Dried Scallops, Crab Meat Fried Rice - Working With Left Overs From CNY 2.....

I am cooking my way through my refrigerator... Left with a copious amount of white rice, the easiest way is to fry them and for this New Year, in an effort to eat more healthy, we have decided to cook basmati rice instead of Thai Fragrant Rice. Basmati Rice, for those who are unfamiliar, is a special long grained rice popularly eaten in India.The best Basmati rice is grown in India and Pakistan. When cooked, these are drier, less starchy than normal long grained rice, yielding a free flowing consistency. Some interesting facts about Basmati : a cup of cooked Basmati Rice has 170 calories while a cup of long grained rice carries 205 calories. Ayurveda, the traditional Indian healing approach recommends the Basmati rice. "That is because basmati rice is easy on the digestive system. Also, it is saatvic or pure, and balances the physiology. Basmati rice builds body tissue and is very high on praana or vital life energy,"

In addition to its holistic properties, Basmati Rice, in my opinion is perfect for Fried Rice because it is drier and hence looser. It doesn't get soggy or lumpy - every rice grain is beautifully separated. I have some crab meat in my fridge and hence I decided to pair it with some shredded dry scallops for sweetness and fragrance.

The end result?... I meant to pack this for lunch for work tomorrow but I ended up finishing everything , Sigh... there goes my watchful diet.



Recipe :
Cooked Basmati Rice         1 bowl
Dried Scallops                    2 ( about 2cm diameter)
Cooked crab meat              1/3 bowl
Spring onions                      For garnishing.
Garlic                                 2 small cloves bruised with back of knife.
Ginger                                2 slices
Chinese Rice Wine (Hua Tiao) 
Soya sauce
White pepper powder
Egg                                     1, beaten


Method:
1. Place dried scallops in a small bowl, with 2 sprigs of spring onions and 2 slices of ginger. Add a dash of Chinese Rice wine and steam over boiling water for 10 mins until softened.
Cool down and shred scallops.

2. I did the same with the crab meat just to remove the fishy smell a little.
3. In a hot wok, add oil. Add bruised garlics to infuse the wok with the fragrance of the garlic. Add shredded scallops, crab meat. Fry briskly over hot fire. Add Basmati Rice. Continue frying to mix flavours of the scallop and crab meat with the rice.
4. Season with soya sauce, lots of white pepper while frying.
5. Pushing the fried rice to one side, add a little oil and add beaten egg. When egg begins to set a little, mix the fried rice with the egg to coat rice with egg. Continue frying until egg is cooked.
6. Add diced spring onions and turn off heat.