Improving the midnight snack since 2009

The quality of living in Room 116 just improved. Vastly improved. Instead of scrounging around for leftover Tarble snacks when the midnight munchies hit, Carey, my roommate, and I, just make fried rice in our own room.

The idea was inspired by a not-so-recent article in the NY Times about using the rice cooker for more than just rice. As soon as I started to see the rice cooker as a wok in addition to a unitasker that only cooks rice, the possibilities became endless. The first idea, however, was a simple egg fried rice.

You start by making rice as you normally would:

From Fried Rice

Remove the rice, oil the pan if the bowl isn't non-stick, and turn the cooker back on:

From Fried Rice

Drop some eggs into the wok (the general rule of thumb is 1 egg per cup of rice, but this is a personal preference):

From Fried Rice

Add the rice back in:

From Fried Rice

Voila!

From Fried Rice

The fried rice in itself has infinite possibilities. Scallions, obviously, can be used to make it more flavorful. I've recently started to add peas and spinach into the rice as well for a more nutritious version. Or for a sweeter snack, adding cream and spices and sugar to some rice for rice pudding! Aside from rice, I was thinking of cooking other grains in it (perhaps quinoa, for a breakfast cereal?). I recently bought some quinoa and will let you know how that goes.