Dinner in 10 : Prawn Fried Rice

Takeaways are lovely.  Especially when you're absolutely knackered after a hard day in work and want something quick and easy.  But they're a wee bit expensive, especially if you get into the habit of ordering them - say goodbye to the guts of €20 for two people.  A lovely treat but you can do something yourself for a fraction of the price and in half of the time.  Let's face it, it takes at least half an hour from making the call to hearing the doorbell.  You can cook this lazy, easy Prawn Fried Rice in less than half of the time and be curled up in front of the tellybox watching Emily Thorne plot more ridiculous Revenge scenarios (me) or watching a really intellectual documentary on Def Leppard (him).

I'll be very honest with you, there's a multitude of shortcuts involved in this recipe and this is where your oft-neglected microwave comes in very handy indeed.  I love microwave rice - one pack is the perfect portion size for two people and there's no waste ("or washing up", pipes up my cleaner of the pots and pans).  The peas get defrosted in the microwave too.  50 seconds and they're ready to throw into the wok.  You can jazz this up by adding strips of thin omelette - this could be leftovers from breakfast or the night before - or adding other vegetables like very thin strips of pepper, carrot, beansprouts... it's a great way to clear out the fridge. A leftover piece of cooked bacon can be diced and thrown into the mix too.

In this recipe I use raw prawns as I find the precooked ones go really rubbery if they get even 30 seconds too much heat.  Keep an eye out for special offers in the frozen aisle - it's where I find my prawns for dishes like these.  Allow 100g of peeled prawns per person, more if you're a greedy guts.  Thaw them in the fridge overnight before you use them  Also, take 2 minutes to run a knife along the inner seam of the prawns to remove that little black line you see.  You can guess what it is, and you really don't need to eat that...

Prawn Fried Rice

200g pack Microwave Long Grain Rice, cooked according to instructions
100g frozen Peas or Petit Pois, thawed
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
150g Mushrooms, finely sliced
200g Raw Prawns, thawed
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tbsp Ginger, finely grated
1 bunch Spring Onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce

Cook the rice in the microwave according to the pack instructions (usually 2 minutes) & remove.  Thaw the frozen peas in a bowl - 2 bursts on high for 30 seconds each time will do the job nicely.

In the meantime, heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add the prawns, garlic & ginger and cook for 3-4 minutes until the prawns are almost fully pink throughout.

Add the rice, peas, spring onions, soy sauce & oyster sauce.  Stir well and cook for a further minute.

Serve and eat immediately.