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Simply Scrumptious Turkey Fried Rice

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I’m a sucker for one-pot meals, and here is yet one more to add to my recipe collection. When I was little, my mother used to make fried rice. What I remember most was that she used a lot of celery, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms. I think the meat was steak, but I’m not totally sure about that one.

One thing I can say, it was always really good and I didn’t mind that it didn’t taste like the restaurant version of Chinese restaurants where I had eaten. I liked the Chinese restaurant fried rice too, but Mom’s was always my favorite.

I’m also a big fan of finding something creative to do with leftovers, as they make good use of what happens to be sitting around in the refrigerator that I’m puzzling over what to do with – as well as being a money saver.

This fried rice is very simple, and it uses coconut oil which makes the flavor incredibly delicious. I have no idea what kind of oil my mother used in hers, but I’m willing to bet it was some kind of vegetable oil. Not only are you getting good, healthy fats in this meal with the turkey and egg, but the coconut oil tops it off with a third healthy fat; and I think that’s what makes this so filling.

This fried rice is the best I have ever tasted! My son and husband both agreed it was BETTER than the restaurant. I must be doing something right, huh?

As with many recipes I make, I tend to throw things together with really no thought to amounts and measuring. You should make an amount proportionate to how many people you are serving. This amount was plenty for two adults and three children (my son’s friends were visiting).

Needed equipment:

  • Small pot for cooking
  • Larger pot or wok for stir-fry ingredients
  • Small bowl for beating eggs

Ingredients:

  • Cooked turkey meat – or your choice of leftover meat – we used the rest of our roasted locally-raised from pasture turkey
  • Chopped up seasonal vegetables – we used celery, onions, carrots, peas, and broccoli  – or your choice of whatever you have on hand. I used 1 1/2 stalks of celery, 2 small carrots, 1 small onion, about  1 cup of peas, and 1/4 head of broccoli.
  • Soy sauce – we use San J organic tamari naturally fermented soy sauce
  • Coconut oil
  • Eggs – we used 3, but you can use less or more depending on your preference
  • 1 1/2 cups rice – we used germinated brown rice
  • 2 – 3 cloves of fresh garlic
  • Sea salt

Directions:

  1. Cook rice according to directions on the stove until soft and ready to add to your stir-fry. I rinsed my rice in a strainer and then added it to a pot with about 2 1/2 cups of water and a couple shakes of salt, heated to boiling, and then turned down to simmer and covered it. The rice we used is germinated, and it takes 35 – 40 minutes on the stove.
  2. While your rice is cooking, put some coconut oil in pot or wok on medium high heat. Melt and then add onions and garlic to saute until soft.
  3. Add vegetables, with the firmest ones first – such as carrots, celery, and broccoli. Stir frequently and saute. Prepare small pieces of your chosen meat for the stir fry by chunking or cutting them up. I just pulled relatively long pieces of turkey off the bone and threw them into the pot. I stirred everything together on medium low heat until well coated with the coconut oil. If my mixture starts to dry out during cooking or stirring, I just add more coconut oil. Add peas in about 10 minutes before the rice is done.
  4. Once everything is added, turn heat up briefly (not quite to boiling), and then turn heat down and cover for remainder of rice cooking time.
  5. When your rice is ready, drain out any excess water, turn heat off, and leave the lid on.
  6. Crack your eggs in a bowl and beat together with a fork.
  7. Remove the lid of the large pot (or wok) with meat and vegetables and move some of the mixture aside to make room to cook the eggs. In the bare spot, put in some more coconut oil for the eggs. When the oil has melted, pour your eggs onto the open space of the pot. Scramble the eggs as you would normally, and don’t worry if some of the egg combines into your vegetables and meat. When your eggs are 95 percent cooked, combine into the vegetables and meat.
  8. Add in the rice and blend together well. While you are completing this step, add in the soy sauce. Because I never measure the soy sauce when I add it in, the amount you use is really to taste, but it should noticeably color your rice. Be sure to taste before serving.

Want more information about coconut oil?

Read this interesting article, with recipes!

Do you like the simplicity of one-pot meals? Here’s more!

East-ender chicken and sausage stew

Naked pot pie (with chicken and vegetables)

This recipe is part of Tuesday Twister on GNOWFGLINS – be sure to visit this site and see the other recipes linked there.

6 replies on “Simply Scrumptious Turkey Fried Rice”

Hi Raine. This is almost exactly how I make fried rice, and we love it too. I always heard you were supposed to use cold rice though, so I usually make mine ahead of time, or use leftovers that are already cold. My favorite addition to this meal is egg drop soup. So easy, and so yummy! I use Food Renegade’s recipe, and it is awesome ( http://www.foodrenegade.com/egg-drop-soup/ ). That pic is making me hungry for fried rice… it’s been a while. 🙂

Hi Jen – I am sure the cold rice works really well too. I thought about that when I was making this recipe, but I am not very good yet at making things in advance. It comes from years and years of bad habits in both dietary and in the kitchen, and procrastination (which I have down to an art). However, I’ve made this recipe several times already and it has always turned out really good! I also love egg drop soup, but I’ve never made it before. I will have to try it, thanks for the link!

I was going to make miso soup with this, but it had been a long day and I was tired and didn’t feel like doing another preparation. Miso is not really in the same family of food as fried rice (since it’s Japanese), but still, it’s Asian and I thought it would be tasty.

Wardeh and Tiffany – We actually didn’t get to have Thanksgiving at home this holiday season because we were away visiting my husband’s family in Las Vegas. We did have turkey and it was really delicious, but I somehow missed the whole ritual of preparing a turkey in our own house. So we went to a local farm and they still have a bunch of frozen turkeys from the fall, at only $2 a pound…and I couldn’t resist.

I am thinking of getting another one, but I need to make sure I have room in our freezer as we are going to be getting a large quantity of beef soon. But, this was one of the best turkeys I have ever eaten, for sure.

I usually make turkey soup – which I am still going to do before the carcass gets too old, but I really thought it would taste delicious in fried rice. We made chicken fried rice a couple of weeks ago, and so I thought the turkey would be good too. It was actually better!

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