Day 5. Far East Influences. Fried Rice Recipe

When we just arrived to Taiwan, about a thousand years ago (at least that's how it feels), we found out we can't speak Chinese. Sounds weird, I know, but considering the fact that we spent the 2 years prior to our arrival studying Chinese at the university, we were quite surprised (today I already know that you can't really learn Chinese when you're not in a Chinese speaking environment), and we also found out that the Taiwanese can't speak English (or Hebrew for that matter). Those 2 facts caused us embarrassing, funny and wearying situations, especially those involving food. Really, imagine trying to explain to this guy standing in front of you that you don't want any little unidentified creatures on your plate, when all you can say is "hello", "don't want" and "don't understand". Luckily, the Chinese we learned did help with basic communication and as time went by we actually managed to communicate with those around us. But during the first two months, the only place that managed to understand what we wanted was the fried rice street stall next to the hostel where we stayed. We found ourselves eating there lunch and dinner every day. As long as we knew what was on our plate, we were happy.
Generally speaking, I didn't like the Taiwanese food, but the taste of this street stall is still with me up to this day, almost 12 years later.
True, I'll never be able to imitate the taste of that stall, but the fried rice I make is easy to make, delicious and always reminds me of those first days in the Far East.

Ingredients (serves 4):
1 cup rice
1 1/4 cups water
150 g (0.3 lb.) tofu cut into small cubes / chicken breast cut into strips
1 egg
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 potato, diced
1/4 cup peas (can use canned or frozen)
1/4 cup green beans (frozen is fine)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
handful of Chinese sprouts
4 stems scallions, just the green part, cut into 2-3 cm (0.8-1.2 inch) strips
3-4 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp. date syrup concentrate / sugar
salt & pepper
oil for frying


First, we cook the rice. use any recipe to cook it, as long as you end up with white rice. I fry the dry rice in a little oil for 2-3 minutes, then add water, salt and pepper and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, cover and cook exactly 18 minutes. Then remove from heat, leave it covered for 5 minutes, then open and stir with a fork.
At the same time, cook the carrot and potato cubes in water for 5-10 minutes. They don't have to be completely soft, just a little bit.
In a wok, pour some oil then make a scrambled egg. When ready, put it aside in a bowl.
Add some more oil and stir fry tofu / chicken 5 minutes. Move it to the bowl with the scrambled egg.
Add more oil and start stir fry the veggies, wait 2 minutes before you add the next one - onion, carrot, potato, green beans and peas.
Add the minced garlic and ginger and stir fry 1-2 min.
Add tofu / chicken.
Add soy sauce, sesame oil, date syrup or sugar, salt and pepper and stir fry another 3-5 minutes.
If the food begins to stick to the wok, add a little water.
Add Chinese sprouts and scallions and stir fry another minute.
Remove from heat, serve (with chopsticks, of course...) and fantasize about the Far East :)

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From Iraq with Love - Kitchri Recipe

Israel is a special country. Many of its citizens (especially people who are over 60-70) immigrated from other countries. People came here from Europe, Arab countries, Russia, Ethiopia and more. My grandmother from my father's side came from Romania, my grandfather from Turkey. My grandparents from my mother's side came from Iraq. With the people came their food, and Israeli cuisine today is a blended cuisine. It might be one of the only places in the world where you can find sushi and hummus on the same plate (with a large Greek salad on the side...).
One of the dishes that I love the most is a traditional Jewish-Iraqi dish, called kitchri, that I remember from childhood. It's a winning combination of rice (a must in every Iraqi meal) and lentils. At our house the kitchri was one of the favorites of all of us. It's not only super-delicious, but also an excellent dish for vegetarians and is considered to be a complete protein dish. Just add vegetables on the side, and you've got the full package, that even the kids love. And the best thing about it - it's really easy to make.

Want the recipe?
This is my grandma's recipe, after going through some tiny needed changes (like substituting the margarine in the original recipe with butter).

Ingredients (serves 4-6):
1 big onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
100 g (3.5 oz) butter
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. salt
1.5 cups rice
3/4 cups red lentils
2 1/4 cups water

* You can use a pressure cooker or cooking pot *
Rinse the rice and lentils.
Saute onion and garlic in a little oil until tender.
Add butter, cumin, tomato paste and salt and stir for a minute.
Add water and bring to a boil.
Add rice and lentils.
If you use a pressure cooker, reduce heat to minimum and cook for 6 minutes (carefully follow the instructions of the manufacturer).
If you use a regular cooking pot, cover and reduce heat to minimum. Cook for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and wait for 5 minutes.

Serve with -
2 tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley

Chop a salad of tomatoes and onion, add parsley. Season with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

You can also
Slice 2 onions, coat with flour and fry in oil until golden.

The real Iraqis I knew also added a fried egg on top...

Enjoy!