As you can probably tell by many of our recipes, we have a “thing” for comfort foods served in a bowl. There’s something quite nostalgic about warm soup, a hurkin salad, or even an unexpected treat of our favorite dairy-free soft serve in the concave, hand-held dish.
One of my “go-to’s” is fried rice. It was a huge part of my upbringing, not because I’m part Asian (ha!), but because it was something we ate when we had very little in the fridge. Leftover rice, meat from the night before, fresh herbs, and an egg, was really all you needed.
To bump it up a notch on the nutrition tip, I flipped the childhood favorite and swapped rice out for quinoa, added a refrigerator staple (kale), threw in some breakfast bacon, and used a gluten-free tamari instead of the traditional soy and oyster sauce. Mmmm…yum…Quinoa Fried Rice!
In 15-minutes time (or 30 minutes if you don’t have a batch of quinoa already made), you can have yourself a hefty meal for four (or lots of leftovers). ENJOY!
- 4 cups quinoa, cooked (~1 cup uncooked quinoa)
- 4 slices of bacon (or alternatives), cooked and roughly chopped*
- 1 egg, scrambled and sliced
- 1 egg, raw
- ¼ cup onion (red or yellow), finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 cups kale, thinly chopped
- 1 green onion, sliced thin
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet over high heat, melt the coconut oil and sauté onions and garlic with a pinch of sea salt and pepper until the onions are slightly translucent.
- Add the raw kale and cook until the leaves turn bright green (~ 1 minute).
- Add the cooked bacon and cook for another minute.
- Add the cooked quinoa, tamari, another pinch of sea salt and fresh, ground pepper. Cook for a few minutes.
- Add the raw egg, stir, and cook for another 3 minutes. Allow the “fried quinoa” to sit in the pan for about 30-45 seconds before stirring again. (You don’t want to constantly mix it.)
- Add the sliced, scrambled egg, cilantro, and green onions. Serve immediately with an extra garnish of green onions.
Notes
*Easily swap bacon for other ingredients: leftover steak, cooked shrimp, tofu, or even roasted cashews work great too.
TIP
You can make this soy-free be removing the tamari/soy sauce and using a few more pinches of sea salt.
Kale. All Day. Err Day.
