Green Tea Rice with Sake Vegetables

Hi, this recipe is from the Guardian's Feast Magazine issue172, Sat 1st May 2021, pg11 by Meera Sodha, alternatively, the original recipe can be accessed online here. In my picture, it is in a tub for ease of transport and I added in some extra veggies after the picture was taken as I took the photo so that the rice was also visible. I enjoyed the flavour of the soy sauce vegetables a lot, they tasted really fresh and crunchy, especially the mangetout; it was really nice for spring. For me, the green tea rice was nothing special, I found it very similar to normal rice in flavour and colour and, as we have a rice cooker, used a pan that could have been avoided using, although my dad still would have had to have washed up a rice cooker... The meal can definitely be adapted to suit your tastes and what you have in the fridge, the vegetables can be changed around e.g: carrots, beansprouts, broccoli (any type), kale, peas and sweetcorn, pulses (chickpeas, lentils, black, kidney, butter, broad, black-eye beans etc..) and sprouts would all be nice. Another idea, is adding in some protein e.g. pulses (see above line), chicken, turkey, pork, tofu, seitan, tempeh or even a fried egg on top, most meats and alternatives will work nicely here. Enjoy!

Dietary Info:

-Vegan
-Vegetarian
-Dairy-Free
-No Nuts 
-Gluten-Free
-Main Meal or Side

*Prep 10 min

*Cook 30 min

*Serves 4

Ingredients:

-350g jasmine rice {I used basmati rice}

-2 green tea bags – I use Pukka matcha {I used Tetley's Green Tea, but really any would do}

-1+1/4 tsp fine sea salt {I used table salt}

-3 tbsp rapeseed oil – I like Mr Organic {I used extra virgin olive oil}

-3 large garlic cloves, peeled and cut wafer thin

-10 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

-250g pak choi, quartered

-250g frozen petits pois

-200g mangetout

-4 tbsp light soy sauce {I used dark soy sauce}

-4 tbsp cooking sake {I didn't use this or substitute anything in its place}

-Black sesame seeds, to garnish {I used white sesame seeds}

 

Method:

1:Wash the rice several times in cold water until it runs clear, then drain. {Use a sieve for this as a colander has too big holes!}

2:Put the tea bags and 600ml water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, leave to boil for a minute, then take off the heat and remove the tea bags. Add the drained rice and salt to the pan, bring back to a boil over a medium heat, then cover, turn down the heat to a whisper and leave to cook for 15 minutes. {You may need to lift the lift the lid every few minutes as mine was bubbling up and over the sides of the pan quite a lot} Take off the heat and, with the lid still on, set aside to rest for 10 minutes. 

3:For the vegetables, put the oil in a frying pan for which you have a lid and set over a medium to low heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and spring onions, and cook for eight minutes, stirring occasionally. {they may become crispy really fast and in this case, don't bother waiting until 8mins is up, add the pak choi otherwise they may become overdone} Add the pak choi, peas, mangetout, soy and sake, cover and leave to steam for five to seven minutes, {I found 10mins was needed for the pak choi} until tender but still vibrant green. Serve at once {I kept mine in the fridge and it was reheated when needed during the week / eaten cold as well} with the green tea rice and sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

While you're here, I have a Pinterest for all my recipes where you can save them to boards for the future and categorise them into different types of recipe e.g Sunday Dinners, picnic ideas etc. My account is @hazellikestocook, or find the link below. Also, I have a whole blog post explaining this in more detail here and https://hazelscookingandbakingblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/pinterest.html. 
https://pin.it/5xDvARk - my profile

This recipe:

https://pin.it/5WUrQjT