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When I travel for a long period of time, even though I experience fabulous meals at fine restaurants,
I find myself terribly craving rice. Even next to a juicy, wonderful prime rib, I dream about a scoop of rice on the side of my plate.
Rice has an essential role in the two cultures in which I have been raised. Japanese used to eat rice three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. With the western influence, Japanese now eat bread for breakfast and maybe lunch, but rice is still the staple at the dinner table. In Iranian culture, there’s always bread for breakfast, but rice was (and still is somewhat) the staple of the dinner table, until white starch became a No No for the waist line.
On the airplane coming home, all I was thinking was, yaki meshi ! Pronounced yáki not ‘yucky’ 😀 meaning fried (also means grilled, like yaki tori / barbecued skewered chicken) and meshi is the same word as gohan, meaning cooked rice (uncooked, rice is kómé). Yaki meshi is usually made when there is left over plain cooked rice which could easily be turned into a meal, as it was introduced with how Nasi Goreng came to be.
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Yaki Meshi • やきめし • Japanese Stir-Fried Rice
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
In Japanese cooking, a balance of colors is very important. For this white rice dish, red, green and yellow are almost always incorporated, in addition to the colors of meats and other added vegetables.
◊ Cook 1½ cups of Japanese rice per direction on the rice package. Yields about 4½ cups cooked rice.
Or – I used Nishiki brand rice, cooked 1½ cups/320 g with 2 cups/465 ml water in electric rice-cooker. Rice must be warm for frying.
INGREDIENTS
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil divided
• 1 small/100 ~ 200 g onion diced small
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• ½ tsp fresh ginger minced
• 1 medium/100~150 g carrot cut in small pieces
• ¼ cup/ 100 g peas briefly blanched if frozen -or- briefly blanched green-beans, cut slanted and thinly
• 3 ~ 5 shiitake mushrooms cut in small pieces -or- 15 cm/ 6″ burdock root cut in small pieces
• 2 eggs (skip for vegan)
• ½ tsp sugar (optional)
• 2 ~ 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 ~ 3 stems scallions sliced in 5mm/ ¼”
• ground black pepper to taste
• (optional) for extra flavor, add 2 Tbsp of small shrimps or diced ham
DIRECTIONS
◊ If using burdock roots: Clean the root by scraping with the back of knife, cut in thin strips and soak in water for 20 minutes. Drain, rinse, dry well and fry in 1 Tbsp vegetable oil until soft, drain and set aside.
◊ In a small bowl, beat eggs with sugar and set aside.
◊ On medium-heat, heat 2 Tbsp oil in a mid-sized, deep, non-stick pot (or a wok).
Add onion, stir until edges start caramelizing. Lower heat slightly and. add garlic, ginger, carrots and stir until carrots are half way soft. Add blanched peas (or green beans) and stir a little. Add shiitake mushrooms (or fried burdock root), black pepper to taste and stir for a minute.
◊ Push the vegetables to one side and tilt the pot so the oil slides to the empty side. Pour the beaten eggs and scramble the eggs, half cooked. Add the warm rice, sprinkle soy sauce over it and very quickly stir all ingredients and mix well. Place a lid on the pot and let the rice form a thin crust on the bottom of the pot (a few minutes).
◊ Add cut scallions, and one final stirring. Dish out onto a platter or serve in individual bowls or decorative dishes.
~ どうぞめしあがれ / Douzo Meshiagare ~
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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Love the look of the rice, and love your porcelain dish as well. Noritake? I love my rice as well….just can’t give it up!
Thank you… the blue dish is Wedgewood/England and the white one is my favorite, a non-famous Japanese manufacturer.
I’ll have to try this as I love Japanese food and it looks quite easy. You made the plated shot look exceptionally beautiful. Interesting that the rice should be warm — for nasi goreng it should be cold.
Thank you Stefan. I learned something new from you about nasi-goreng. When I made it, I briefly warmed the rice before I stir-fried it. 😉
I love rice dishes Fae, and I would love this just on its own. A meal in itself for me!
Lovely,Fae! You’re right; there is something just so filling and fulfilling about rice.
I have never purchased peanut oil or grapesee oil. But after reading your post Oils; For Cooking, Dipping and in Recipes I am going to stir-fry rice with peanut oil or grapeseed oil for people with peanut allergies. 😀
Thank you for sharing the link,Fae.
