Chinese Olive Fried Rice with Prawns, Bok Choy and Green Beans

This is one of those dishes that we always go back to when it’s a week night and we’re starving. The prawns are always in the freezer, the rice can be made in 20 minutes (while we watch something on ABC iView – yes that’s right, still no TV) and any random Asian greens are generally always on hand in the fridge (bless lack of meal planning and just buying random things approach to food shopping!)

Allow me to introduce you to this wonderful thing called Chinese olives paste. I have no idea, frankly, what a Chinese olive looks like as I only buy the Chinese olive and pickled mustard paste in jars but Googling returns a result that includes a Thai dish. Which I never had. I feel like a failure!

Anyway! Try this out. Sooo good and simple.

Fried rice for two:

1. 2 cups of cooked rice
2. 8 medium-sized raw prawns (we just have a bag of frozen for this sort of ‘emergency’)
3. a handful of green beans (or broccoli or zucchini, anything really), chopped
4. 1 bunch of any mixture of random Chinese greens like boy choy, choy sum, pak choy or kai lan, chopped
5. 1 egg
6. 3 dessertspoonfuls of Chinese olive and pickled mustard paste*
7. 3 cloves of garlic, chopped

Heat up a frying non-stick pan and add the Chinese olive and pickled mustard paste. This paste is covered in a fair bit of oil so you don’t need any extra oil. Once it’s hot (it will spit a bit), add prawns and garlic. Fry until the prawns start to turn pink. Add beans or non-leafy vegetables you’re using. Add rice and fry until the rice is too hot to touch (yes stick your finger in there, don’t be shy).

Add the greens and cook until wilt. Push the rice aside and crack an egg in the middle. Scramble the egg a bit and pile the hot rice back on top. Leave the egg to cook for half a minute before tossing everything together (if you toss the egg while it’s still raw, the rice will be soggy).

Give it a taste but generally the Chinese olive paste is rather salty. If not, add a dash of soy sauce.

* I haven’t got a picture but you can this at your local Asian grocer – it’s glass jar with red plastic. Something bridge or other brand. Next time I have a jar, I’ll get a picture of it. It doesn’t look very appetising but it is awesome.

This time last year I made:Nicoise Salad with Seared Tuna (My Way)