Egg Shrimp Chinese fried rice

It was a warm sunny day in New York. After going through the daily rituals of struggle .... right from waking up in the morning to catching the NY Subway, I finally managed to reach office. Dumped my belongings at my desk and sluggishly logged into my laptop.

The one mail that caught my attention said "Lunch",from my boss. Well there were other work related important mails but who cares, I had the entire day to read them. This one was more important !! Suddenly all the lethargy had vanished and I was sitting upright reading this mail. Jim (my boss) was taking the team out for lunch, couldn't have been a better way to start that long day.

We all walked through the busy Manhattan lanes crossing innumerable traffic lights discussing about the project, stake holders, strategies etc etc .... everything on earth which is dis interesting and boring. We crossed several Indian restaurants on Lexington Avenue. The smell of spices were bold enough for me to smell it from outside. Finally we reached a Chinese Bistro ... that was our venue for lunch. Posh interiors, smart waiters and waitresses in uniforms, fine china, silver cutlery and artfully designed chop sticks were all over the place. Suddenly the loud discussions softened and we all followed a waitress like a group of obedient school children to the table. I picked up the Menu card and glanced over it quickly.

Where on earth have I landed .... is this a Chinese restaurant ! No stir fried Hakka noodles on the menu. May be I overlooked .... so let me start again.

There were all kinds of dishes .... everything under the sun that sane (or may be insane) people eat. But no stir fried noodles. The discussion about what to order began. I felt like I was sitting admist another meeting. Only this time it was not in the four walls of the conference room. Non of the stuff on the menu made sense to me, so decided to go with the group. After a prolonged discussion the group decided. To be on the safer side it was all veg and chicken.

The food was a total contrast to the interiors of the place ..... bland n tasteless !! Is this what I get to eat in a pricey Chinese Bistro at Manhattan. Who the hell had coined "The Boss is always right". Not even when choosing a restaurant !! How much I missed the spicy street side Indo -Chinese version of Chinese food that the Thela Walas (people selling food on a mobile cart) make in a jiffy. After a great struggle I finished the expensive in house special Chinese fried rice which I had chosen over all the remaining dishes. I thanked my boss for the 'wonderful' lunch and walked back to work.

Preparation Time - 60 minutes

Serves - 2
Ingredients
Rice - 1 cup
Egg -2
Shrimp - 8 - 10 medium size
Chopped Scallions - 1 cup
Chopped Capsicum - 1/2 cup
Chopped Carrots - 1/2 cup
Crushed Roasted Peanuts - 1/2 cup
Slit Green Chilies - 2
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Chili Sauce - 2 tsp
Crushed Black Pepper - 1 tsp
Crushed Garlic Cloves - 2
Salt to taste
Oil for cooking
Method of Preparation
1 Boil rice, drain and spread it on a flat plate to cool. Do not over cook the rice.
2 De vein the shrimps and fry them adding a little salt. Keep aside.
3 Make scrambled eggs and keep aside.
4 In a skillet pour some oil. Add the garlic to it and saute till you smell the aroma coming from it. This is done to season the oil. Now remove the garlic cloves from the oil.
5 Add the slit green chilies, scallions,chopped capsicum and carrots and fry till cooked. Add a pinch of salt to it when cooking.
6 Once the vegetables are thoroughly cooked mix the cooked rice with it. Also add the fried prawns and scrambled eggs.
7 To this add all the sauces ( soya n chili), salt and pepper. Stir well.
8 Finally add the crushed roasted peanuts to it.
Serving Tips
Serve hot
Notes
Do not over cook the rice. Also the vegetables should be crunchy.
Variation
You may use your choice of vegetables. Add some tomato sauce to make it tangy. You may alter the amount of sauce per your taste. If you are allergic to peanuts you can choose not to add it.

Other Names

Egg Shrimp Chinese fried rice - Chinese fried rice, Capsicum - Bell Pepper, Scallions - Spring Onion