Meal of the Week: Easy Fried Rice

The past week's menu has been a little hit-and-miss. Italian meatball soup and fresh-baked bread was a big hit last Tuesday, but the chicken and celery casserole wasn't so popular. But the hit of the week has been the fried rice I made last night. I haven't really been doing any Asian-type meals because for me, that usually means stir-fries, and while I like me a good stir-fry, it's not the kind of thing I go for in winter. And to be honest, I never really thought of eating fried rice as a meal. But it worked. I loved it. The kids loved it. And it was quick and easy to do.

I cooked the rice a couple hours ahead of time. Even better would be to cook it the day (or even a couple of days) before. Next I chopped some ham, a little bit of left-over chicken thigh (that I didn't use in the casserole), and about a dozen medium prawns (shrimp). Then a half an onion, a couple sticks of celery, a couple carrots, some spring (green) onions, and a quarter of a large red capsicum (bell pepper). All of this can be done in advance. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper, then partially cooked it (so that it would finish cooking in the same time as the prawns), and marinated the prawns in a little lime juice, crushed red chili (from a jar) and minced garlic (fresh). Then just before you're ready to put it all together, scramble a couple of eggs, and set aside.

When everything was ready to go, I prepared each serving separately in a wok over medium-high heat. First a little oil, then the ham, followed by the prawns and the chicken. Next I threw in a good handful of the veggies, stirred them around for a couple of minutes, then added the rice (about a cup or so) and the egg, heated everything through, mixed in a splash of soy sauce, then transferred it to a plate, handed the plate to a kid, and started the next batch.

Throwing in a handful of this and a half a handful of that, it doesn't seem like much, but when you put it on the plate, you realize there's plenty there. Even Jack was satisfied without seconds. And it was GOOD!

And in terms of price, with the exception of the prawns, it's all stuff we have around anyway, so it's not only quick and easy and delicious, but it's good value for money, too.