Healthy Fried Brown Rice

Healthy Salmon Fried Brown Rice with Kikkoman Soy Sauce (not low-sodium.)

I love Chinese-American food, and I love making Chinese-American food. In the past I have made Orange Chicken, Lemon Chicken, and Chicken Fried Rice. At Chinese-American restaurants, I usually order Orange Chicken or Fried Rice; however, these dishes are usually high in fat and sodium due to the amount of oil, sugar (in the sauces), eggs, and soy sauce.

Healthier Vegetarian Fried Brown Rice

In order to compromise my love for fried rice and desire to eat healthier, I made the two dishes you see. I made fried rice healthier by reducing the amount of oil normally used, omitting the eggs, using brown rice (you could also use cauliflower rice), adding less soy sauce (or use low-sodium soy sauce), and incorporating more veggies or healthier meats such as salmon.

The results? A quick, delicious, and satisfying meal that more than satisfies my craving for the unhealthier version! This dish was a cinch to make. I made the brown rice the day before and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I made the fried rice in a non-stick pan so that I wouldn’t need much oil. In fact the oil was used to cook only the salmon and veggies. I then complimented my fried brown rice with some hot, black tea.

Even if you are not trying to lose weight, you should definitely try this dish out! 

Healthier Vegetarian or Salmon Fried Rice
Serving size: 1-2 people
1-2 cups of brown rice, cooked preferably the day prior (I followed the instructions on back of the bag)
1 Tbsp of olive or coconut oil
Salmon (I used one of the frozen portions of skin-on salmon), optional
Mixed Vegetables (up to you! I used garlic, mushrooms, onions, and frozen mixed vegetables)
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce (preferably low-sodium)
Pour 1 Tbsp of oil in a hot wok or skillet. If using salmon, cook the salmon for 3-5 minutes each side. Cook the onions, mushrooms, and garlic (or whatever veggies you’d like) alongside the salmon. Remove everything from the skillet and set them aside. 
If using a non-stick wok/skillet: without adding extra oil, heat up the cooked brown rice and frozen, mixed vegetables. While they are heating up, cut up the salmon. Once the rice and veggies are heated up, add the salmon and other veggies back in with the rice. Once sufficiently combined, mix in the soy sauce. Turn off the heat. Serve, and enjoy!
Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Chicken, Shrimp, & Chorizo Paella & A Giveaway!

Paella blogTwo years ago, my mother and I went to Madrid, Spain. Once there, I was tempted to try paella, but the presence of seafood prevented me from doing so. You see, the only types of unfried seafood I like are very small shrimp (like in fried rice), baked salmon, and tuna fish in a can. The only types of fried seafood I like are fish (like in fish and chips) and shrimp. That’s it. I don’t like crab, lobster, mussels, crawfish, or anything else that resembles how it looked when it was alive haha. I don’t like slimy food either, so yeah, I had to stay away from the paella. I did, however, try to taste just the rice portion of the paella one day, but I had to quickly wash out my palate (not “palette!”) because I could still taste the seafood or clam juice in the rice. From that day on, I had decided that the only way I would be able to have paella would be to make it myself, but at that time of my life, I wasn’t a cook at all. So, I just gave up on that dream until a few days ago!

After corresponding with Sarah Jay (read how she started the company!), the founder of Paella Pans, which is a small, family-run business,  I received a pan imported from Valencia, Spain in only a matter of days. 
I found a recipe for Chicken Paella on her website and examined it anxiously every day as I waited for the pan. I almost had it memorized. My yellow-cake friend, Lydia, was with me when the pan arrived, and we were both impressed with how the pan looked and how big it was. I was beyond excited to try it out and felt like the luckiest person in the world.

A couple of days later, I made the yummiest paella I had ever had (out of two paellas total haha!). Lydia said that it looked incredible, and my neighbor said it looked like the real thing even without the big prawns and mussels, and they both used to live in Spain. 

The pan from various angles: I stuck the tag back on this pan so you could see from whence (hehe) this pan came.



So, first let me talk to you about this company and this pan that was graciously given to me for me for review. It is a 14″ pan made of carbon steel, which is considered the most popular and most used in Spanish households. The company, also sells pans made with enameled steel, stainless steel (so shiny!), pata negra (literally means “black foot/paw (of an animal)”), and flat-bottom pans. Not only do they have pans on their site, but they also sell authentic ingredients for paella, such as bomba rice, chorizo, pimentón (with an accent on the “o”!) dulce or sweet paprika, and saffron or azafrán of various sizes. They also have recipes and tips on making a successful and authentic paella. Okay, enough links for now! I’m just really excited about this company, its products, and especially the founder. She is such a lovely lady with whom I’ve interacted via email for quite some time now.

The bottom of the pan and its handle: look at the bubbles or dimples at the bottom of the pan; they are there to promote even heating.



As an instructor of college-level Spanish, it is refreshing to see how her excitement for the Spanish language and culture encouraged her to start a business for importing paella-related products directly. Now, that’s what I call ambition and drive. I hope some of my students get that excited about learning Spanish and various cultures different from their own.  

Anyway, back to the paella. Because I wanted to make this paella asap, I did not get to try out the ingredients on the Paella Pans  website, but I did use similar products. 


For instance, I used bomba rice that I obtained from Williams-Sonoma…
 That’s the most classiest-looking rice container I’ve ever seen. 

I also used Spanish chorizo
 Yum!

pimentón dulce (purchased in bulk for only .39 cents!), and saffron. 
 You can see the packaging of the chorizo in the top right corner.

