Garlic & onion fried rice, sambal & mashed avocado

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil, for frying
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 440g brown rice, cooked
• Sesame seeds, to serve
• Lime wedges, to serve (optional)

For the sambal (makes 1 x 200g jar)

• 1 Thai chilli
• ½ shallot
• 1 medjool date, stoned (pitted)
• ½ tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 tomato, deseeded and chopped
• ½ red (bell) pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• A squeeze of lime juice
• 60ml olive oil

For the sides

• A handful of broccolini
• A handful of kale
• A couple of pak choi (bok choy)
• 1 avocado, mashed until smooth

Method

Put all the sambal ingredients into a food processor and blitz until you get a sauce-like consistency. Pour into a jar or an airtight container that can easily be stored in the fridge. This will keep for more than a week in the fridge.

Bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the broccoli stems, kale and pak choi for a few mins, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on kitchen paper.

Heat a large pan over a medium heat and add the coconut oil, garlic and shallots and fry until golden brown. Add the cooked rice and stir-fry until all the ingredients are well combined and the rice is slightly golden.

Divide between 2 bowls and top with a handful of the broccoli and kale and a spoonful of avocado. Serve with a good dollop of fresh and zingy sambal and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. I love my bowl with an extra helping of baby spinach for added greens and a lime wedge for zing.

Everything except for the mashed avocado can be frozen.

Recipe from Happy Food: Fast, Fresh, Simple Vegan (Hardie Grant)