Vegan Burnt Garlic Fried Rice

Here's a Thai Burnt Garlic Fried Rice Recipe without a single drop of oil!

Whole Food Plant Based Burnt Garlic Fried Rice Recipe

Course: Course 3: Grain Dish for Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Thai Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Brown Rice soaked
20 cloves Garlic
1 tbsp Peanuts
5 Thai Basil Leaves
1/2 Green Chili
1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
4 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak 1 cup brown rice for 30 minutes. Cook it with 2 cups water until it is soft but not over cooked. Spread it out on a large plate so it doesn't become sticky. Let it cool fully.
2. While rice is being cooked, peel and crush or grind garlic to a paste. Keep aside for ten minutes. See Nutrition Science Highlights below for details.
3. In the meantime, dry roast groundnuts on low flame until just done. Ensure that it does not darken. See Nutrition Science Highlights below for details.
4. Slit green chili into two long pieces. Once garlic has rested for ten minutes, dry roast with chili until raw smell goes away.
5. Mix roasted peanuts, garlic, chili, black pepper powder, and miso paste with cooked rice. Mix well, taking care not to mash the rice. Garnish wiht thai basil leaves. Serve fresh!

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Burnt Garlic Fried Rice Recipe

1. Burnt Garlic Fried Rice is best served with Thai Curry!

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Burnt Garlic Fried Rice Recipe

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why whole grains? Whole grains are healthier than refined grains such as white rice, refined flours, maida, rava, etc., as the bran layer is intact, with all its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole grains have been found to be protective against a whole range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and lifestyle-related cancers.
3. Why cool grains? When cooked grains are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, its starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the whole grain even healthier. For the same reason, parboiled whole grains can be used as well.
4. What's wrong with roasting? The brown color we get on roasting whole grains, tubers, legumes, or nuts is due to the formation of carcinogenic AGE compounds. We can reduce the formation of these compounds by roasting peanuts mildly, on a low flame.
5. Why crush garlic and wait? When garlic is chopped, crushed, ground or bitten into, two chemicals stored in different parts of garlic's cells combine in a chemical reaction to form allicin. This is a slightly bitter compound that deters insects, but happens to be very beneficial to our health. Allicin helps reduce blood pressure and protect the heart and other organs, fight off lung infections, and reduce inflammation. Unfortunately, cooking destroys one of the enzymes required to form allicin. This can be overcome by crushing garlic and keeping it aside for ten minutes while the chemical reaction takes place. Once allicin is formed, it is heat stable and can be safely cooked. Alternatively, some raw garlic can be added after cooking, to a dish that has cooked garlic in it.
6. Why nuts instead of oil? Whole foods are healthier than processed foods. When nuts are pressed and oil is extracted, fiber and phytonutrients are lost, along with many other nutrients. Therefore, whole nuts are much healthier than oils, whether cold-pressed or refined. In addition, they provide the oil content we need to absorb fat-soluble phytonutrients from other whole plant foods! This may be why nuts are used to garnish nearly every traditional Indian dish!