Fried Greens and Rice with Ginger
I had planned on taking Milo and Loretta to the play gym yesterday morning, but the community center has moved the playtime to 1:00. What toddlers are awake at 1:00? Budget cuts, probably. So we're in the car, in the middle of a torrential downpour (Did I sing the praises of fall recently? I take it back.), and I'm not about to go back to the messy house. Grocery shopping to the rescue again. We drove to the Safeway that has truck grocery carts with little steering wheels--you know, the kind that are impossible to steer and make you feel like a drunk driver. The two of them sitting side-by-side lasted about five minutes, but I tried. We left a trail of goldfish around the store, and a few shoppers even thought we were cute. Those smiles matter a lot to me, actually, because they make up for the leers I've gotten from bumping into other shoppers with my cumbersome cart.
I could dedicate several posts to how much I dislike Safeway, but sometimes torrential downpours and fighting toddlers prevent me from going to the produce stand and other favorite places. Things I never buy at Safeway: spices, olive oil, coffee, salsa. Things I rarely buy: fruit and vegetables. Good deals at Safeway: flour, sugar, eggs, milk. Don't get me started on grocery store comparison. Okay. I'll say one thing--Ballard Market is my favorite. We lived near there when we were first married, and I'm still hopelessly attached. Every once in awhile, I'll drive up and shop there for a treat. Some women go the spa, I go in search of a good bulk foods department.
But I found a gorgeous head of Savoy cabbage at Safeway yesterday--bright green outer leaves, tight and curly, lying there in the bin just waiting for Georgia O'Keefe to paint it. And some fresh brussel sprouts. Good ones are bright green, tightly closed, and have shiny skins. When we got home, I sliced the Savoy into thin ribbons and made little wedges of the brussels, fried them over high heat with lots of julienned ginger, Thai chile, and garlic. I threw in a little bit of cooked rice at the end, doused everything in soy sauce, and ate Fall in a Bowl while the kids stopped fighting long enough to eat their bagel and cream cheese.
I didn't call this "fried rice" because it's really more a bunch of greens with a little rice to bind it together. Like chopped salad or soup, this is a great way to get heaps of vegetables in one serving, and you'll have energy aplenty to get you to dinnertime. After you've braved Safeway with toddlers, you'll need it.
Fried Greens and Rice with Ginger
Serves two. If you want to make more, do it in batches. I've talked here about why--you want crusty bits and not a mushy pile. Lately I've been using my big nonstick skillet for fried rice instead of my wok, because I'm still having trouble with starchy things sticking to my cast-iron wok. I'm either doing something wrong, it needs to be seasoned more (!!), or it's just not the best medium for fried rice. Stay tuned--I know you're on the edge of your seat.
1 Tb. vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
1 Thai or other spicy chile, seeded and cut into strips
4 c. thinly sliced savoy cabbage (or other cabbage or leafy green--collards, kale)
1 c. brussel sprouts, cut into about 6 wedges each
1 c. broccoli florets
3/4 c. cold cooked rice (or other grail, like quinoa, barley, etc.)
2 Tb. soy sauce
handful of fresh cilantro, washed and chopped
2 egg, fried over-easy or sunny-side-up
Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil, heat up for a second, then add garlic, ginger, and chiles. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add cabbage, brussel sprouts, and broccoli, and saute over medium high heat until cabbage starts to wilt and the brussel sprouts are becoming blackened in spots, about 3 minutes. You can add a little more oil if things seem too dry.
Add rice and soy sauce, stirring to break up rice and coat everything with soy sauce. Dump into bowls, put a hot fried egg on top, and garnish with cilantro.
October 5, 2009
Reader Comments (17)
YUM!! i think brussel sprouts signify fall also. this looks so delicious and, although i don't have brussel sprouts, i do have other stand-ins...i want to eat this now. also, i have a question that i hope you can answer about convection ovens and the like. i made those chocolate chocolate chip cookies (with the salt) and they didn't turn out at all like yours (i know because i tried yours, remember?). anyhow, they took a lot longer to cook and didn't develop the slightly crusty exterior with the creamy interior...they were more just kind of sticky on the outside, no matter how long i cooked them. so, i'm wondering if it has to do with the temp being too low (i don't have a convection oven) or perhaps something else. the only thing i did differently was that i chilled them for longer than 2 hours because i couldn't get to them right away. would that have affected them negatively? anyhow, HELP!
what community center moved the time??? Rainier CC?
