Simple: Macro Fried Rice

This week I'm cooking my go-to dish when I have leftover rice in the refrigerator.  The nice thing about this dish is that you can use any vegetables that you want (as long as you have scallions, and tamari on hand!).  It's called fried rice, but it's not really fried.  Instead, in the style of macrobiotic cooking, the vegetables are layered in the pan (longest-cooking vegetables first), the rice is layered over that, and covered, so the dish steams.  I only use a little bit of sesame oil in the pan, and the only seasoning is a little bit of tamari.  It is so simple, but satisfying and delicious.

Macrobiotic cooking is a theory, a lifestyle, a medicine, and a style of cuisine.  It is based on a form of Japanese homestyle cooking, founded by George Ohsawa in the early 20th century, in response to the introduction of sugar and processed foods into Japanese culture.  Ohsawa linked the rise in disease and poor health to the "Westernization" of Japanese cooking.  He advocated for a more traditional cooking style that takes into account the season, the nature of the food, and the condition of the person.  Macrobiotic cooking uses whole foods, simple ingredients, and mild cooking methods to preserve the quality of the food and create a more balanced (as in, closer to neutral) meal.  It is a great, simple way of eating that definitely promotes feelings of health and wellbeing!  

For more information, check out any of Michio Kushi's books, Aveline Kushi's cookbooks, or Annemarie Colbin's "Food and Healing," or "Cooking the Whole Foods Way."

​Macro Fried Rice

2 cups cooked short grain brown rice 
1.5-2 cups broccoli (or cauliflower), cut into small florets 
2 carrots, sliced into matchsticks or julienned on a mandoline 
1/2 cabbage, shredded thinly (or bok choy)
3-4 scallions, sliced thinly in rounds
2 t sesame oil
2 T tamari (or coconut aminos)

Heat a frying pan or wok over medium heat, add the sesame oil.  When the oil is hot, add the broccoli first, then the carrots and cabbage.  Turn the heat down slightly, cover and cook for about 5 minutes.  If the pan is too dry, add a couple of teaspoons of water.  Add the rice on top of the vegetables, and then the scallions.  Cover and cook another 2 minutes.  Add the tamari, cover again, and cook another 2 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  Mix everything together and enjoy!