Try my flavoursome Arakan steam fried rice with vegetables, inspired by my travels, that has been on my menu for several years. I eat it almost every weekend for lunch, and still can’t get enough of it.
Jump to RecipeGluten-free, Dairy-free, Lactose-free, Soy-free
The dish originates from Myanmar, formerly Burma. To be more specific, it’s from the coastal area, which used to be an ancient kingdom of Arakan.
When I visited this place, I used to have it every day for breakfast and absolutely loved it.
This dish is incredibly tasty, very filling and full of goodness and cancer-fighting ingredients.
It’s one of those dishes that I was actually able to taste, even during my chemo, when my taste changed and when there were many other foods, that I couldn’t taste at all.
How is the original dish changed?
I adapted the original version and added some little changes to it, to make it healthier.
To start with, I swapped frying for steam frying, where most of the cooking is done by steam.
This cooking method is more gentle than stir-frying. It starts with some oil and stir-frying, but just for a short period of time. In addition, some liquid goes into the pan, which then gets covered with a lid to trap the steam inside. Steam also prevents ingredients from burning.
I also changed the ratio of rice and vegetables to cut on carbs. As a result, the amount of veggies and rice is about the same.
I used some anchovies instead of the traditional fish sauce and shrimp paste. Smoked paprika (which took the original dish to another level) is left out as I avoid everything that’s smoky.
The final and very authentic touch is a good squeeze of lime as it enhances all flavours and brings the whole dish together.
My Arakan steam fried rice makes a perfect lunch and keeps you full for quite some time.
Arakan rice
Ingredients
- 1 banana shallot or any onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 thumb size ginger, peeled
- 1 tomato
- 1 medium-size carrot, peeled and preferably organic
- ½ yellow, red or orange bell pepper, preferably organic
- a handful of frozen peas
- 1 boiled (for 15 minutes) egg
- ¼ cup of mixed brown and black rice
- ½ lime
- 5 anchovies in olive oil ideally from a glass jar, not a tin
- 1 tsp tomato puree optional
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- a pinch of cayenne pepper- only when the treatments have ended
Instructions
- Wash your vegetables thoroughly.Boil the water in a pan, add the rice and cook it on low heat until soft according to cooking instructions (usually for about 30-35 minutes) and drain once cooked.Transfer it into a bowl and chill until cold.
- While the rice cooks, cut the carrot lengthwise in half, then each half lengthwise in half again and chop into thin pieces.Chop the pepper and tomatoes and finely chop the ginger and garlic.
- Pour the olive oil into the wok and heat it up on medium-low heat for a minute. When it’s hot add the chopped shallots, stir well and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.Add the chopped carrots and pepper, stir well and cook for further 3-4 minutes.
- Add the tomato puree, chopped ginger and garlic and anchovies. Stir again and cook for further 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomato, stir well again and cook, stirring occasionally, making sure it doesn’t burn. If the mixture is too dry, (depending on how juicy the tomato is) add a splash of cold water.If you cover it with a lid it will cook quicker.
- After about 5 minutes add the cooked rice together with frozen peas, stir and cook, stirring occasionally for further 3-4 minutes.
- Once cooked, squeeze the lime all over the rice, stir and top with the boiled egg.
