As we speak’s recipe, Fried Rice with Pickled Mustard Greens (Takana Chāhan), is a vegetarian fried rice. Not like the standard fried rice you get at a Chinese language restaurant, it has a bitter flavour, which comes from the pickled mustard greens.
Takana Chāhan (Takana fried rice) accommodates only some elements, however the flavour is kind of addictive. Maybe as a result of I like bitter flavour on the whole and it makes use of minimal quantity of oil, I get pleasure from consuming this fried rice a lot that once I made it, I couldn’t cease consuming it.
As you possibly can see within the recipe card, I used solely a few elements for flavouring. However the fried rice tasted surprisingly good. It’s all due to the Japanese pickled mustard greens known as ‘takanazuke’ (高菜漬け).
About Takanazuke
Mustard greens are known as ‘takana’ (高菜) in Japanese, so pickled mustard inexperienced is ‘takanazuke’ (高菜漬け), which consists of the phrase ‘takana’ and pickling, i.e., ‘tsuke’ (漬け). The sound of pickling modified from ‘tsuke’ to ‘zuke’ for simpler pronunciation.
You can also make takanzuke at residence and I’m meaning to submit a recipe someday. However most Japanese households purchase pickled takanzuke in a pack from supermarkets/grocery shops. Takanazuke in a pack can comprise both complete leaves or finely chopped leaves which can be ready-to-use.
Takanazuke is marinated in vinegar, sugar, and salt, with some soy-based umami added to it. Identical to another pickles, there are such a lot of variations to the elements included within the marinade. However on the whole, it has a soy-like style with a slight pungency.
Most takanazuke you should buy at grocery shops have a yellow color (both turmeric or synthetic) added to it. It generally accommodates purple chillies so as to add a spiciness to the flavour.
As talked about in my submit Onigiri, chopped takanazuke is commonly used as a filling for rice balls.
Takanazuke vs Asian Pickled Mustard Greens
At Asian grocery shops, you should buy pickled mustard greens made in different Asian international locations resembling China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In comparison with the Japanese model of pickled mustard greens, they’ve a lot stronger acidity as the primary pickling liquid is vinegar. The color of the greens may be very related.
In case you add some soy sauce and a small quantity of sugar to these Asian pickled mustard greens and depart them in a single day, the acidity turns into milder with a touch of umami, making it nearer to takanazuke.
What’s in My Fried Rice with Pickled Mustard Greens (Takana Chāhan)
- Sizzling/heat cooked rice
- Eggs
- Finely chopped inexperienced onions
- Julienned takanazuke (Japanese pickled mustard greens)
- Vegetable oil
- Sesame oil
- Konbu dashi powder
- Soy sauce
Crucial ingredient on this recipe is the Japanese pickled mustard greens, takanzuke. I hope you will get a pack of takanazuke. In case you can solely get a pack of Asian pickled mustard greens, improve the flavour of the pickles as defined within the earlier part earlier than utilizing them.
I used konbu dashi powder to make the fried rice a vegetarian dish. You should use bonito-based dashi powder in case you like.
How you can Make Fried Rice with Pickled Mustard Greens (Takana Chāhan)
The method of creating Takana Chāhan is barely totally different from my different fried rice recipe Japanese Fried Rice (Chāhan) with Prompt Seasoning. I prepare dinner egg, then rice earlier than including takanazuke and inexperienced onions. It is because takanazuke hardly requires cooking.
- Warmth the vegetable oil and prepare dinner eggs in a frying pan.
- Add rice to the pan and stir fry, breaking apart the lumps of rice and the egg.
- Add inexperienced onions, then takanazuke. Stir fry, mixing all elements.
- Add dashi powder and soy sauce and blend.
- Drizzle sesame oil across the fringe of the pan, then combine into the fried rice.
- Serve whereas sizzling.
I used a wok as a substitute of a frying pan as you possibly can see within the step-by-step images. Fried rice must be cooked at excessive warmth shortly. A wok is ideal for that as a result of the spherical form conducts warmth shortly.
Including sesame oil on the finish enhances the nutty flavour successfully as a substitute of including it first. It additionally makes use of a smaller quantity.
As soon as the elements are ready, it takes solely 5 minutes to prepare dinner the fried rice. It’s so fast to make. The color of this fried rice is brownish inexperienced and never as vibrant as my Japanese Fried Rice (Chāhan) with Prompt Seasoning. Nevertheless it tastes scrumptious.
Yumiko
Fried Rice with Pickled Mustard Greens (Takana Chāhan)
As we speak’s recipe, Fried Rice with Pickled Mustard Greens (Takana Chāhan), is a vegetarian fried rice. Not like generally served fried rice, it has a bitter flavour, which comes from the pickled mustard greens.
