Gung Hay Fat Choy! Year of the Rabbit!

Originally, we had given up trying to schedule a New Year's dinner as Katy is busy on Friday night, has a demo at a local celebration on Saturday...then Sunday is the Super Bowl.  Tonight, Katy usually has her theater class and I had signed up for a Mom/Daughter workshop.  Well, guess who is home sick today...?  Because Kirk will be home early, and Katy is home, we are having an impromptu dinner.  Kirk will make Beef Tomato Chow Mein, we'll do a Velvet Chicken, and I'm making my mom's unusual fried rice recipe (b/c I can't get lop chung around here to make Jodie's sticky rice...).  We may send out for some appetizers too.  This winter has been a lesson in having no expectations...with the unusual weather patterns...and illnesses floating through...one just never knows what will really happen.

So, I'm posting my mom's unusual fried rice recipe...unusual in that you actually fry the rice BEFORE it is cooked.  She probably got this recipe listening to the radio cooking show, hosted by Gus Saunders, here in Boston in the 60s and 70s.  We grew up listening to Gus repeating the recipes called in my listeners ("that's one cup of rice, two cups bullion") in the afternoons.  Anyway...here it is, and it is bubbling along on my stove as we speak!

Barbara's Mom's Fried Rice Recipe

1 whole onion, chopped
1 whole green or red pepper, chopped
2 cups uncooked rice
Olive Oil (I'm actually using vegetable oil)
4 cups beef bouillon (cubes dissolved in water or canned soup)
Soy Sauce to taste

Heat enough oil in a large skillet to saute vegetables until soft but not fully cooked.  On medium flame, add uncooked rice to skillet, adding additional oil to adequately coat grains.  Fry rice, stirring frequently, until rice is golden brown but not burnt (this is important...so watch it)!  Add beef bouillon to pan along with soy sauce to taste.  Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook covered, stirring several times, until all liquid is absorbed.

Believe it or not...we use to have this rice with her Julia inspired Coq Au Vin recipe, and stir fried frozen pea pods.  She would make this combination about once a month in the winter (at least while I was a teen living at home).  If we were really lucky, she'd also make a Black Bottom Pie which was simply delish!

If you decide to try the rice recipe, I'd be interested in hearing how you like it.  It is kind of different!