Vegan Black Jasmine Pork Fried Rice with Egg (Thai Rice Berry)

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2016

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

Follow Your Heart came out with a vegan egg (photo above stolen from Google). The first time I tried it – I was put off by the fact that it is a powder you add water to & that it takes FOREVER to set & become eggy. It seemed like a chemical rubber to me & I talked shit about it a bit. When I decided to make a fried rice – it crossed my mind that this egg might work better as part of a larger dish – without the pressure of having to stand on its own. So – I made it again. I noticed that the powder even has a very faint eggy-sulfur smell – that I did not notice the first time. And – this time – I let the pan get very hot before I added the mix.

And – this time – it came together a bit more quickly. I added some salt to it before it set & scrambled it until it was no longer wet. And tasted it. And, this time, I kinda liked the result. The visual isn’t perfect but the taste & texture were actually pretty good. I wonder how a quiche or chilaquiles might turn out with this stuff. I will experiment & report back. But – if you crave breakfast eggs – I am changing my thumbs down on these to a pretty enthusiastic thumbs up. Omelettes might be the ideal way to use this stuff – because added flavors & textures can only help.

One thing – once set – these eggs don’t break up like real egg & so – cut up – they look sorta plastic (visually – see below) and were lost & overwhelmed in this rice. Just FYI.

As to this rice dish – it was just an excuse to make my awesome Vegan Char Siu or Chinese BBQ Pork Ribs – above. Those fuckers are so convincing & delicious – I just had to make them again the very next day! I also had a myriad of random vegetables to use up & I really wanted to experiment with the vegan egg again – so – this dish was born. It is a pretty straight-forward stir-fry & you can add anything you want to it or lose anything from it that you don’t like or have around already. Two notes – the egg gets sorta lost in this so it might be a waste to use them for this dish and – I stirred the chopped “pork” into the stir-fry where the heat sorta steamed their crispy, stickiness away. In the future – I would top each plate with a portion of the ribs — on top or on the side.

Also – I made this with my newest rice discover – Thai Rice Berry (black jasmine) rice. ANY rice will work – but I had this left over so that is what I used.

I saw this new rice at my favorite Thai grocery store – Bangluck. $10 for 5 pounds – so I could not resist. I looked it up online & found THIS:

Riceberry Rice is the new variety of rice that has been bred in Thailand. The rice is deep purple in colour; this rich dark colour is typical of plants that yield high nutrition. Rice berry rice is cross pollination of three hardy and loved rice strains; they are:

Thai Hom Mali Race – also known as fragrant jasmine rice, the highest quality and most sort after rice in the world, after cooking it retains its structure but takes on a soft fluffy consistency.
Hom Nin Rice – has well known and documented antioxidant properties, but this grain can become a little chewy if it isn’t cooked through.
Khao Dawk Mali 105 – a hardy seed which will grow in a broad range of agricultural environments.

The cross-pollination of these three rice plants has resulted in Riceberry Rice, a new and exciting rice variety. Riceberry takes on the best attributes of each of the grains that were used in its inception. The light fluffy texture and flavour from Thai jasmine rice, high in minerals and antioxidants from Hom Nin rice and hardy and high yield characteristics of Khao Dawk Mali 105.

Riceberry Rice Nutrition Profile

Riceberry rice is rich in many antioxidant that help our immune system stay healthy. It contains significant levels of:

Beta-carotene
Gama Oryzanol
Vitamin E
Folic Acid
Tannin
Zinc
Fiber
Bran Oil

These antioxidants, vitamins and minerals give riceberry rice a nutrition profile that is relatively unique. The dark purple colour it matures signifies it high nutrition content and gives it a unique appearance when served.

The rice is also extremely high in fiber and bran oil, this natural aids digestion and helps keep the stomach free from disease.

Thai Rice Glycemic Index

Riceberry rice has been graded as low-medium in the glycemic index. The abundant fiber and bran oil which it contains helps to reduce the risks of diabetes by hindering the absorption of sugars into the blood through the stomach. It also helps the pancreas function better.

– See more at: http://www.thenaturalhealthmarket.co.uk/riceberry-organic#sthash.388tjdGM.dpuf

Vegan Black Jasmine Pork Fried Rice with Egg (Thai Rice Berry)

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

Vegan Char Siu or Chinese BBQ Pork Ribs

3-4 cups cooked rice

2-3 TBS olive or coconut oil

1 small onion – diced

1 large carrot – diced

1 red (or other) bell pepper – diced

1-6 chili peppers (I used 2 serrano & 4 jalapeno – but I love heat)

2 cups purple cabbage (or green or both) – chopped

1 head Swiss chard – ribs removed & chopped

4 radishes – sliced

1 cup peas

4 TBS liquid aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)

1 TBS minced ginger

1 TBS minced garlic

2 Follow Your Heart vegan eggs (optional)

GARNISH – more radish slices and/or lime wedges, sliced scallions or sliced green garlic

DIRECTIONS

Make the pork ribs & set aside. When cool enough to handle – chop them up.

If using the eggs – make them, chop them up & set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan or wok.

Basically – just dump everything (except the rice, egg & ribs) in there & cook until the veggies are soft. You might want to wait until it is close to done before adding the peas so that they don’t get all smooshed. Add the rice & combine. My photos show adding the egg & ribs to the pan but I think they would work better added to each serving when you plate the rice.

Plate the portions & top with chopped egg & pork and any garnish you prefer.