If you love fried rice but worry about the oils and additives that often accompany the versions that you get from some of the popular restaurant chains, you can make your own at home and control the calories and ingredients.

This fried rice recipe has basic ingredients – vegetables, rice, chicken, shrimp, and eggs. It’s cooked with a tablespoon of olive oil. A splash of soy sauce is added for flavor. That’s it. You can eat it without guilt and without wondering what else has been added to make it taste so good.

There are tons of options when you make this recipe. You can add chicken, shrimp, pork or beef. For this meal I added chicken thighs and a small package of medium shrimp.

For the base I used Jasmine rice (my personal favorite).

Cook a cup and a half of rice according to the directions on the package then set aside. While the rice is cooking, sautee two stalks of celery, a half of a white or yellow onion, and a half a pound of mushrooms in 2 teaspoons of canola or olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat

Cook the vegetables until they are tender-crisp. Then add your meat. For this dish I put in three pieces of pre-cooked chicken and a pound of thawed medium shrimp. To cook the chicken I boiled it for about 7 minutes on the medium heat. Also, I added a half a cup of frozen peas. Sometimes I add chopped carrots or water chestnuts.

Once all of the ingredients are cooked, stir in rice and mix.

You could stop here. With a little soy sauce and a dash of pepper this is already a delicious meal, but it’s not truly fried rice. For delicious fried rice,  turn the heat down to low and beat two eggs in a small bowl. Spread the rice mixture out to the edges of the pan and pour the eggs into the center.

Turn the heat back up to medium and allow the eggs to begin cooking. As they cook, stir them into the rice mixture. Once the eggs are cooked and thoroughly mixed into the rice it’s ready to eat.

I like to serve fried rice on romaine lettuce with a splash (or two) of soy sauce. You have the option to roll or not to roll the fried rice up in the lettuce. Whatever you choose, there is something about the flavor of the fried rice and the romaine lettuce that is delicious!

Be sure you make enough so that you have leftovers. This dish is a perfect low-maintenance lunch.

Ingredients:

•  A cup and a half of cooked rice
• One large celery stalk, chopped
• A half of a medium white or yellow onion, chopped
• A half a pound of mushrooms, chopped
• Meat of choice – chicken, pork, shrimp, beef, chopped into bite sized pieces
  • Raw chicken, pork or beef should be partially cooked before adding it to the skillet. Shrimp cooks so quickly so there’s no need to pre-cook.
• Two eggs
• Peas, carrots, water chestnuts, chopped (your choice)
• One tablespoon of canola or olive oil
• Romaine lettuce (optional)

Directions:

• Cook rice according to directions on package.
• Saute celery, onion and mushrooms in a half a tablespoon of olive or canola oil on medium heat.
• Add the rest of the oil and meat and continue to cook.
• Add rice and mix together.  All ingredients should now be cooked through.
• Push the rice and meat mixture to the outer rim of the skillet and pour the eggs in the center.
• Let the eggs begin to cook them stir them into the rest of the ingredients in the pan
• Once the eggs are cooked through, turn the heat down to low.

Serve the fried rice on romaine lettuce leaves or in bowls. Add soy sauce to taste.