Tom Yam Fried Rice

For me, one of the most appetizing things that hits all your tastebuds would be Tom Yam. Sweet, sour, salty and spicy too. The perfect combination. We like cooking our Tom Yam fried rice using Japanese rice just cause this short grain has a little chewy texture.

Ingredients: 

• shelled prawns leaving the tail on (depending on how many prawns each person wants OR you could choose to use chicken or anything that you prefer)
• 2 cloves of garlic (sliced)
• 1/2 a large onion (diced)
• 2-3 tbsp of tom yam paste
• 2 tomatoes
• Green vegetables - we used chinese cabbage but you could use bak choy, choi sam or any leafy vegetable will do
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp of soy sauce
• 3 1/2 bowls of rice (we used japanese rice, but you could use jasmine rice if you like)
• Oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Chillies if you prefer more spice

Steps: 

1. Season the prawns and pan fry with some oil.
2. Once the prawns are cooked, set aside. They should curl up and their tails will turn bright red.
3. Add a little bit more oil to sauté the garlic and onions.
4. Add the tom yam paste and fry for a minute or so. Careful not to burn it. 
5. Add the tomatoes and vegetables into the pan and roughly coat them with the paste. 
6. Once they're half way cooked, add the rice and mix well until the rice is coated with the paste.
7. Crack the eggs into a bowl and season with soy sauce and some white pepper. Roughly whisk it with a fork. Don't whisk it too much as you want a little texture in the fried rice. 
8. Move the rice to the side of the pan and add a tbsp of oil to the cleared side of the pan. Make sure your pan is hot, then pour the egg and gently scramble the egg with a spatula. Try dragging your spatula through the centre letting the runny egg cook. Careful not to overcook your egg.
9. Once the egg is cooked, mix it through with the rice. Taste and season if needed.
10. You could add the prawns in at the end to heat them through, or you could just leave them on the side like we did.
    

The instructions may look a little intimidating, but I think everyone should try making fried rice at least once in their lives. It's rather useful when you're a student with very little time to spare for cooking. Especially when you can keep some for leftovers!