Tuna & Bacon Fried Rice
This dish is a great (and inexpensive) twist on classic pork and prawn fried rice. If you happen to have left-over cooked rice from a previous meal, feel free to use that - you’ll need about 3 cups of cooked rice for this recipe.
Preparation time: 15 mins + Cooking time: 15 mins
Serves 3 (or 4 depending on how many "extras" you add in. See below)
You need
1 cup of uncooked rice (see note)
1 egg, beaten (optional)
4 to 6 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
1 small brown onion, diced
1 stick of celery, diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
185g (7 oz) can of tuna in oil, drained but not too thoroughly
A large handful of baby spinach leaves
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
Oil for stir-frying
Note:
You can use a white rice or a combination of white and brown rices (try 2/3 cup white rice and 1/3 cup brown). Most white rice usually cooks fairly quickly but cooking time for brown rice really varies depending on the type used. So if you want to do a rice combo, choose rices with very similar cooking times so they can be cooked together and avoid extra work.
To Cook
Put the rice on to cook. I use the absorption method but any method is fine as long as it works for you. For instructions on the absorption method, click here.
While the rice cooks, in a small frying pan (or in your wok) heat some oil over medium heat and pour in the beaten egg. Give it a minute or so until it looks almost cooked, flip it over and after a few seconds, slide it out onto some absorbent kitchen paper. When cool, roll it up and slice it.
Next, heat the wok and add oil for stir-frying (roughly 2 tablespoons). Throw in your onion, bacon and celery and stir-fry for several minutes until the onion has softened and colored a little. Throw in the garlic and stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Add the cooked (hopefully still-warm) rice and stir. Warm rice will absorb flavours better than cold. Flake in the tuna with a little of it’s oil. Combine well. Lastly, add the spinach and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and stir really well so the soy is distributed throughout. When the spinach has wilted and everything is heated through taste the rice. If necessary add more soy sauce, stir and serve immediately topped with slices of egg.
Serve with extra soy, sweet chilli or plum sauce.
Add ons
There are a multitude of things you can add to fried rice. Go with whatever appeals to you or try some or all of the following. Most of these can be added when stir-frying the onion.
small red chilli, finely chopped or use a can of tuna in chilli oil instead of plain tuna - yum!
brussel sprouts, outer leaves and core remove, very finely sliced (see photo above)
some thinly sliced zucchini (courgette)
small tin of sweet corn, drained and rinsed (add towards the end with the spinach)
handful of snow peas (mange tout) or sugar snap peas, blanched in boiling water, finely sliced and added with the spinach
