Fast Fried Rice or Rice Bowls with Tahini Sauce

Eating simple, whole foods is the nutrition message we all hear.  But the real magic is in making it happen day in and day out.  Some variation on fried rice or rice bowls has been a staple in our diets for years.

I cook for a family, so I usually cook with everyone else in mind except for ME.  That gets annoying sometimes.  But lunch feels like MY meal.  Breakfast, I have to please all and get it done quickly.  Dinner always makes me feel a little pressured to to provide variety and a bit of something... well...  dinner-y.  But if it was just me, I would eat the same thing for lunch and dinner almost every day.  And this is what it would be.

Brown rice, greens, tahini sauce, kim chee and eggs (or beans or meat). 

I put it all in a bowl, mix it up and eat it.  Yum.  My kids go for this too, but I usually make egg fried rice for them them (with much the same ingredients).  Use same left over brown rice, some egg, some frozen peas or left over broccoli topped with tamari.  They were both raised on this for lunch from 12 months old until they started kindergarten.  Cheap, easy, nutritious.  When I need to do a bit of a detox where I leave out all the sugar, gluten and dairy... I eat this and am a happy woman.

This is how I make it happen.  

1. Brown Rice.  I cook brown rice every couple of days.  Now, I love brown rice... but I do something a little special to mine.  I soak it first, for at least 8 hours... then I cook it for a loooooong time.  Soaking starts the germination process, softens it up, makes the nutrients more bioavailable.  If it's not soaked first, I think it tastes like animal fodder.  When I cook it, I don't use a rice cooker, I use the stove top.  I'm sure a rice cooker would work, but I don't have one.  I always cook at LEAST 1 cup dry rice at a time.  Grains cook by steaming, so having enough in a pot, not too shallow, works best.  After soaking and changing the water, I put my 1 cup rice (I like short-grain), 2 cups (plus a few Tbls. more) water and a pinch of sea salt in the pan.  If I have some chicken stock out, I sub 1/4 cup or more of the stock for the water.  Bring that to a boil and let that boil for about 10 minutes until the water evaporates to the point where the rice is JUST poking through the surface of the water.  Then I cover it, move to a cold burner, and turn that burner on the lowest setting and set the timer for one hour (or a little more).  When done, turn off heat, leave the lid ON, and let sit for at least another 30 minutes (or a few hours, if you're not ready to eat).  This means I start cooking rice at breakfast time for lunch, or at lunch time for dinner.

Never underestimate good condiments

2.  Tahini sauce.  This is just a basic tahini sauce recipe you can get from any middle eastern cookbook.  I happen to like a bit of almond butter in there, because it gives it a richer flavor.  The sauce gives you some extra fat and protein that will help fill you up and give the whole dish a better mouth feel.

• 1/2 cup tahini (optional, replace 2 Tbls. with almond butter)

• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 Tbls. olive oil

• 1/4 cup lemon juice

• a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

• water, to thin

  Put it all in the blender and wiz it up.  Add enough water to thin it out.  If you're whisking it up by hand, use warm water to make it easier.  Taste and add salt/lemon as needed.  Keeps in the fridge for an eternity, so if you like it, make twice this amount.

If you need it to be a little more convenient, Annie's Goddess Dressing is really yummy and is essentially the same thing.

3.  Kim chee is a slightly spicy Korean fermented cabbage (sometimes very spicy, but I only buy the slightly spicy kind). I know that sounds vile, but it is a real winner of a condiment.  I am happy to report that I have found a really good brand of naturally fermented kim chee at Fred Meyer's supermarket near my house.  It's much better than the stuff I make.  It's best to get one that does not contain vinegar.  Naturally fermented stuff gives you all the good bacteria and tastes WAY better. 

Put a little olive oil in the pan and saute your greens with a bit of salt. Sprinkle them with 1/2 tsp of water, add the rice to the pan, cover and steam for 2 minutes.

4. Greens.  You can interpret this any way you want.  You can just use fresh romaine, like you would for a salad.  Or steamed/sauteed spinach, nettle, chard, kale, sorrel, broccoli...  Knock yourself out.  This is the stuff you know you need to eat.  My kids don't always like it, so I figure if I get it in my lunch at least 5 days per week, I'm doing OK.  

5. Protein.  Now, I usually use eggs because I keep chickens, and even when i didn't, I found that even when I'm paying a premium price for good eggs, they are an inexpensive source of protein and healthy fats.  If not eggs, I'd put 1/4 cup of cooked beans like kidney beans or garbanzo beans on there.  Or if I have some leftover beef, lamb or chicken from dinner, I would add that.  You can get away with just one egg.  7 grams protein plus what you get in the tahini and brown rice will do.  But I often go for two.  Training, teenager, pregnant or lactating... go for 2 without a second thought.  Don't listen to what your doctor says about eggs.  They are good for you.

I fry mine gently for 3 minutes.

6. Tamari.  You might wonder what that is.  It's really just very good soy sauce the way grandma used to make.  Most of the soy sauce you buy now is just water, salt and artificial colors and flavors to make it taste like fermented soybeans and wheat that are used to make actual soy sauce (or shoyu, as it's called when made properly).  But tamari is just made from fermented soybeans and salt, no wheat.  So good for gluten-free folks... and I think the flavor is better.  You'll find it over in the natural food section of the store... not by the soy sauce.  I know, confusing.  

Putting it all together.  Usually, I'm just steaming or sauteing greens.  When they are halfway done, I just add a big spoon full of rice (and beans, if I'm using them) to the same pan and let that heat my rice through, if it's cold (no, I don't have a microwave and am living proof you can prepare 3 meals a day for a family without one).  I put that in a bowl, then fry my eggs in the same pan and put them over top of the rice.  At the table, I break out my 3 fabulous condiments... kim chee, tahini sauce and tamari.  Put it all in the bowl, mix it up and YUM.  I admit, I usually finish this w/ a little piece of dark chocolate.  But we all have our vices.

On the left is Amelia's lunch (she's nearly 5 now). Just rice with tamari, an egg and some raw veggies. On the right is mine.

If you are trying to eat healthier, and are looking for some easy ways to get more nutritious food, maybe lose a few pounds, this meal is a really good thing to have in your repertoire.  If you are at home eating with little kids (as little as 1 year old), this is a wonderful thing to start them out on.  Most kids don't care for the greens, but they'll do broccoli or peas.  Or just some plain rice, eggs and tamari with some plain nori on the side.