30, Jun 2009
Fried Rice of the Day: Barley & Tofu

Ever since some shockingly good fried rice in Maui, we’ve been making fried rice at home more often as a great “so, what’s in the fridge?” fallback. Of course, it’s different every time, but I mean to start taking notes. Last night’s was pretty good, but it actually wasn’t fried rice at all, but fried barley. The barley was pretty brown-rice-like in this dish, and the combination of other ingredients worked out pretty well. And this combination of ingredients is fairly healthy, especially if you’re careful with the soy sauce (not that I am).



Ingredients
1-2 c cooked barley
1 c shredded chicken
3-4 oz baked, marinated tofu (below), cubed small
2 eggs plus 1 egg, each lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium red onion, sliced in thin strips
1 leaf swiss chard, stemmed and minced
1 carrot, diced
3/4 c peas
1/4 c almonds, chopped
oil, black soy sauce, sugar, shiaoxing rice wine, salt, pepper

Directions
Tofu
This is handy to have around. Slice tofu in large rectangles about 1cm thick. Dry fry in a nonstick skillet for a little while. Marinate in water, soy, sesame oil, rice wine, ginger, garlic until needed.
Bake at 350 for about 10 min, turning halfway through. Refrigerate in a marinade of soy sauce and sesame oil. Use as needed.
Fried Rice
Toast the almonds over medium heat in a small cast iron frying pan. Stir occasionally while continuing with the following. Heat oil in wok or skillet over medium-high. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onions and saute for about five minutes. Push the onions and garlic to the side, add two of the beaten eggs, and scramble lightly for about 1 minute. Add carrots, chard, and peas, toss thoroughly, and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Mix soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine to taste. Add the chicken, tofu, and barley to the skillet with some of the soy mixture and toss thoroughly. Stir occasionally for 3-5 minutes. Salt and pepper as needed. Add the almonds, last egg, and more soy mixture to taste, turn heat to high, mix thoroughly, and stir-fry for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally (if you like some of your fried rice to char a little, don’t stir too often). Serve with beer* and sriracha.
* I’m just posing, since I don’t drink beer. But I think it would go well.