Onion Fried Rice with Peas

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

At the eleventh hour I found out about Onion Day via Cream Puff and knew I had to participate. Nothing turns up under my knife more often than onions - usually the strongly flavoured yellow kind, but very frequently green onions or red. Here, they are the main flavour note in fried rice.

Cooking a pot of rice on the weekend makes the rest of the week's meals ten times easier - you can use rice in various really good and satisfying things that don't take much time, like mujadara or risi bisi. Fried rice is one of those quick and infinitely variable dishes. Many people think of fried rice as an Eastern dish and season accordingly, but I prefer it with things like grated cheese stirred in to get all melted and toasty and fresh herbs like sage or thyme. This is a more basic version, however.

Quarter one small onion, or half a medium, and cut in julienne. Brown onions over medium heat with a touch of salt to draw out the juices, using butter or oil. When onions are nearly caramelized add 3/4 cup of cold cooked rice, and fry, stirring occasionally, until rice is very fragrant and is forming lots of crusty pieces. Watch that the onion does not burn. Meanwhile, microwave about 1/3 cup frozen peas until they are tender. When rice is done add peas and a few grinds of pepper. Continue to saute for a minute or two, taste for seasoning, and serve.

Tag: Onion Day

9 comments:

Sara said...

Oh yum. You have such great recipes. I tried your beet salad - it was great. I doubled the recipe, but my husband still ate almost all of it.

Unknown said...

Making rice ahead of time and using it during the week for freezing it is one of my time-saving tricks. This looks good, and makes me hungry for rice.

Anonymous said...

It looks so delicous! I need to test this recipe asap.

Thank you for your participation in the event.

Pepper said...

Zorra, it was great to be part of Onion day. I learned lots from other bloggers.

Mimi, another installment in the rice series is on its way.

Hi Sara, glad you liked the salad.

Anonymous said...

Love your recipes, this one in particular looks like a quick, nutritious one to whizz up.
I think it would be a good idea to have a stock of frozen peas in the freezer for this kind of thing. Nigella Lawson (British celeb chef) swears by this.
Thanks
CJ
x

Pepper said...

Hi CJ, not a fan of Nigella but agree with her on this point.

Anonymous said...

I tried frying a slice of bacon in the pan first, then throwing in the onions and some red pepper, instead of peas. My leftover rice was a combination of white, wild and basmati brown. What really put it over the top was the addition of some pimenton. Thanks for the idea!

Anonymous said...

I made it last night and it was so good I made it again today. Very tasty and very cheap. Good for a college student like me. :)

Paula said...

I randomly found this recipe looking for good, cheap recipes. Anyways, loved it - takes rice to another level with the caramelized onions, and the peas add flavor. Very simple and understated, which I like. I served it with salmon on the side. Look forward to trying more of your recipes.