Original Recipe! (sort of) : Cuban Fried Rice

I'm sort of cheating here, because I blogged this recipe a few years ago in my livejournal. I'll re-'print' the original post here with notes and pictures, as i've updated it quite a bit since it's conception. This is a household favorite, a fun and fairly quick lunch, dinner, or side dish, and can be made vegan or vegetarian.

What makes this dish 'Cuban' is it's Caribbean feel, the combo of spicy, sweet and sour, and the fact that Cuban food is tasty? And it's tasty? Oh just let me have my clever names...

Cuban Fried Rice!

I read a recipe in "Jane" mag a while back, and I kept thinking about it, as we kept not eating our bananas. This is way tasty and with the added elements (I altered it a little) and a good full lunch. (*I am the queen of redundancy!) Ingredients: 1 medium sweet potato 1/2 medium onion, diced 2 cloves of garlic, minced 4 cups cooked rice, room temp. (I used jasmine, but use what you like). (*I used Minute rice but use what you like. Heh. Leftover Chinese food white or brown rice works best). This a product that legitimately freaks me out. canola or vegetable oil (olive oil works fine if you want, too). (*I now suggest peanut oil for a lighter, more authentic flavor). 1/2 avocado *or use the whole thing...yum.* 1 medium bananna or plantain salt and pepper 2 eggs (optional, I made it vegan-style, because eggs make me a little ill, and we were out...and it tastes great). 1/2 lime 1 dry hot pepper or pepper flakes (*Or a nice fresh Thai chili. Or a Jalepeno. Or a Habenero. Or chipotle. Whatever.) 1.) Throw your sweet potato in the microwave, or the oven, until it's almost baked but a little firm, still. Remove, cool, peel, cut into bite-sized pieces. (*Please, for the love of god, do not 'throw' your sweet potato.) 2.) Take the garlic, onion, and some oil and sautee. After onion and garlic are cooked *not browned* add sliced banana (cut in half and sliced is the best way) and sweet potato as well as your pepper flakes or hot pepper and pan fry until done but not squishy. Salt and pepper to taste. (*I would actually suggest first heating your oil until glistening, adding your hot pepper first so it can flavor the oil, garlic, then onion, turning heat down accordingly. Then sautee the Banana or Plantain and sweet potato at high heat to brown them up a little. Don't burn! I also suggest adding a little fresh chopped ginger around the same time you add the garlic.) Your (I mean my) beautifully sweated onions, chili, ginger and garlic. 3.) add a little more oil, add and incorporate your rice, and fry until desired crispiness, watch the heat because the sugars from the banana and sweet potato tend to stick to the pan and burn. Salt and pepper to taste again. If you wanted eggs, now would be the time, make a hole in the middle or the rice, and scramble the eggs in that little 'pan', until mostly cooked, then incorporate with the rest of the rice. 4.) Serve with diced avocado on top, and a squeeze of lime, you can have a lime slice and some cilantro and maybe even some fresh tomato on there as garnish as you want. (*Current suggested garnish: crushed peanuts, loads of cilantro, fresh lime, diced avocado, and Siracha chili sauce). Super tasty. I'm on my second bowl, but it looks as though it could serve 4 *as long as there was a salad or something involved), or 2 very hungry folks (hehe...or me...4 times, today.) Enjoy! (*Hehe. Yeah, make a lot, it goes quick. And ALWAYS have extra avocado on hand). Current Mood: full Current Music: Fischerspooner-Emerge (*For posterity's sake). Half eaten with seconds on the way