Remember to see the part ‘MEAL IDEAS’ under the recipe card! It offers you a listing of dishes that I’ve already posted and this recipe that may make up a whole meal. I hope it’s of assist to you.
Recipe Sort:
Rice
Delicacies:
Japanese
Key phrase:
Japanese Fried Rice, pickled mustard greens, vegetarian fried rice
Serves: 2
:
Substances (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)
-
300g/0.7lb
cooked rice
(sizzling or heat, observe 1) -
2
eggs -
2/3
cup
inexperienced onion
finely chopped -
80g/2.8oz
takanazuke
(Japanese pickled mustard greens, observe 2) -
2
tsp
vegetable oil -
2
tsp
sesame oil -
½
tsp
konbu dashi powder
(observe 3) -
½
tsp
soy sauce
Directions
-
Vertically halve or quarter the mustard inexperienced leaves as they’re fairly vast. Then finely chop them crosswise into 3-4mm/⅛-3⁄16″ vast items.
-
Warmth vegetable oil in a wok or a frying pan over excessive warmth.
-
Put two eggs into the wok/pan, combine shortly (observe 4). When the egg is nearly cooked by means of, add rice to the wok/pan.
-
Stir-fry constantly for a couple of minute, breaking apart lumps of rice and enormous items of egg.
-
Add inexperienced onions and blend for 30 seconds, then add mustard greens.
-
Stir fry for 30 seconds or so, making certain that the vegetable items are evenly blended with the rice.
-
Add dashi powder and soy sauce. Combine effectively shortly.
-
Drizzle sesame oil across the fringe of the wok/pan, then combine into the fried rice by turning the rice over or tossing the rice.
-
Flip the warmth off and serve whereas sizzling (observe 5).
Recipe Notes
1. I used medium grain rice, which is much less starchy than the brief grain rice resembling the usual Japanese rice and sushi rice. It’s also possible to use lengthy grain rice. In case you are utilizing Japanese rice/sushi rice, it’s possible you’ll wish to shortly rinse the rice to make it much less starchy.
2. I used Japanese pickled mustard greens known as takanazuke (高菜漬け). In case you can’t discover takanazuke, you need to use pickled mustard greens from an Asian grocery retailer. They’re made in China, Thailand, or Vietnam.
The acidity of those Asian pickled mustard greens is kind of robust in comparison with the Japanese pickled mustard greens. So, if you’re utilizing one in every of these, add some soy sauce and sugar to the marinade and depart it in a single day. The acidity of the pickled mustard greens turns into a lot milder, and the flavour turns into nearer to my takanazuke. It additionally provides umami to the pickles.
It’s also possible to purchase a pack of chopped takanazuke, which regularly has some chillies added to the marinade. You should use chopped takanazuke as a substitute of complete pickled takana leaves and skip step one of the Directions.
3. I used konbu dashi powder to make a vegetarian fried rice. However you need to use katsuo (bonito-based) dashi powder in case you like.
4. The egg whites and yolks don’t should be utterly blended. You don’t must make the egg scrambled into items as a result of will probably be damaged up into smaller items whenever you stir fry later.
5. I used a rice bowl to serve a dome-shaped fried rice, however you don’t have to do that.
6. Vitamin per serving.
serving: 273g energy: 365kcal fats: 14g (18%) saturated fats: 2.7g (14%) trans fats: 0.1g polyunsaturated fats: 5.9g monounsaturated fats: 4.8g ldl cholesterol: 186mg (62%) sodium: 158mg (7%) carbohydrates: 46g (17%) dietary fibre: 2.4g (9%) sugar: 1.4g protein: 12g vitamin D: 1mcg (5%) calcium: mg (8%) iron: 3.7mg (21%) potassium: 329mg (7%)
Meal Concepts
A typical Japanese meal consists of a major dish, a few aspect dishes, a soup and rice. I attempt to give you a mix of dishes with a wide range of flavours, colors, textures and make-ahead dishes.
Chāhan (fried rice) originated from China. So, I made a decision to make in the present day’s meal with a major dish with Chinese language origin. The primary dish that got here throughout my thoughts was Gyoza. The second dish I considered was Shumai. Sadly, Japanese Gyoza is just not in my weblog (even whether it is my recipe!), so I picked Rooster Wing Gyōza as a substitute.
The primary dish and the fried rice collectively could be fairly filling, so I picked gentle aspect dishes to go together with them. For a similar purpose, I picked a light-weight clear soup.
