As is our tradition during any long holiday weekend, V entered the kitchen today to make one of his signature dishes – Vegetarian Thai Fried Rice.  This is a guilty pleasure of ours, especially because we like to have it with kettle-fried potato chips.

Vegetarian Thai Fried Rice with Cilantro

The recipe was adapted from The Asian Vegan Kitchen by Hema Parekh, our favorite cookbook for Asian dishes, from where the recipe for the Vegetarian Chinese Stir Fry also came.

The original recipe in the book is for “Fried Rice with Basil” in the “Thailand” section of the book.  Since it is winter time, we had trouble finding fresh basil in the stores (it has also dried up in our garden), so V decided to substitute the basil with cilantro, which surprisingly we have no trouble finding through the year.  V also added baked tofu cubes to the dish.

So here’s the modified recipe for the Vegetarian Thai Fried Rice as cooked by V.

Recipe for Vegetarian Thai Fried Rice with Cilantro
Adapted from The Asian Vegan Kitchen by Hema Parekh
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

• Prepare the tofu: 
• Squeeze out any extra water from the tofu by placing the tofu in between 2 plates and placing a heavy weight on top.  Leave it for around 30 minutes and throw away the water that collects on the bottom plate
• Cut the tofu in to cubes and marinate it in the chili oil and 1 Tbsp of soy sauce for around 30 minutes. (Alternately use  sesame oil, black pepper and 1 Tbsp soy sauce for the marinade)
• Spread evenly on a cookie sheet lined with foil and bake it in the oven for around 10-15 minutes at 300F until the tofu is lightly browned.   Alternately, pan fry it in a wok with a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil (carefully, so as to not break up the tofu too much) until the tofu is lightly browned
• Heat 2 Tbsp vegetable oil in a wok
• Add the minced garlic and green chilies and fry for a couple of minutes until the garlic is fragrant
• Add the minced onion and fry for around 3-4 minutes 
• Then add the mushrooms and fry for around 3-4 minutes 
• Then add the julienned red bell pepper (saving a few slices for garnish), chopped cilantro, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, sugar and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes
• Switch off the heat and spoon the cooked white rice and mix without mashing it up too much
• Garnish with the remaining red bell pepper and serve

Vegetarian Thai Fried Rice with Cilantro

We have tried this recipe with brown rice and though it does taste better with white rice, brown basmati rice (found in Indian stores) would definitely work if you want to go for the healthier option.  Kettle chips, unhealthy, but a yummy accompaniment to this delicious dish!