Kitchen Garden Fried Rice |

Broccoli is one of the most familiar vegetables to Americans because it's favored by supermarkets thanks to its long shelf life. But there's a world of difference in flavor between fresh-cut broccoli and what you find at the store. Rich and green, not at all funky, we prefer to stir fry it gently with garlic making sure to retain some of its crunch. Like most green vegetables, if you boil or steam it with a cover on you'll want to pull it out within 5-6 minutes because longer than that will turn it soft and cause it to lose its color. We like to harvest our broccoli with a long stem and some of the leaves still intact because both are extremely tender and delicious - not to be thrown out!

Storage

Store broccoli in a plastic bag in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Freezing

Cut up broccoli into florets and blanch in boiling water for 1 minute.  Plunge into an ice water bath to cool. Drain and pat dry with clean kitchen towels. Freeze in quart-size freezer bags. For easier use, pre-freeze on a baking sheet, and then pack into bags.

Recipes

Kitchen Garden Fried Rice

This dish evolved from Caroline's childhood memories of eating at Benihana and her attempts to reproduce their fried rice.  Since then it has evolved into something we eat all the time.  Use whatever veggies you have on hand.  It's great for breakfast lunch or dinner.

• 4 cups cooked rice
• 4 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 cup onion,  chopped 
• 2 cups broccoli, chopped
• 1 cup sweet peppers, chopped
• 1 cup zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup snap beans, chopped
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in your largest frypan or wok.  Sauté the onion until soft over high heat.  Add the rest of the vegetables and stir fry them for a few minutes.  Add the cooked rice and stir well, breaking up the rice so that all the grains are separate and coated with oil (you might want to add more oil).  Make an empty space in the center of the pan by scraping the rice mixture to the sides.  Drop the butter and garlic into the well and sauté 1 to 2 minutes, until cooked, not stirring the rice.  (If the rice burns a little on the bottom, all the better.)  Stir the garlic and butter mixture into the rice, mixing thoroughly, then make the well in the center again.  This time break the egg into the well and scramble until cooked, then mix into the rice.  Add the soy sauce and fish sauce, stir again and turn off the heat.  Drizzle on the sesame oil.  Serve garnished with chopped cilantro or Thai basil.  We like to have extra soy and Sriracha chili sauce on the table as condiments.  Add chunks of bacon, ham or salami with the onions for a more protein-rich version. Fried tofu cubes are another good addition.