The chicken as pictured was not fully done, so I had to cook that some more when I returned home from my friend’s house (I don’t have a photo of that because it was devoured quickly by my neighbor and me for dinner). Lydia, her husband, and I gobbled up the shrimp and chorizo, though, while pushing the lemon slices aside haha. 


As Sarah writes in the recipe, don’t pull out any plates for this dish; eat the paella directly from the pan itself. YUM! I want to make this again very soon. 

 ¡Buen provecho!

 After some serious damage, I still had plenty of leftovers. I still need to work on making the socarrat or the crusty, crispy layer formed under the rice, but look at that garlic!

I made only two additions to this recipe – the chorizo and shrimp. I cooked the deveined and peeled shrimp in a separate pan, but you could cook up all the meats together since the pan is so large or one at a time and then place them in a separate plate to rest. Don’t cook the shrimp up too much because it will go back in the pan along with the rice later on. Just cook them until they turn a slight peach-looking color. Make sure the chicken is cooked pretty well, though. I had to cook the chicken for about 30 minutes, and that still wasn’t long enough, so cook it longer than that. The chorizo is already dried and cured, so you don’t need to cook it for very long. For the full recipe, go to the site

For your entertainment, I have some process photos below and a special announcement you don’t want to miss!!

 
PAELLA IN THE MAKING:
 Boil chicken broth; toast and crush saffron, and add to boiled broth.
Cook the peppers and garlic; cook the meats and veggies and set them aside; peel the covered, hot bell peppers
 Make the compote comprised of grated tomatoes and onions.
 Add the Spanish or short/medium-grained rice before adding the broth and the rest of the ingredients that have been set aside while keeping the whole garlic in the middle of the pan.

ANNOUNCEMENT!
Okay, now for the exciting news! Paella Pans has graciously allowed me to sponsor a giveaway for one of their 14″ carbon steel pans – just like the one I now have – to one of you all!! 
MINIMUM QUALIFICATION: Because this is a small company, this giveaway is open to residents of the contiguous United States only. 
TO ENTER THE PAELLA PAN GIVEAWAY: All you have to do is go to their site and tell me what you would like to either make or buy there if you could.  
DEADLINE: Monday, July 5th, 2010. ¡BUENA SUERTE! GOOD LUCK!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!! 
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!
Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Quick Pan-Fried Salmon

When my mother came to visit me for a few days, she purchased three packets of salmon. I told her that she shouldn’t buy salmon since she would have to keep them cold during her 8-hour trip back to Arkansas. She bought them anyway promising that she would keep them in a ice-filled cooler. A few hours into her car trip, she called me and said frantically, “I forgot to take the salmon out of the freezer! I left them at your house!” I laughed and said, “I told you that you shouldn’t have bought the salmon.” After I promised her I would eat the salmon for her so that they wouldn’t go to waste, she doubted me.

After I saw a quicker method of cooking salmon than the way I usually do it (oven-baked while wrapped in foil), I decided to try that out with one of the pieces of salmon. It was so good, that I’m going to eat the second piece of salmon today. Thanks, mom! 😀 I told you that I would eat it!

Quickie Grilled or Pan-Fried Salmon
adapted from Noob Cook

Ingredients (1 serving)

  1. 1 piece of salmon fillet
  2. Lawry’s Seasoning Salt, kosher salt, or organic sea salt
  3. Freshly cracked black pepper
  4. One or two herbs you have in the pantry (optional)
  5. 1/2 – 1 Tbsp of butter or olive oil

Directions:

Pull out the bones from the salmon fillet using your fingers or a tweezer, or use the boneless variety, like I did. Season the fish with salt or seasoning salt, black pepper, and herbs.Melt a knob of butter and spread it evenly on the griddle pan (or use olive oil). Grill the salmon fillet, skin side down first, for about 4 minutes each side (or till lightly browned) over medium fire. I pan-fried my fish, and it was perfect!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Healthy Shrimp Fried Rice

I made this a long time ago (along with the bad quality photos) and need to make it again. It was so good that I forgot it was a healthier version of shrimp fried rice. Since I threw it together without a recipe, I don’t remember the exact quantities. Just eyeball it, and you’ll be fine.

Healthy Shrimp Fried Rice
Makes 1-2 servings

~2-3 Tbsp olive oil (to be used throughout the cooking process)
shrimp (I used peeled and deveined shrimp)
broccoli (I used frozen broccoli, but fresh is always great!)
1-2 egg whites (depends on how many egg whites you want! I like a lot.)
1 cup (leftover) brown rice (make this the day before you make this dish, or it will be mushy!)
low sodium soy sauce

In a saucepan with hot olive oil, sautée the shrimp until it becomes pinkish-white. Do not cook the shrimp completely because you will be putting it back in the skillet later, and you don’t want it to be rubbery. Once it is halfway done, take the shrimp out, and place it on a big plate near the skillet (you will be using this plate for other half-cooked ingredients as well). Next, sautée the broccoli in the same skillet and then place it on the plate with the shrimp. Next, pour in a little more oil and then the beaten egg whites. Cook them until they are done. Take them out, and place them on the plate with the shrimp and the broccoli. Next, put in a bit more oil, if necessary, and then warm up the leftover brown rice. Once the rice is warm (~2 minutes), incorporate the shrimp, broccoli, and egg whites in with the brown rice. Once incorporated, pour in some low sodium soy sauce and then serve! Of course, you’re free to add other vegetables. I sometimes add peas and mushrooms. Enjoy!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com