LATIN STYLE FRIED RICE WITH PLANTAINS AND GUACAMOLE

This is the second fusion cooking recipe promised in last month’s blog.   When I think about this style of cooking, I’m reminded of a dish my husband and I loved at a restaurant named Asia de Cuba in New York City.  I did my best to recreate the flavors of this asian-latino rice.  It has all the key elements of a traditional asian fried rice with an added latin flare.  Once you dig in it is hard to stop eating.  It is really that good.   This rice is very satisfying all on it’s own.  However, we accompany the meal with Carne Asada as well.

Time-40 minutes

Servings-4-6

Ingredients

4 cups brown rice cooked

1/2 onion chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

1/2 red pepper chopped

1 tablespoon garlic chopped

1 teaspoon ginger chopped

4 green onions chopped

1/2 bunch of cilantro chopped

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon of sesame Chili Oil

oil to coat bottom of pan for rice

Ingredients for fried plantains

1 ripe plantain sliced into rounds

1/2 cup of oil for frying plantains

Ingredients for guacamole

3 avocados smashed

juice of 2 limes

1/2 jalapeño chopped

kosher salt to taste for guacamole

Preparation of guacamole

Place avocado, lime juice, jalapeño and salt into a small bowl and mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until rice is ready.

Preparation of fried plantains

Carefully peel the plantain by chopping off the tips with a knife and scoring the skin along the length of the plantain.  This will make peeling easier.  Then simply pull off the skin.   Chop into  1/2 inch thick rounds and fry on medium high heat until golden brown on both sides.

Place fried plantains on paper towel and lightly season with salt. Set aside until rice is ready.

Preparation of fried rice

When making fried rice you must pre-chop all your ingredients because it cooks quickly (in about 10-15 minutes).  Add oil to a large skillet on high heat.  Add onions and peppers and sauté until softened (about 3-5 minutes).  Add garlic and ginger into skillet for 1 minute then add cooked brown rice.  Mix all ingredients together then add soy sauce and sesame oil, and mix again.  Add the two eggs and scramble them into rice and turn off heat.  Incorporate fried plantain into rice and garnish with green onions and cilantro.   When plating add the guacamole on top of rice and enjoy!

What is your favorite fusion recipe?  

Cooks’s Note

1.  You can find plantains in latin, asian, and speciality markets.  You will find green and ripe plantains.  You will need ripe ones for this recipe.  The ripe plantain is ready for frying when the plantain is approximately 50% yellow and 50% black.

2.  I used pre-cooked organic brown rice from Trader’s Joe’s to save time.