The Season Begins

Well, the season has started back up, and I've been happily manning my action station at the restaurant. It's not busy right now because the hotel just opened on December 7th.  Thursday, I got to cook for one (yes one) person for the entire 4 hour breakfast shift. A couple of weeks from now we will all be begging for these quiet days (well, maybe not this quiet) when the season gets going.  Until then, I continue to make an egg, and for practice flip it over, and over, and over, and over again.  Or make something for the front and back of house staff for their breaks.

I also began my second job as garde manger at a fine dining Italian restaurant in the village.  It was a slow start there as well, but since it was the first time preparing these menus items, the slower pace was a relief.  I calmed myself by making a chocolate espresso sauce for the tiramisu plating, and looking for the equipment I need for my dessert specials going in to the holidays.

Finally it's a day off and I want comfort food.  I also need it to be inexpensive (read "cheap") because I'm not going to see a suitable paycheck for a couple of weeks. I also want something that will, preferably, leave me with some leftovers for my son and I to munch on. Looking at the ingredients that I have available, I decided on Spam™ Fried Rice.

Fried rice is not a hard dish to make, and it's great if you want to stretch out a limited amount of protein.  If you've ever been to a teppanyaki restaurant (you know the kind -- where the chef stands at the cook top clanging his metal turners on the flattop and flipping shrimp tails into his hat), you've learned how to make fried rice. You don't need a lot of ingredients or equipment, and with the right prep, it's a real fast meal. Your rice needs to have already been cooked, so either do this when you have leftover rice or make a batch. The recipe below makes a lot (4 cups), so if you only have a little left over rice, adjust the recipe accordingly, the technique is still the same. 

If you don't have a rice cooker, feel free to make this using instant rice. For those of you new to instant rice, you always use equal portions of rice and water, and the rice will double in size. So if you want two cups of rice, use one cup of instant rice and one cup of water. Make the rice according to the directions on the box. If you're like me and like to put things in containers that close so as to keep things neater, you've already thrown away the box. Just remember, instant does not mean instant. I know, I felt lied to also the first time I tried to make it when I was in grade school. Quick refresher... boil the water, stir in the rice, cover, take off the heat and leave for five minutes. Similar to making a ramen packet, you're not really "cooking" the rice, you're simply heating and re-hydrating it. Just please don't try this with raw rice, and wonder why it was so crunchy and took forever, and a lot of liquid, to become edible.

Part of the key in dorm cooking (or any cooking, for that matter) is to do you mis en place. This literally means to "make in place", or to get all of the ingredients, prep (cutting, beating, etc.), tools, etc. ready before you start. This way all you have to concentrate on is cooking your food.


Spam™ Fried Rice

Equipment: Rice cooker, induction burner, large saute pan (or a wok, if you're lucky enough to have one with you)

Ingredients
4 cups cooked rice (2 cups uncooked rice)
1 can Spam™ of your choice (we like Spam™ Lite), sliced
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup frozen vegetables (peas, corn, mixed veg, whatever is in your little freezer)
2 Tbsp sesame oil (the sesame oil is for taste, so don't freak out if you don't have any, just use vegetable oil)
vegetable oil
1/2 - 1 cup soy sauce, depending on your taste (*The clear packet of soy sauce from your local restaurant holds about 2 tsps, the small foil packets about 1 tsp. 1/2 cup = 24 tsps, do the math)
sesame seeds

Cut the Spam™ in 1/4" slices and then into smaller pieces. Set aside.

In your saute pan, add the sesame oil and scramble the eggs. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add some vegetable oil to the pan to heat, and add the vegetables and Spam™, stirring to get everything coated, and cook for a couple of minutes.

Return the scrambled egg to the pan, and add the cooked rice and 1/2 cup soy sauce. Stir and fold all the ingredients together until the rice is completely coated, trying to get all the clumps of white rice. Once everything is completed coated and mixed, sprinkle in some sesame seeds and stir for another minute to get them slightly toasted. 



If you want the rice a little bit darker, add a little more soy sauce and keep stirring until you're happy with the way it looks. Enjoy!!