Introductory Post

[xinu]

Age: 28
Height: 5'10"
Starting Date: September 17th, 2005
Starting Weight: 365 lbs.
Current Weight: 330 lbs.

Comments

[laurelbay]

(here's hoping this doesn't get buried)

Make some rice. Brown rice is better for you, but white rice is still good. Have a rice cooker makes this step much easier than doing it on the stove, but any way is a good way. Make as much rice as you plan on eating, or make more if you'll be saving some for later, of course.

While the rice is cooking, get some fried rice veggies. I like onions, celery, and carrots. DICE those babies very finely (tiny little cubes) until you have approximately 1 cup of diced veggies to throw in your fried rice. At this point, I'll often throw in some frozen peas, too. As a matter of fact, if you don't like prep work you can just buy a bag of frozen mixed veggies and then pick out all the nasty lima beans. Ew. Lima beans.

If you like chicken, pork, or shrimp fried rice, you can also dice up some fresh meat (one serving of whatever you're looking at) and put it to the side. Be sure to make each piece smallish, but not necessarily as tiny as the veggies.

The cup of diced veggies goes in the microwave after you add no more than 1/4 cup of water. This will help cook and steam them without drying them out. Microwave a minute at a time until they're thoroughly cooked.

Now get the biggest skillet you've got -- 10" is necessary, and 12" is preferred. Make sure it's not a griddle (it has to have "walls" on the edges, or you'll make a mess), and you can potentially use a chicken fryer too, if necessary. I prefer cooking with olive oil (we put rosemary in our olive oil to flavor it), but you can use whatever you'd like. At this point, you'll need to cook your chosen meats. Shouldn't take long, really, but make sure they're done.

If you don't want to put in any meats, ignore the olive oil and grab margerine, butter or any butter substitute in fat form that you prefer. Put a small amount - no more than a tbs per serving of rice - into the pan. Now throw your rice on top of it. With a large spatula, mix it all around and throw in a few healthy splashes of soy sauce (low sodium is best, IMO). Mix it all up, and you'll notice the rice starting to get that "fried rice" color to it.

Depending on the amount of rice you're making, your skillet may be entirely full of rice or it may only be partially full. If it's entirely full, hollow out a spot in the middle, and crack a fresh egg in there. Add in just a tiny dash of soy. Scramble the egg in the skillet, and once it's about 50% cooked, start mixing it in with the rice. Don't worry about it contaminating the rice at all -- the rice will help cook the egg as you go. If you're fixing multiple portions of fried rice, use multiple eggs to taste.

So now you have your egg, your rice and (if applicable) your meat. Finally, toss in your cooked veggies (be sure to drain the water from them first), and mix it up. I prefer flavoring this whole mixture with garlic powder or onion powder (or both). Eat on its own, or serve some fresh stir-fried veggies over the top.

I'm always afraid to eat fried rice when we go out, because I have no idea what its caloric content is. When at home, however, you can very carefully control what goes in and modify it according to your dietary needs. It's very tasty, and surprisingly easy to make. The worst part is waiting for the rice to cook.

[xinu]

You so rock. Thanks!

[laurelbay]

bitte!