Receta Fried Rice with Peas and Snow Peas; learning new stuff
I love fried rice.
Like most of my dishes I modify it to suit my mood and the contents of my fridge.
The original recipe, that I found in one of my Chinese cook books many years ago, included the peas and the egg.
I added the sherry, shallots and snow peas…. It is spring, after all.
And I love fresh snow pease.
Fried Rice with Peas and Snow Peas
Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (3.3oz, 95gr) Basmati rice
- 1 cup (8oz, 240ml) chicken stock
- 4 shallots, chopped
- 1/2 cup peas
- 3oz (90gr) snow peas, trimmed and cut into thirds
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sherry
Instructions:
Cook rice in stock until done.
Remove from heat and uncover to cool slightly.
Put egg into a small bowl and lightly beat with a fork.
Heat half of the oils in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add egg and scramble.
Remove egg to a plate and set aside.
Heat remaining oils and shallot, stir-fry 2 minutes.
Add snow peas and stir-fry 1 minute longer.
Add rice, soy sauce and sherry.Stir well to combine and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add peas and stir-fry 2 minutes longer.
Break scrambled egg into chunks, stir into rice and serve.
I learned some things this week.
Well, I learn new things all the time, but this week I learned that I’ve been wrong about stuff I thought I knew.
I hate that.
I don’t hate that I learned it, I hate that I was wrong for so long.
And it’s not that I hate being wrong (although I do) it’s that I hate having been, inadvertently, rude or impolite.
Curious yet?
I’ll explain the easiest bit first.
One only says ‘bonjour’ once per day to people. If one sees someone a second time during the same day one just nods and smiles or says something else. If one say bonjour again, the person will assume that one doesn’t remember seeing them and greeting them earlier…. which is a bit insulting.
If one does say bonjour, chances are they will look slightly shocked, at which point one back-pedals, apologizes, says ‘Oh, yes, we spoke this morning,’ etc. etc.
As to what one can say on the second (or third) meeting, my favorite is ‘re-bonjour’ or, for short, ‘re’.
The second is a bit more complicated to explain….
It’s about asking questions.
I was taught, back in the beginning of time, in high school / college French, that one asks questions by inverting statements.
As in the statement ‘You have stuff’. becomes the question ‘Have you stuff?’
One can also say ‘You have stuff?’ by raising your voice to represent the question and, finally, ‘Do you have stuff?’
But, and this is the important part, it was drilled into me that the proper, polite way is to use the inverted ‘Have you stuff?’ Yes, I know it sounds awkward in English, but the same method is used in Spanish…. Which makes it doubly drilled into me.
This whole bit came up in class Tuesday. My French French teacher (as opposed to my American French teacher) just kept saying ‘Really???? You say that?’
Apparently, the inversion method is very proper and very correct…. If I were asking President Hollande if he had stuff.
To ask the store clerk or the mayor or anyone else one should use the less formal, ‘Do you have….’
Which, of course is typical English phrasing.
I think I’ll remember now…. Until I get flustered, of course.
Actually, I think I’ll have glass of wine. I know that is ‘propre’.
Last update on March 13, 2015
Fried Rice with Peas and Snow Peas; learning new stuff was last modified: March 13th, 2015 by Katie Zeller
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