Yum-ola.
I am working hard on indoor play options. Next rainy morning you may find us riding trikes in the I-90 bike tunnel! What about taking the commuter train to downtown and running around the mezzanine level? Also, we need to figure out what closed school buildings still have accessible playgrounds with a covered play area. I tried Gasworks park once, but there was too much... disturbing garbage.
The community center change really sucks, but it always really stressed me out anyway.
Finally -- Toddler rain pants and jackets at REI are a good investment. Also, rain pants for mom means we can sit down on a bench even if it's wet...
I went into Safeway the other day for the first time in forever and just wanted to cry. Isn't there anything they can do to make it less awful? Glad you found some good stuff there. And thank you for a greens idea. I am just swimming in them.
Ballard Market. I did love that place. Used to be in walking distance from my apartment. You mean they haven't torn it down to build condos just yet? How nice.
What else, fall-ish, would one put if one despises, and I mean truly detests, brussel sprouts? Maybe a zucchini? I do love cabbage.
Hi Lisa! I won't try to talk you into anything, but I do find that brussel sprouts are despised party because people have had them cooked poorly by mothers and grandmothers--mushy and stinky. But you could substitute so many things here--zucchini would be great, you could leave them out and do all cabbage, do more broccoli...
I've always been jealous of your family rain gear. Might be time for us to copy you..
What a a bummer! I'm so sorry. Refrigerating the dough longer shouldn't be a problem. Yes, I did cook mine on convection because I put two full sheets in there at once, but I often bake cookies on the regular setting if I don't have a full oven and they turn out the same. You might four things, most of them obvious: 1) Follow the recipe EXACTLY 2) Measuring your dry ingredients with extreme care--i.e. scooping the flour into your measuring cups and leveling with a knife versus scooping from the flour canister 3) Baking on higher heat and watching carefully 4) Making sure your oven temp is right by using an oven thermometer.
Could you at least crumble the finished product over ice cream? To play up the salt, I'd crumble some pretzels, too, and top the whole thing with caramel sauce...
Hey Bethany! I make http://technicolorkitcheninenglish.blogspot.com/2009/07/better-than-brownie-cookies.html" rel="nofollow">these cookies, which are very close to Emily's. I'm sure you can easily add some espresso and salt to make it more gourmet. I nuke (instead of melting stove-top) and the dough is ready in 7 minutes. It might even be five, but I don't want to give the wrong idea. I've posted them on Facebook and several people made them and loved them.
You know I've love to buy used, but I've always had to buy this new. Because the idea doesn't work unless it's designed to work really well for being active in the rain, and most toddler raingear isn't.
BUT, we should check the sizes. Maybe Loretta could wear something of Isaac's from last year!
Brussels are one of my favorites. I especially like to roast them until their leaves turn into little chips, with lots of olive oil and kosher salt. Yum! I like the idea of mixing in the cabbage/kale and putting rice in too. I also like to cook brussels with bacon and garlic. Oh now I'm hungry!
I would not go near a brussel sprout for many years, and I've always been a veggie girl! My mom would microwave frozen brussels and they would come out slimy and smelly. Luckily I didn't have a mom that forced me to eat what I didn't like, she would just make me some broccoli instead. It wasn't until I moved out on my own that I tried them roasted and then sauteed and any other way but steamed or frozen!
thanks for the tips. looking back, i can think of some things that might have made a difference. i will try again (the thought of yours make my mouth water) and be more careful. you know, the whole "measuring flour thing" is tricky. no one describes their method in the recipe and a volume measure of flour is so variable. i will consider the use of the cookies...although it sounds so sinful. salty, chocolately carmel....YUM.
thanks pds. i will try these too! :) you can't have too many sinfully chocolate cookie recipes, right?
I miss Ballard Market too-- oh, love love. Can't wait to spend more time on your blog now that my work season is winding down...
I attempted to make this from memory tonight. I forgot the garlic and ginger. It was still delicious. However, I'm sure if I added those two ingredients it would have been over the top! ;)
How do you get your egg to look like that? I wonder if I cook my eggs on too high?