Vegan Fried Rice: w/charred edamame, caramelized shallots, pineapple, and pickled carrots

Y'all. If I had to pick a dish that I could eat all day every day for the rest of my life, THIS would be it. It contains the perfect balance: comforting jasmine rice with the savory/umami quality of tamari soy sauce, a burst of sweet grilled pineapple, and the surprising textural and cool contrast of thin pickled carrots. I've been making variations on this dish for years, but I definitely need to give credit to my good friend and cooking partner-in-crime Ben Hatagan for his brilliant addition of the carrots: I would have never been able to think of that on my own.

This dish also serves many...."emotional purposes". I like to make a big batch of it for family and friends when I haven't seen them for a long time. A bowl of this rice and a season of The Office have been known to give me life after a bad breakup or a rough gig. Sometimes, I just make it because it's awesome.

Either way, try it.

*The trick to making fantastic fried rice: use DAY OLD rice. Sounds weird, right?! But it's a trick that almost all Asian restaurants use, and I give it my full stamp of approval. If you can even just refrigerate cooked rice for a few hours before adding it back into the saute pan, it will do wonders.

Vegan Fried Rice: w/charred edamame, caramelized shallots, pineapple, and pickled carrots

INGREDIENTS

• 2.5 cups of cooked, day-old jasmine rice (Trader Joes makes amazing frozen organic jasmine rice that can be steamed in the microwave if you hate cooking rice as much as I do)
• 1/2 cup edamame beans (out of shell)
• 1 zucchini, cut into small chunks
• 1 shallot, chopped fine
• 1/2 pineapple, cut into small chunks
• Tamari soy sauce (for the non-gluten free folks- you can use regular soy sauce)
• toasted sesame oil
• 1 carrot
• 1 small bottle rice vinegar
• 1 bunch scallions
• salt and pepper
• sriracha (optional...if you're a wimp ;) )

Clean and peel the outside of the carrot. Using a vegetable peeler or grater, shave off long, thin pieces and place them into a small colander. Pour a generous amount of sea salt on them, and using your hands, massage the salt into the pieces. (Basically you are trying to pull the natural liquid out of the carrots and replace it with vinegar). Quickly rinse them off with very cold water and place in a small bowl or tupperware container. Pour enough rice vinegar on top to almost completely cover them, and then add a splash of water on top. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour prior to serving. 

In a large saute pan, heat approx 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil over med high heat and add the shallots. When they become fragrant, throw in the zucchini, edamame, and pineapple, with a little salt and pepper. Continue to heat and occasionally stir until the veggies have a nice, slightly charred outside. Throw in a dash of soy sauce, and stir for another minute. 

Then, grab the rice from the fridge and toss it in the pan. Add the remaining tablespoon of sesame oil, a very generous coating of soy sauce, and a few squirts of Sriracha. Stir-fry until the rice becomes hot, and continue to add soy sauce/hot sauce until you reach a flavor combination that you enjoy. 

Serve in a nice big bowl with the cool pickled carrots on top, and some chopped scallions. Eat it with some fancy chopsticks....if you dare. Hope you enjoy!