The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of ground Fennel or Aniseed. I wasn't able to find the ground form of either at the grocery store but I did find whole Fennel seeds that I decided I could grind them myself with my mortar and pestle. I was delighted when I opened the seal on the Fennel Seeds and recognized the smell from the Indian restaurants I grew up going to. Maybe you have had this experience at an Indian restaurant, by the door was always a bowl of candy coated seed that had an almost black licorise taste that you were to scoop into your hands and eat to sort of cleanse the mouth of all the spices. I never knew what they were until I peeled back this seal and was hit with this very distinct smell. This delightful little seed adds a very interesting flavor to the fried rice that I hope you will enjoy.
Veggie Fried Rice
1/4 C canola or other veg oil
1 C Peas
1/2 C Corn
1/2 C Snap Peas
1/2 t ground Fennel or Aniseed
1/8 t Chinese five spice powder
4 C cold, cooked long grain rice (brown basmati is what I use)
2 T soy sauce
Prepare 1 cup of uncooked rice in advanceaccording to package instructions and refridgerate overnight or long enough so you are working with cold rice.
In wok or large frying pan heat 2 T oil over high heat. Add peas, corn, snap peas (or other veggies of your choice). Stir in a pinch of salt, seeds and chinese five spice powder. Stir fry for about 2 minutes. Remove the veggies and set aside.
Heat the remaining 2 T oil and stir fry rice for about 2 min. Add the soy sauce and cooked veggies and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
Eat and enjoy
I've been using frozen peas and corn and just buying a couple small handfuls of snap peas but you can really use any veggie you like. Frozen veggies are a great choice because they are very fresh and require no work :)
My favorite part about fried rice in the restaurant is the fried egg they add and I want so badly to incorporate that into this dish. Just one or maybe two eggs, scrambled and fried with a hit of soy sauce would make it a perfect recipe. Lately I've been unable to eat eggs that I prepare. The raw egg smell combined with the imagine in my head of all the dangerous bacteria in uncooked eggs just ruin my appetite for them. I can still eat them if someone else prepares them...I'm working up the courage to add them to this recipe and will let you know if I succeed.
