Special Egg Fried Rice

I find a steaming bowl of egg fried rice supremely comforting, plus it’s also a fantastically quick and easy kids teatime recipe that everyone should have on their weekly meal plan. It’s easily customisable – i’ve used prawns but you could try chicken, tofu or quorn pieces. You can also chop and change the veggies depending on your family’s tastes.

The marinade is packed with punchy flavours like lime, soy, ginger and garlic but i’ve left the chilli out as that would put my boys off. Feel free to add in a little chopped red chilli if your kids don’t mind a bit of spice.

You can also use toasted sesame oil to fry it all up in, which gives it that gloriously authentic Asian flavour. But regular vegetable oil works just fine too if you can’t get hold of it or really can’t be bothered to make a special trip to the shops.

I have been ultra lazy and used a pouch of microwavable rice in this recipe, it just makes it a lightning quick meal option. You know those nights when you’ve only got about 30 minutes to make and eat tea for the kids before they have to be out of the door for Beavers/Football/Swimming etc, well this is the kind of recipe you need up your sleeve.

What I love about this recipe is that despite the corner-cutting, you can still feel slightly smug that you’ve avoided bunging nuggets and potato waffles in the oven yet again, and instead have made a lovely fresh and nutritious meal. Hurrah!

Special Egg Fried Rice

Serves: 4 kids or 2 adults
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients

150g cooked king prawns (tofu or quorn pieces are a great vegetarian substitute)
2 tbsp runny honey
3 tsp dark soy sauce
2 limes, one juiced and zested, one cut into wedges
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
2 eggs, beaten
1 x small head of broccoli, cut into small florets
1 x 250g pouch cooked brown basmati rice
1 cup frozen peas
handful sesame seeds
fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method

1. Put the prawns (or tofu/quorn) in a dish with the honey, soy sauce, lime zest and juice, garlic and ginger and mix thoroughly. Cover and chill for as long as you have time for.

2. Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil (toasted sesame if you have it, but any vegetable oil is fine) in a small frying pan and then pour in the egg and cook it until it sets, flip and cook briefly on the other side until you have an ultra thin golden omelette. Take off the heat and transfer the omelette to a chopping board and cut a quarter of it into long ribbons and set aside for garnishing. Roughly chop the remainder.

3. In a wok or large frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil, add the prawns (not the marinade) and lightly cook for a minute, before adding the broccoli. Stir fry for a few more minutes, then add the rice and mix it up. Add the frozen peas, the chopped egg and the rest of the marinade, giving it all a good toss around the pan for a few more minutes until you’re happy it’s cooked.

4. Turn it out into bowls and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds, chopped coriander leaves and curl up your remaining egg ribbons to make a pretty garnish, along with the lime wedges for optional extra zing. Serve with prawn crackers and sweet chilli sauce as a special treat!