A surefire way to create a viral stir, in the food blogosphere at least, is to post a three-ingredient-or-less recipe: one-ingredient ice cream! two-ingredient pancakes! three-ingredient pasta sauce! What’s not to love?
I am the first to click on these links and never cease to be amazed by their outcome. They often take little time to make and rarely require odd ingredients. Last fall, I discovered one of my favorite such recipes: the Canal House’s chicken with preserved lemon, a dish that, in my mind, exemplifies the notion of simple meeting spectacular.
That recipe, you might recall, arrived in the mail as a preview of what was to come in the Genius Recipes cookbook, which has finally arrived, and which I have been studying ever since. I am so happy to see a number of these three-ingredient-or-less recipes I have yet to try: Dan Barber’s one-ingredient crackers, Diane Kennedy’s three-ingredient carnitas, and Hervé This’ chocolate mousse made with chocolate and water alone. This past winter I made Francis Mallmann’s potato dominoes and fell in love.
The recipe here, ginger-fried rice, does not fall into this three-ingredient category but it’s in the same vein — a simple process with a modest ingredient list made from many pantry staples. And the genius of this recipe is that you don’t need day-old rice. Whereas in traditional fried rice, crunch is provided by browning dry, day-old rice, here crunch comes by way of ginger and garlic that have been crisped in oil then removed and reserved for sprinkling overtop at the end.
What I love about this recipe is that once you get the basic idea — fry garlic and ginger, sauté vegetables, add rice — you can make endless variations. I haven’t once made this with day-old rice (see notes in recipe), and while it is truly special with leeks, I love using steamed broccoli or sautéed onions or any vegetable I have in the fridge. There is no sauce making — each serving is drizzled with a teaspoon of soy sauce and half a teaspoon of sesame oil — and if you want to make the dish more complete, top it with an egg (fried, poached, soft-boiled, etc.)
Whatever you do, don’t forget to add the reserved crispy bits of garlic and ginger, the most essential element of this dish. As the photo above reveals, I did this, and I will sheepishly admit why: I was having a moment with the tidiest, most unmangled poached egg I have made. If you’ve ever had trouble poaching eggs, check out this Julia Child trick the Kitchn wrote about last week.
PS: Potato dominoes.
PPS: I do not want to lead you astray: I love the Genius Recipes cookbook for more than just its three-ingredient-or-less gems — there are so many recipes, each with its own genius twist, I am dying to make: Julia Child’s zucchini and rice gratin, a Dorie Greenspan apple cake, and Yotam Ottolenghi’s black pepper tofu, to name a few.
Source: Genius Recipes
Egg poaching method: The Kitchn via Julia Child
Notes: I have been using a blended rice mix that I find at my Korean market. I've also just been boiling it pasta-style with a tablespoon of kosher salt until it's al dente — it takes about 45 minutes. One cup of dried rice yields about 4 cups of cooked.
Notes from the Genius Recipes cookbook: Use leftover cooked rice if you have it. Here are some tips if you're cooking the rice fresh, to make sure it isn't too soggy: When the cook time is done, leave the rice undisturbed in the pot (uncovered) for 5 minutes. Spread the rice on a tray (or two) to dry out. While you prep the rest of the ingredients, put it by an open window or a fan, or pop the tray in the fridge or freezer if you have room. Jaden Hair at Steamy Kitchen also recommends starting with 1/4 to 1/3 less water when cooking the rice.
Ingredients
Instructions
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