Last Minute Sweet Potato, Broccoli and Mushroom Fried Rice

I took a couple of days off before Columbus day last week and mostly hung around the house catching up on cleaning and some other projects that I had neglected for too long.  I am pleased to say that it was a productive weekend for me, but by the time Sunday night rolled around I had not really given much thought to dinner and I had not gone to the store since I had been off.  As a result I did not have much in the refrigerator and by the time I realized I did not have anything ready I was hungry.

What to do?  I thought about ordering for delivery but did not want to wait.  Desperate, I went back to the refrigerator for one last look.  What I found was a half full container of steamed rice from a Chinese restaurant delivered earlier in the week (and another reason I did not want to order in again), half a sweet potato, broccoli florets in the crisper I had completely forgotten about, and half a container of sauteed mushrooms (I almost always have those in the refrigerator these days; more on that in another post).

I realized I had the makings of a simple fried rice dish.  It took a second to chop the sweet potatoes.  I did not bother with garlic or ginger and did not want to take the extra time involved to scramble an egg first, so I just heated the wok, added the oil, cooked the potatoes and then the broccoli, added the rice and the mushrooms and finished it off with a quick stir fry sauce of soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce and sweet sherry.  I topped it off with toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds.

The whole thing was done in less than half an hour and it was surprisingly delicious and made enough for my dinner that night and lunch the next day.  And although it was one of those last minute things that get thrown together out of desperation, it was tasty enough to make again when I do have the time to take the effort to chop up some garlic and ginger, scramble an egg and throw in chopped scallion at the end for an even tastier version.

Home Cookin v9.70 Chapter: My Recipes

LAST MINUTE SWEET POTATO AND BROCCOLI FRIED RICE Makes 2 to 3 servings

2 Tbsp peanut oil
1/2 cup chopped raw sweet potato
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms
1/2 cup to 1 cup leftover cooked rice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sweet sherry
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1/4 tsp garlic chili paste
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Heat wok over high heat until it is just starting to smoke. Add one tablespoon of the corn oil and gently swirl it around the bottom of the wok.

Add the sweet potato and stir quickly to coat all of the pieces. Continue to stiry fry for about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water by pouring it around the edges of the wok to create steam. Continue to stir-fry, stirring regularly, until the water has evaporated and the sweet potato is just tender. Let them brown and then remove to a serving bowl.

Return the wok to the bowl and add the second tablespoon of oil. Add the broccoli florets and stir to coat, then stir fry for 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water and continue to cook, stirring regularly, until the water has evaporated and the broccoli is just tender. Cook another minute or two to let them brown.

Add the mushrooms to the broccoli and let it cook just long enough heat the mushrooms thoroughly. Add the sweet potato back and stir everything together.

Add the rice and cook it for a minute or two, then add the soy sauce, sherry, hoisin sauce and garlic chili paste. Cook until the liquid has evaporated a bit and everything is well coated.

Remove from the heat and place everything into the serving bowl that was used for the sweet potatoes. Add the toasted sesame oil and stir it into the rice. Top with the sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Created 10/8/2017

exported from Home Cookin v9.70 (www.mountain-software.com)