Fried Rice - Without the Oil, Without the Egg, and Without the Pink Pork

With that title, I'm surprised you're here reading this post. I mean, what's the point of fried rice if you don't get to have greasy, eggy, pink porky goodness, right? Wrong!

Without oil, eggs, or pork, fried rice turns into a very healthy meal and an excellent way to clean out the veggie bin. Little bits and pieces of produce and leftover cooked rice meld together to form a flavorful quick meal. Well, at least the cooking time is quick. The chopping may take you a little while.

Here's a peek at the ingredients I used in today's lunch. And here's how you can make some for your lunch tomorrow.

LowFat Vegan Vegetable Fried Rice
Serves 1.

• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil - yeah, it's oil. Use extremely sparingly just to add flavor. Or omit.
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Small piece ginger, minced - optional
• Fresh vegetables, chopped in small pieces - I used okra. Try carrots, celery, radishes, any greens, bell peppers, mushrooms, cabbage, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, summer squash, green beans.
• Frozen peas - I used these today because I was short on fresh veggies.
• Cooked rice, cold
• Soy sauce
• Rice vinegar dressing or mirin (sweet rice wine)*
• Cilantro - optional
• Nutritional yeast - optional

Heat a nonstick wok or well-seasoned cast iron pan over med-high heat, with smidge of sesame oil if using.
Add onions and cook until barely tender.
Add garlic and ginger. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring to make sure they don't burn.
Add the firmer vegetables (such as carrots and green beans) and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add in the softer vegetables (such as mushrooms and greens) and frozen peas and cook briefly.
Add the rice. Add a little water if needed to prevent serious sticking. Splash with soy sauce and rice vinegar dressing. (Mirin is better, but I've developed a sensitivity to it.) Heat through.
Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and nutritional yeast, if using. The yeast will give a bit of an eggy flavor if you want that. Otherwise, omit it.

Eat.
*When I first started making fried rice, it was missing something. One day, I splashed in some mirin and was very happy with the results. Back when I still ate eggs, I'd get all the veggies and rice cooked, move them away from the center of the pan, add the mirin and let it heat. Then I'd add a beaten egg to it and stir quickly while it cooked. It gave the whole dish a very nice flavor and helped keep the egg from burning and sticking to the pan so badly.

Pink pork was never, ever an ingredient in my fried rice, although I have added diced gluten meat at times.