Minnesota Food Lover

My new favorite vegetarian recipe!!! I clipped this recipe from a Better Homes and Garden magazine. I’m not sure of the date, but I was able to locate the recipe on the Website www.bhg.com/recipe/asian-style-fried-rice-and-beans.  This recipe is easy, fast and tasted great.

All of the ingredients are easy to find and may already in your pantry.  It calls for 2 cups cooked brown rice, but I used white rice.  We always have some white rice leftover from Chinese takeout and this was a great way to use it up.  I was shy of 2 cups rice, so I added a few stalks of asparagus.  I thought that it was a good addition and gave the dish more color and flavor.  I did not have cilantro or lime and replaced those ingredients with basil and lemon. 

Here is the recipe with a few modifications:

Asian-Style Fried Rice and Beans
Serves 4

8 oz. can pineapple slices
1 T vegetable oil
2-3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thin on the bias
3-4 stalks of asparagus, tough ends snapped off and sliced on the bias- optional
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 c cooked rice – brown or white
1 15 oz. can garbanzo (chickpeas) beans, drained and rinsed
1 c frozen peas, thawed
3 T reduced sodium soy sauce
1/3 c fresh basil or cilantro
1 lemon or lime

Quarter pineapple slices.  In a 12 inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tsp of the oil over medium heat. Add pineapple slices and sauté until golden brown about 2 minutes per side.  Remove from skillet and set aside.

 Heat another teaspoon of oil to the skillet and add the carrots along with a couple tablespoons of water. Cover the skillet and occasionally stir until almost tender- about 4 minutes.  Add the asparagus and cover again for several minutes until both carrots and asparagus are tender.  The water should have evaporated; remove the lid and sauté if some water remains.   Add garlic and ginger stirring until fragrant.  Add rice, beans, peas and soy sauce stirring frequently so rice does not stick.  If rice is sticking to the bottom of the pan, lower heat and cover.  Wait 1-2 minutes and rice should come off the bottom of the pan.  When heated through, stir in basil or cilantro and pineapple.  Remove from heat and squeeze the lemon or lime over the top.  Serve.

I hope this becomes one of your favorite recipes too!