Chorizo and Pepper Fried Rice

Last month I reviewed Degustabox, the monthly subscription surprise food box, but I was a little disappointed with it as not many of the contents were suited to us. However, as with all things like this, it's swings and roundabouts and what one person likes might not be suited to another and I saw lots of positive comments on the Degustabox Facebook page from very happy customers.

This month the box was very much more suited to us, filled with crisps, crackers, chutney, malt loaf and chocolate biscuits there was plenty to like.

 

Contents of the box

Ryvita chilli thin bites
Ryvita cheddar & cracked pepper thin bites
English Provender Co damson & port chutney
English Provender Co redcurrant & rosemary sauce
Soreen toastie loaf
Soreen banana lunchbox loaves
Scheckter's natural energy drinks x 2
Bahlsen Pick Up!
Bahlsen Waffeletten
Tyrell's apple crisps
Tyrell's cinnamon apple crisps
Peppadew peppers

I particularly enjoyed the Bahlsen biscuits and Tyrell's cinnamon apple crisps, which were so light and crispy, nothing like the dried apple that I was expecting. You can find more details on the products and previous boxes here.

I decided to use the jar of Peppadew sweet peppers in a rice dish for the family. It's a really quick recipe using pre-cooked basmati rice.

Chorizo and Pepper Fried Rice - serves 4/5

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

225g Chroizo, sliced

800g cooked Basmati rice

400g Peppadew Piquanté peppers

Heat the oil in a large pan

Add the onion, garlic and chorizo and fry gently for approx 10 minutes, until the onion has softened

Stir in the cooked rice and mix well and continue to fry gently until the rice is heated through

Stir in the peppers and heat for a minute or 2 longer before serving

I was sent the Degustabox for the purpose of this review - if you want to try out Degustabox for yourself you can 
use the code 84WZB to receive £3 discount when you register.

#shortcuteggsperts - Chicken & Egg Fried Rice

As part of the #shortcuteggsperts project with British Lion Eggs and Britmums,  myself and other #shortcuteggsperts will be coming up with a series of recipe using eggs.

For this month the topic is 'Mains', and the challenge is to come up with a main meal for the family in around 20 minutes. This is one of our favourite quick meals and I usually use leftover cooked roast chicken but this time I used chicken breasts that I had previously cooked in my sous vide thermo circulator, which produced extremely juicy chicken, making it perfect in this dish. It's best to use rice that is cooked and cooled, otherwise it can stick together and if you really want to simplify the dish then packets of pre-cooked microwave rice is ideal. I find that frozen cooked chicken breast strips work well too, just make sure that they are fully defrosted before adding to the pan.

Chicken & Egg Fried Rice - serves 4

 2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 tsp ginger paste

400g cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp sesame oil

4 eggs, lightly beaten & seasoned with salt & pepper

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 onion, finely chopped

100g frozen peas

100g frozen or tinned sweetcorn

800g cooked & cooled basmati rice

2-4 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 spring onion, finely sliced

Mix the soy sauce, garlic & ginger paste together in a bowl
Add the chicken and mix until all the chicken has been coated
Heat 1 tsp of sesame oil in a large non stick frying pan or wok
Add the beaten eggs & cook through without stirring to end up with a thin omelette
Remove the omelette from the pan, roll up & keep warm
Heat 1 tbsp of sesame oil in the pan and fry the onion for approx 1 minute
Ad the peas and corn & fry for a minute or 2 to defrost
Add the rice, chicken and soy sauce (to taste) and heat through fully
Cut the rolled omelette up into thin slices and add to the pan before serving
Serve topped with spring onion

Chicken Fried Rice

I don't claim to be a master of Chinese cooking but this meal is one that my family really likes. It's a great 'Fakeaway' way to use leftover roast chicken, or you can do what I do and cook one especially for making the fried rice. I used to make it years ago by adding the egg straight into the rice but a Chinese lady that I worked with told me to make an omelette with the eggs, slice it & add it to the rice at the end. She also advised to use pre-cooked and cooled rice to make sure that it doesn't stick together. Ever since then that is how I've done it - she wasn't a force to be argued with. You can add as much or as little of the vegetables that you want, and feel free to change for something that you have already in the fridge - peppers, courgettes, broccoli.

Chicken Fried Rice - Serves 4

Cooked & cooled Basmati rice - I cooked 300g of dried rice in the microwave
4 eggs, beaten
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
mushrooms, sliced
Cooked chicken
Dark soy sauce
Frozen sweetcorn & peas

• Heat a little oil in a large non stick frying pan & make an omelette with the beaten eggs (or 2 smaller ones if your pan is small).
• Set the omelette aside & slice into strips once cool
• Heat some oil in a wok and add the onions and garlic & fry for 2 minutes
• Add the mushrooms & fry for 1-2 minutes
• Add the cooked chicken & a few good dashes of soy sauce & stir whilst heating
• Add the sweetcorn & peas & a few more dashes of soy sauce
• Place a lid on & cook for approx 8-10 minutes until everything is heated through
• Stir in the rice, along with more soy sauce if needed, and heat through completely
• Stir in the egg strips before serving