Isa Chandra Moskowitz created her website Post Punk Kitchen to share recipes, ideas, and “maybe a little gossip.” Isa is charming and funny and obviously loves what she’s doing. She’s been vegan for more than 20 years and is so happy to see the way it’s taking off now. Here’s what she has to say about her Mango Fried Rice recipe.
“This rice is tangy and spicy, pan fried with lots of ginger, garlic, and a little crushed coriander seed, then punctuated with seared but still snappy green beans, toasty cashews and juicy bits of sweet fruit. Then you finish it off with some lime and fresh basil leaves, I think this is a meal in itself, what with the cashews for protein, and the fiber from the veggies and rice.
If you like, you can replace the mango with pineapple, no problemo.
The rice has to be cold for this recipe to work correctly, otherwise it will get mushy and sticky. Many supermarkets carry frozen bags of rice for reasonable prices. I’ve made this recipe with a standard 20 oz bag of rice in mind (Whole Foods has frozen Jasmine rice, even.) For this recipe, you can just toss the rice in frozen. No big whoop.”
Mango Fried Rice
Serves 4 to 6
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
3/4 cup unroasted cashews (if using roasted cashews, skip the toasting step)
6 oz green beans (about 1 1/2 cups), ends removed, sliced into 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons peanut or canola oil, divided
1 medium red onion, diced medium
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
2 teaspoons crushed coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 cups cold jasmine rice
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce (tamari is gluten free, soy sauce is not)
1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
1 tomato, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 mangos, peeled, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
15 basil leaves, chiffonade (that means rolled up and thinly sliced, but you can just chop it, too)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
To serve:
Extra Sriracha
Fresh cilantro (optional)
Directions:
Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan (preferably cast iron) over medium heat. Toss in the cashews and dry toast them for about 5 minutes, flipping occasionally Transfer cashews to a large plate. Turn the heat on the pan up to medium-high. Add the green beans, a scant tablespoon of oil and a dash of salt. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the beans are bright green and seared. Transfer beans to the same plate as the cashews.
Add the onions to the pan along with another tablespoon of oil and a dash of salt. Toss for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander and red pepper flakes, and toss for 30 seconds are so, being careful not to burn.
Add another tablespoon of oil and about half of the cold rice. Toss to coat, then add in the remaining rice, tossing once again. Cook for about 3 minutes, tossing often, until warmed through.
Add the tamari, hot sauce and tomato, and toss. Cook for another 3 minutes, until the rice has browned sufficiently and the tomato is slightly broken down.
Add the string beans and cashews, mangoes, basil leaves and lime juice. Cook just until mangoes are heated through and basil is wilted, a minute or two. Taste for salt (don’t add more tamari, just add salt if it needs it) and serve, garnished with cilantro if you like, and with a bottle of Sriracha close by.