I know I’ve been on an oyster mushroom kick as of late, but they’re just so good and versatile and affordable.
Thai fried rice for the win
I grew up on fried rice. Indonesian nasi goreng (literally ‘rice fried’) to be exact. I don’t know about you but I get tired of stuff I’ve been eating for a while. So I stopped making nasi goreng maybe a decade ago.
Enter Night+Market by Kris Yenbamroong, a cookbook whose praises I’ve sung a few times over now and the chicken fried rice from page 207. And I am back in the fried rice game. I use a slightly different technique from Kris because it’s my grandmother’s technique and I’m always going to pick grandma’s technique over anyone else’s. So here we are.
Veggify it
I’m trying to cut back on meat in a big way, so I switched out the chicken for oyster mushrooms here, which works a treat.
Veganizing prik nam pla is a little harder, but I asked my Hot&Bothered friends for a tip and their mom recommends using light soy sauce instead of fish sauce. Obviously this doesn’t give you the same funk as fish sauce but it is vegan and it will make you happy. This rice really isn’t complete without the prik nam pla.
Thai seasoning sauce
Yes, you will need to head out and find Thai seasoning sauce. Ideally of the Healthy Boy Brand. This is quite easily found online and the dish just isn’t the same without it. If you really can’t be bothered Maggi is very similar and more widely available in Europe (no word on the US from me).
You can read a super interesting article about the history of Thai seasoning sauce and Maggi here.
Oyster Mushroom Thai Fried Rice
Equipment
- Bottle or jar x2 (for keeping the remainder of the stir-fry sauce and prik nam pla)
- Small bowl
- Wok (a frying pan isn't ideal but if that's what you've got, roll with it)
Ingredients
To make the stir-fry sauce
- 1 1/2 c - 375 ml Thai seasoning sauce or Maggi, see blogpost above
- 1 c - 250 ml oyster sauce try and find a vegan brand if you can
- 1 1/2 T - 20 g sugar
To make the prik nam pla
- 1 c - 250 ml light soy sauce fish sauce if you're not vegan or vegetarian
- 1/4 c - 60 ml lime juice you'll need around 6 limes for this
- 6-8 bird's eye chilies thinly sliced
- 3 T - 45 g garlic minced
- 1 1/2 T - 20 g sugar
For the oyster mushroom Thai fried rice
- 3 T - 45 ml sunflower oil
- 1/4 onion yellow preferred, thinly sliced
- 1 c - 150 g oyster mushrooms roughly torn
- 1 egg sternly whisked and set aside in a bowl
- 3 c - 500 g rice cooked or steamed, day old preferred - fresh tends to be too wet
- 2 t - 10 g sugar
- 2 1/2 T - 40 ml stir-fry sauce see above
- 2 spring onions cut into 2" pieces
- pinch ground white pepper
Instructions
Make the stir-fry sauce
- Mix 1 1/2 c - 375 ml Thai seasoning sauce with 1 c - 250 ml oyster sauce and 1 1/2 T - 20 g sugar. You'll have plenty left-over but this stuff literally keeps forever.
Make the prik nam pla
- Mix 1 c - 250 ml light soy sauce (or fish sauce) with 1/4 c - 60 ml lime juice, 6-8 thinly sliced bird's eye chilies, 3T - 45 g finely chopped garlic and 1 1/2 T - 20 g of sugar. Prik nam pla keeps well in the fridge for about a month and is great with pretty much anything.
Make the oyster mushroom Thai fried rice
- Because we're stir-frying it's essential that you prep all your ingredients as mentioned in the ingredient list and set them by the stove before you start.
- Now heat the wok over a high heat until it starts to smoke before swirling in 3 T - 45 ml of sunflower oil. Once the oil has started to shimmer add 1/4 thinly sliced onion and stiry-fry until it's softened and has become translucent.
- Add 1 c - 150 g roughly torn oyster mushroom and stir until softened and starting to color.
- Add 3 c - 600 g of pre-cooked rice. 2 t - 10 g of sugar, 2 1/2 T - 40 ml of stir-fry sauce and work the rice around the wok to distribute the rice evenly and ensure the sauce is evenly spread across the entire dish.
- Spread the rice out in an even layer and pour over the whisked egg. Let the egg soak through the rice before scooping it over until the rice is dry and has started to brown.
- Remove from the heat and toss in 2 spring onions cut into 2" pieces and sprinkling with a pinch of white pepper. Stir a final few times and serve with prik nam pla.
Notes
