Crispy Fried Rice and Tofu Bowls with Quick Pickled Veggies

Dear Turkey,

If you think rice is

Good, it's worth an extra ten

Minutes to fry it

Crispy Fried Rice and Tofu Bowls with Quick Pickled Veggies

(serves 3-4, adapted from smitten kitchen)

Ingredients:

- 1/4 c minced scallions, greens and whites

- 2 T minced fresh ginger, or 1 T freeze-dried minced ginger

- canola oil

- sugar

- tamari 

- rice vinegar, or sherry and/or white wine vinegar plus a dash of mirin if you have it 

- salt and pepper

- 3 carrots, julienned or grated 

- 2 small cukes, sliced thin

- 3-4 c cooked rice of your choice, cooled at least to room temp, or from the fridge

- 1-2 lbs firm or extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed, tossed in some cornstarch

- for toppings: tamari, sesame oil, sriracha, mango slices 

Instructions:

- For the dressing: combine scallions, ginger, 1/8 c canola oil, 1/3 c vinegar, and salt and sugar to taste (I used about a 1/2 t salt and 1-2 t sugar). Set aside to let the flavors marry while you cook.

- Toss the carrots and cukes with some vinegar, a little mirin if you have it, some sugar and salt. Let this pickle while you cook. 

- For the rice: heat 1-2 T of canola oil in a nonstick (trust me) pan. Use enough oil to get a shimmering layer on the bottom of the pan when it's hot -- for this and the tofu, you need to let the pan get hot -- don't be a chicken, and have a lid nearby in case your oil flares up. Salt the oil and, when it's shimmering, scoop the rice into the pan. You want a layer of rice that's a little less than an inch thick, so do this in batches if you need to. Smoosh the rice down into a layer and generously salt the top. Let the rice fry until the bottom is a little darker than golden brown (if it's turning black before the inside gets cooked at all, reduce heat). Flip the rice (break it up into pieces if you need to), and cook the other side until it's also getting brown and crispy. Remove from pan and finish cooking the rice, and have the tofu ready to cook while the pan is hot.

- For the tofu: spread it in the hot pan and dash some tamari and/or vinegar in to deglaze the pan a bit. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper too. Cook on high heat while the tofu browns (if you've pressed it enough and used cornstarch this should happen quickly in a hot pan), flipping to cook all sides. Turn off heat.

- To serve: put rice in the bottom of bowls, followed by tofu on one side, and veggies on the other side. Drizzle with dressing, and then put some mango on top. Serve with tamari, sesame oil, and sriracha for drizzling. 

Enjoy,

Tofu

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