Panang Curry flavoured Fried Rice

Am not a huge fan of Chinese food, especially the ones that have Ajinomoto in them and because of my allergic reactions to soya sauce. And so, Fried rice was never a favourite. But this evening as I was wondering on what to eat (cooking for one is a chore, and if I have to drag myself into the kitchen I might as well make the experience interesting), I thought of Fried rice. But not the plain old fried rice, something with a flavour in it. And that is how this dish was born.

I used Panang curry paste while sautéing the vegetables and then followed the regular method of making fried rice. The result was a slightly sticky, because of the curry paste, but very flavourful fried rice, which in my opinion would’ve been great without Soya as well.

Preparation of this dish will take around 30 min if the rice is ready, and you can add your choice of vegetables to ensure that its packed with nutrients too.

Also, I modified the Panang curry paste ingredients a little to suit what I had at hand, I did not have galangal and Kafir lime leaves, and I wanted to use the red chillies I had. Yet again, feel free to add or remove the ingredients, coz what we want is a good flavour in the rice, not an authentic Thai recipe. What the heck, I don’t even think there is a Panang Curry Fried rice in the Thai cuisine. :)

Panang Curry Paste

Ingredients
Dried red chillies - 3
Fresh lemongrass stalks - 2, bottom 4" only, tough outer layer discarded, thinly sliced
Roasted peanuts - 3 Tbsp
Juice from half lemon
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Garlic cloves - 4, chopped
Fresh coriander leaves - 1/4 C
Ground coriander  - 1 Tbsp
Sea salt - 1 Tsp
Ground cumin  - 1/2 Tbsp
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp, freshly ground

Instructions

Grind all the ingredients in a mixer-grinder. Store this in an airtight container.

Fried Rice [Serves 3]
Onion – 1 , finely diced
Garlic – 3 cloves
Green chilies – 1 thinly sliced
Beans – ¼ C , chopped
Carrot – 1 , julienned
Spring Onions - 5 , chopped with greens
Spinach leaves - 1 bunch, washed and chopped
Thai Basil leaves – 2-3, for garnish
Rice - 1 C, cooked
Mustard Oil - 2 Tbsp

Panang Curry paste – 3 Tbsp

Sauce [Optional]
Soya sauce - 1 Tbsp
Lime juice - 1 Tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Ground pepper - 1 tsp

Raw mango – 1/2 medium sized, grated
Thai Basil – couple of leaves, shredded
Spring onion greens – a handful

Instructions

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and keep aside.

Take the rice out of its cooking container and spread it on a plate. Let this dry under a fan.

In a pan, heat the oil and sauté the onions, chillies and garlic pieces. Add the curry paste to this, and sauté till the oil leaves the paste and everything is cooked well. Now mix the other vegetables to this, and sauté them too.

Mix rice to this vegetable mixture well enough. Pour the soya sauce mixture on this, and mix well.

Serve this rice hot and garnished.