Fried Rice Vegan Style

One of my very first entries on Vegan Miss was for vegan fried rice. I love that recipe still and it has had major success on VegWeb in the past too. I modified the recipe a bit and used brown rice instead here.

Fried Rice Vegan Style

* Prep Time: 30 minutes
* Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice 
• 1/2 block (14 oz.) firm tofu, pressed, sliced
• 2-3 tbsp peanut oil
• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 cup carrots, sliced
• 1 cup green beans, diced
• 2 cups broccolini (or broccoli), chopped
• 2 cups bell peppers, variety of colors, sliced 
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup frozen peas
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp mirin*
• 1/2 tbsp dried Thai basil (optional)
• black pepper, to taste
• sesame seeds, to garnish
• green onions, sliced, to garnish 

* Recipe:

Instagram Photo (User: veganmiss)

1. Chop all the vegetables and get them prepared. While you are prepping, heat 1 tbsp of peanut oil in a wok over medium heat. Once hot, add the slices of tofu and cook on both sides until golden.
2. Cook the rice while you are prepping the vegetables as well.
3. Once the tofu is cooked, remove from wok and set aside. Add the remaining peanut oil, then put the onions in the wok. Once the onions start to turn translucent, add the garlic and ginger. 
4. Next, add in the carrots, green beans, broccolini (or broccoli), and bell pepper. Cook until the vegetables start to become tender. Add the mushrooms and peas. Cook through. 
5. When the vegetables are done cooking, add in the cooked brown rice and tofu. Toss and mix well. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, Thai basil, and pepper. Taste to see if the fried rice needs a little more soy sauce, vinegar, or mirin. 
6. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.

Note: Mirin is often used in Asian cooking. You can usually find it in the Asian food section of most grocery stores. 

Crisp Artichoke & Caper Haricot Verts

Haricot verts are French green beans. You could use regular old green beans in this recipe if you wanted. Any variety will work! I prefer my haricot verts to be really crunchy so I didn't boil too long.

Crisp Artichoke & Caper Haricot Verts

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb haricot verts
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium white onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup marinated artichoke hearts
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp pine nuts
• 1/2 tsp lemon spice mix (optional)*
• salt and pepper, to taste
• vegan Parmesan, to top (optional)*

* Recipe:

1. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Swirl haricot verts in ice bath for a few minutes then add to pot of boiling salted water. Boil haricot verts in salted water until crisp tender, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and place back into ice bath. After a few minutes, remove and pat dry.
2. Heat frying pan with olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onions and as they become translucent, add the garlic. 
3. Next, add the artichokes, capers, lemon juice, and pine nuts. Cook for another few minutes. 
4. Add the salt, pepper, and lemon spice mix (if using). Top dish with vegan Parmesan if desired.

* Note: The lemon spice  mix is just something I had that I thought would be a nice touch. It's grated lemon peel, garlic powder, onion powder, and some other spices. If you don't have this, feel free to zest some of the lemon peel from when you juice the lemon. The vegan Parmesan brand I use is Galaxy topping.