Low-FODMAP Fried Rice

A serving of fried rice. Photo: Charlotte Graham-McLay

There's almost nothing better than a bowl of piping-hot fried rice, with pillowy chunks of omelette and lip-smacking umami flavours. But for those who can't tolerate any onion or garlic at all, like someone in our house, dishes like fried rice can seem off-limits. Here's a truly delicious fried rice dish for those on a low-FODMAP diet. The FODMAP-avoidant person in our house can tolerate mushrooms; if you can't, just replace them with frozen, shelled edamame beans, pre-steamed in the microwave. Definitely pre-make the rice the previous evening (or that morning); it allows the grains to dry out and separate a bit, avoiding gluggy, clumpy rice.

Serves four as a main

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups of brown rice (measured dry)
2 tbsps oil (we use rice bran)
1 leek, sliced (if you're low-FODMAP, only use the leafy end of the leek, and discard the stem)
400 gm of mushrooms, sliced (or a cup of edamame beans, defrosted in the microwave, if you can't tolerate mushrooms)
1 cup of peas, defrosted in the microwave
5 eggs, whisked in a bowl, and seasoned with salt and pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
Quarter of a cup of oyster sauce (replace with Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir-Fry Sauce, to make the dish vegetarian).
3 tbsps soy sauce (we buy the gluten-free kind)

Method

Cook the rice the day before, allow to cool briefly, and refrigerate in a sealed container. Shake the container up before opening it. Mix the sesame oil, oyster sauce, and soy sauce in a cup and set aside. Put 1 tbsp of oil into a frying pan or wok, and cook the mushrooms for about eight minutes. Add the leeks, and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add peas, or edamame if using, and cook for a further minute. In a separate saucepan or pan, heat an element to high heat, and pour in egg mixture, turning the heat down once it starts to cook. Once the omelette is solid, flip it. You don't need a soft, fluffy omelette - slightly firmer and dryer is fine. Chop the omelette into small pieces in the pan. Back at you wok or frypan, add another tbsp of oil, and tip in your rice, breaking it up with a spoon and coating it in oil. Fry for about four minutes. Turn off the heat. Pour in the sauce and mix through the rice and veggies, and then do the same with the egg.
 

Recipe adapted from Local Parent. Charlotte Graham-McLay is an RNZ Social Journalist.