Quick Lunch: King prawn fried rice (nasi goreng)

One of the dishes which I loved eating since I was a young girl was fried rice (also known as nasi goreng in Malay). Mum used to cook it for us as a packed lunch for school or dinner sometimes. When I was in university and then working in UK, I would often cook fried rice since it was easy and I could have dinner in under 15 minutes. Now that I am a mother, I often cook this for my children and they love it! Isn't it a great feeling seeing your children eatingnutritiously and enjoying their food?

There is a variety of ingredients you can put in your fried rice, but my favorite is a mixture of prawn, vegetables, mushrooms and minced pork (and my least favorite is lap cheong a.k.a. Chinese sausage). Personally for this dish, I like to use rice that has been kept overnight in the fridge as it dries out the grains. Of course you can also use freshly boiled rice - a quick trick is to leave the rice cooker cover open after its ready for it to dry out a little.

Fried rice is a dish that you can cook in a matter of minutes. Add some nice crunchy vegetables such as green beans, French beans or fresh peas for a balanced meal. You can also add shitake mushrooms or grey oyster mushrooms if you please. Top it with a fried egg and some fried anchovies (ikan bilis).

Specially for the kiddies :)

King prawn fried rice
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 2-3 persons

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup white rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced

2-3 shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly

50g minced pork (optional, which can be replaced with minced chicken)
1 medium onion, diced
8-10 green beans, sliced (or peas)

16 raw king prawns, peeled and deveined, with heads intact

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced thinly
Soy sauce

To garnish

Iceberg lettuce leaves, sliced thinly

Cherry tomatoes, halved
1 fried egg, per person, cook in a separate pan

1. In a large wok over medium high heat, add the oil, onion and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until golden brown and fragrant.

2. Add the minced pork, green beans and mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add rice and soy sauce to taste. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Finally, add the king prawns, red chilli and cook for 1-2 minutes, they do not take long to cook.

4. Serve immediately. Top with a fried egg each and some ikan bilis.

So, what are your favorite ingredients in a bowl/plate of fried rice?