thick. (Note: If you have your heat too high, the flour & butter mixture will get too thick way too fast, then it will have lumps that are hard to smash up) I used to add my curry powder after I add the milk, but I started adding the curry to the flour & butter mixture BEFORE the milk. After the curry is blended with the flour & butter, gradually add the milk & keep stirring on medium heat to let it bubble up & thicken. Keep stirring it with the whisk so it will be smooth) I warm my milk in the microwave first, because if you don't the flour will lump up! Believe me, this is an important step to warm the milk in the microwave. If you want more.

of the curry flavor add more curry powder to the sauce and blend well with whisk. Cook the sauce till it's the desired thickness. If it seems too thick for you, add more milk. If the sauce seems too thin, you'll need to thicken it w/ a little flour in hot water or with a little cornstarch in cold water.

Note: If you don't want to use dairy in this dish, you can substitute coconut milk or chicken broth for the milk, but we have always loved it with the basic white sauce + the curry.

Place rice on a plate, shred some chicken on top of rice, pour curry sauce over that & then add the peanuts, etc.Hope you enjoy this! Let me know if you have any questions.

To Tenderize Chicken: cut chicken pieces (against the grain) into 2" pieces. Place in bowl and toss in about 2 teaspoons baking soda, mixing to coat all the chicken. Let sit 30 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse before cooking. You can either boil this (but not too long) or you can stir fry it. You won't believe how tender it will be. There are other ways to tenderize the chicken (or beef)  too by using cornstarch, vinegar etc. You can find many YouTube videos on how to do this. It's so simple but so worth it! I'll never make another Chinese dish again without "velvetizing"  the chicken. I use this method when I make Moo Goo Gai Pan, Cashew Chicken, Almond Chicken, Kung Pow Chicken or any Chinese, Japanese or Thai dish!

Green Rice Recipe

The recipe is a good way to get your kids to eat spinach. It's delicious, and there aren't many things that cheese can't hide :) It's a good recipe to fix for a pot luck or carry in dinner. If you have one of those casserole dishes that has the heating pack to put in the microwave (to keep the food warm) this is a good recipe for that. My sister, Judy Drewett, from Tx. gave me this recipe years ago.

Note: make sure your rice is not overcooked because it will cook more in the oven.

Green Rice
Recipe from the Gift Horse restaurant in Foley, Alabama

Green Rice Casserole

1 - 10 oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed 
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

(To make this casserole gluten free, use GF soup)
2/3 cup salad oil
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups cooked rice
1 - 5 oz (small) can evaporated milk
1½ cups grated cheddar cheese
2 small cans mushrooms, drained (Note: would be even better if they were fresh and sauteed in butter)
1 large onion, chopped

 (about ¾ - 1 cup)

¼ - ½ more cheese to

sprinkle on top

Put thawed spinach in a colander and press on it to drain & make sure all liquid is gone.

Mix spinach and both cans of the mushroom soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine oil and eggs and add to cooked rice, along with spinach mixture. Then add remaining ingredients (milk, cheese, mushrooms and onion) Turn into greased shallow baking dish and sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake at 350º  for 1 hour. If doubled, this will have to cook longer. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!