What a lovely presentation! I’m koshteh moredeh for rice same as you, so I totally hear you and thank you for this awesome recipe!
Oh, Fae… gorgeous photo and flavorful recipe. I immediately pinned it to make for dinner very soon. I love your writing and storytelling. How interesting (and sad) that rice has diminished so much in many Asian food cultures. I am also a lover of rice. Which rice do you prefer – Japanese style or Persian? Tough to choose, I am sure.
Thank you, Shanna!
The thought of choosing between two varieties is difficult because they are so different, and each compliments sides/pickles of its own cuisine.
– Japanese cuisine has its unique rice dishes made with chestnuts, bamboo shoots, lotus roots, red beans, sea food, etc which are ingredients foreign to Persian/Middle Eastern cuisines. Having said that…
– I believe, Persians have more varieties of rice dishes using vegetables, meats, fruits, nuts which are foreign to the Japanese/Pacific-Rim-Asian cuisine. And of course, the >> tah-digs!
– I appreciate your comment and stay tuned for more rice dishes coming up in both varieties!
😀 Fae.
Hi, Fae,
– Shanna
I am a lover of Persian food. It is so fun to cook. I love the flavors, vegetables, meats, spices – and Tah Dig. I even have a Tah Dig post on my blog! I love your commentary above – you are a food expert! Thank you for sharing!
So pretty! I really like your plating and the flavors sound good, too.
My comfort food when I was ill was rice cooked with chickpeas and roasted cumin seeds, eaten with a couple of spoons of plain yoghurt. So soothing and comforting! Your recipe is a visual treat Fae. My son loves Japanese food so I may suggest we cook it together.
Thank you Selma. What a great idea! Chopping colorful ingredients and stirring the rice with them may be amusing to him. 😀 )))
Like you Fae I crave rice. There is so much you can make with it, I especially love risotto and paella, but an not averse to English rice pudding or just steamed rice with natural yoghurt on top! Once you have mastered risotto making fae you will never look back. there is much mystique surrounding its preparation, but it really is a simple dish, as simple as your rice dish here.
Every risotto post I see, I get encouraged/excited to make it, and leave a message as such, and then, it never happened. Just now, I added ‘risotto’ rice on my shopping list. Thank you for your encouragement, I will check out your risotto recipes and challenge (with my fingers crossed). I will write you a report! 😀
Oh, goodness, that’s how we cook fried rice too, almost exactly, except the shitake mushrooms ! We put chopped Chinese sausage, or crispy bacon, and green peas.
RenxKyoko! I’ve been missing your comments, Sweetheart! How is busy life treating you?
The differences between yaki-meshi and cha-han are the type of rice used and the Chinese barbecued pork (char siu).
I had a Filipino friend (he passed away many moons ago), an elderly gentleman, who used to make stir-fried jasmine rice in bacon oil with bacon bits and vegetables. It was so yummy. Is that pretty much what you make? What do you call it? 😛
Fae, this dish looks super yummy! I adore rice and I would eat it every night.
Yum Yes! One of these days, I have to roll my sleeves and make risotto.
With an ability to prepare dishes like this one, so fresh-looking and tasty, I can see why you might crave rice. It’s a wonderful dish.
I knew a Bartolini would understand! I love risotto, and have never made it. That is my next challenge in the rice dish category! 😀
I love rice and so wish it weren’t so bad for the waistline. I could eat it every day. The fried rice looks great, full of good vegetables and meat. I always love your posts not only do you get a great recipe but you learn a bit of the history and meaning of the dish.
Thank you Suzanne. As much as I try to cut down on white carbs, I still crave them, want them and end up making them. I like to introduce more Persian and Japanese rice dishes.
That is some tasty looking fried rice!
I’m exactly like you Fae!!! I love my rice! After a few days of not having it, I start to crave for the wholesome, comforting goodness of a simple bowl of rice. This plate of yaki meshi is exactly what I would love to dig into!! It’s the kind of food that says Eat Me! I’m Made with Love! 😀 YUMS, Sharon
😀 ))) Yes and Yes! Though bad for the waste line, I am going to introduce more rice dishes! 😉
I am craving your yaki meshi and it’s not even lunch time!!!
Darling Jo, One of these days, I am going to learn how to make risotto from one of your posts. 😛
What a pretty dish.
Japanese are right about the color coordination, aren’t they? 😀
Absolutely Fae. So delicate.