A weeknight fried rice that’s spicy, bitter and intensely savoury. Using shop-bought paste and leftover cooked rice or microwave rice makes simple work of this dish based mostly on the favored Thai soup. The paste sings of tom yum’s flavours, with galangal, lemongrass, chilli and lime leaf, whereas the additional aromatics increase the perfume and vibrant punch. Tom yum paste (I like Mascar’s) and lime leaves can be found at supermarkets, Asian grocers and on-line.
Tom yum fried rice
Prep 20 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 2
Peanut oilor different impartial oil
2 garlic clovespeeled and finely chopped
30g gingerpeeled and finely chopped or grated
1 lemongrass stalkwhite half solely, finely chopped
3 makrut lime leavesdeveined and really thinly sliced
10g coriander (ie, a small handful), leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
2 spring onionstrimmed and thinly sliced
2½ tbsp tom yum paste
2 tsp tomato paste
12 giant peeled prawnspeeled however tails left on, and deveined (215g)
80g brown or white mushroomssliced
8 cherry tomatoes (100g), halved
250g cooked and cooled jasmine riceor 250g cooked and cooled microwave rice
1½ tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 limelower into wedges
2 eggs
Cucumber slicesto serve
Shop-bought fried shallotsto serve
Put a tablespoon and a half of oil in a wok on a medium-high warmth. Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, coriander stalks and half the spring onions, and prepare dinner, stirring, for a minute.
Add the tom yum and tomato pastes, and prepare dinner for an additional 30 seconds. Add the prawns and prepare dinner, stirring, for a minute or two, till simply cooked via and coated within the paste. Using tongs, switch the prawns to a plate, leaving the paste combine within the wok.
Add the mushrooms to the wok and prepare dinner, tossing often, for a minute; add a small splash of additional oil, if want be. Add the tomatoes, prepare dinner for 30 seconds, then add the rice, fish sauce and sugar, and prepare dinner for one more minute, till heated via.
Return the prawns to the wok with the remaining spring onion, toss to mix, then take off the warmth and squeeze over lime juice to style – a couple of quarter to half a lime.
Put a tablespoon of oil in a medium-sized frying pan on a medium-high warmth, then, as soon as it’s shimmering, crack within the eggs and prepare dinner for 2 to a few minutes, till the whites are partially cooked and the perimeters are turning crisp. Turn down the warmth to medium-low and carry on the warmth till the whites are cooked via.
Divide the rice between two plates or shallow bowls, high with the prawn combine, a fried egg, the cucumber slices, fried onions, coriander leaves and remaining lime wedges, and serve.
Lara Lee is the creator of A Splash of Soy, printed by Bloomsbury at £22. To help the Guardian, you possibly can order a duplicate for £19.80 plus P&P at guardianbookshop.com
