Thai Salmon-basil Fried Brown Rice; Lotus Foods

                               

                                   

I usually stay away from Brown Rice. I once brought a bag and struggled to finish it, the reason being that it takes forever for the brown rice to be cooked. It took me almost 1.5 hours to cook it to my desired consistency and yet, I found it to be chewy and nutty. I didn't care for  it.

With this experience in mind, I was very apprehensive when I opened the bag of Lotus organic brown rice. The instructions on the package said to cook it for 30 minutes on low flame with 1 3/4 cup water for every cup of rice. It also said that 1 cup uncooked rice yields 3 cups cooked rice. I decided to cook just 1 cup of rice and see how it goes. Believe it or not, it was nicely cooked at exactly 30 minutes and the quantity of rice was thrice the amount I started with. I decided to make a quick Thai Salmon Basil fried rice .The end result was an absolutely delicious meal! The texture of the rice was just right. The testimony for this is my neighbor for whom, I took a little bit. While giving it to her, I explained the reason for the small quantity was because it is made with brown rice. She was happy that I gave her just a little bit as she does not like brown rice either. Later that night, she called me and told me that the fried rice was exceptionally good and wanted to know where I got the brown rice from!! So, the verdict is that this is one brown rice that I would gladly eat! 

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Lotus brand Jasmine Mekong Flower organic brown rice : 1 cup
Water: 1 3/4 cup
Salmon: 1 can ( I used organic pink Alaskan salmon).
Sesame oil: 1 tbsp ( any cooking oil can be used).
Onion: 1 small, chopped
Garlic: 7-8 cloves
Green chillies: 3 ( can adjust based on individual spice level)
Fresh Basil leaves: 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Bell pepper: 1 small, chopped fine.
Cauliflower florets: 1/2 cup
Fish sauce: 2 tbsp
Low Sodium Gluten free Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp
Sugar: a pinch
Chives: 1 tbsp , chopped for garnishing.
Salt: if needed, as per taste  ( as both fish sauce and soy sauce are very salty).

Method:

In a saucepan, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Add the brown rice to it and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the flame to low , cover and cook for 30 mins. When the 30 mins are up, fluff the rice with a fork, keep it covered for another 15 mins.

Open the can of salmon, drain the salmon completely and keep aside.

Roughly grind/chop the green chillies and garlic using a food processor. Keep aside.

Heat sesame oil in a wok on high flame. Add  the chopped onions. Sauté for a minute. 

Add the chopped garlic-green chilli mix and sauté for 30 seconds. 

Add 1 tbsp of chopped basil leaves.

Now add in the cauliflower florets and sauté for 2 mins.

Next, add the chopped bell peppers and sauté for a minute. 

Add the salmon and mix well. 

Add fish sauce, soy sauce, pinch of sugar and mix well. Let it cook for couple of minutes. 

Now fold in the cooked brown rice. Mix thoroughly. 

Garnish with chives.


Serve with cucumber/ tomato slices.

Cooking made easy:

I used canned salmon as I didn't have fresh salmon. Salmon fillets can be used for this dish. If using canned salmon, use salmon that is canned in water and is low in sodium. Of course, fresh fish fillets are the best.