Coconut Red Curry Fried Rice

Coconut Red Curry Fried Rice is the easy weeknight dinner you need in your cooking repertoire! Just 7 convenient ingredients make up this filling, one-pan meal!

Most of my friends refuse to cook for me. It is an unfortunate side effect that comes from becoming “known” for cooking and baking tasty things. Often times, when I’m invited to someone’s home for any event where food is served, I get an apologetic, “Sorry, this is from the freezer section.” or a shameful, “Don’t judge me!” as they open a box/bag/can/jar of something. Even worse, they sheepishly lament over the way their {perfectly delicious} food looks.

STOP IT. Stop it right now.

Do you think every meal I eat looks like something out of a gourmet magazine? Maybe… if you mean a dog food ad in a gourmet magazine.

I promise, you would be shocked and dismayed about some of the things that come out of my kitchen when I’m just feeding myself or my child. Unless said meal is going to get a close-up for a blog or social media feature, odds are it probably looks like it was plated by my toddler himself. {Not that he’s not talented, but you know, he’s still working on those fine motor skills.}

Anyway, I’m telling you this because we need to talk about shortcuts. I don’t know one parent — stay-at-home, work-from-home or employed outside of the home — who isn’t exhausted and often overwhelmed by the time dinner rolls around.

I will admit, before I became a mom, I was quite opposed to “convenience items” because I didn’t understand why you’d pay good money for something that you could easily make yourself. But now I get it. Because TIME, that’s why.

Because it’s nice to be able to feed your family and maybe, just maybe, still have a few minutes left at the end of the day to talk to your spouse or watch a show and unwind or shower before you pass out cold on the couch and have to start all over again the next day. I’m talking basic desires, folks, nothing fancy.

Luckily, around the same time that Cole was born, Trader Joe’s opened not far from us and life was never quite the same. I know people love Trader Joe’s for all the wild and wonderful finds, but for me, it’s the place where I stock up staples and shortcuts for my cooking. {Boring, I know.}

Pre-cut vegetables. Pre-cooked, frozen brown rice. Jarred sauces, salsas and spreads to keep in my pantry for busy days. Life. Changers.

This dish has evolved over the past year from what I used to call “Microwave Fried Rice” where I’d basically throw frozen brown rice and fresh broccoli florets in a bowl and zap it in the microwave for a few minutes while I quickly scrambled an egg on the stovetop, then mix it all together with a splash of soy sauce and sriracha and call it a day. {See? Super un-fancy.} That meal saved me on many a busy day when Cole was just a teensy thing.

Now that he’s older {and less physically attached}, I can usually muster the energy to make this upgraded version that has a few more veggies and a luscious coconut-red curry sauce that makes it taste like something you’d cook if you actually had time.  It takes, like, 20 minutes. It’s made with 7 ingredients… 5 of which would be considered “convenience” items, and all of which are perfectly fine by me. This is on constant rotation in our house and is often what I make when I “don’t feel like cooking.” Adding cooked chicken breast or shrimp is an easy way to add protein and round it out as a complete meal.

These days, if it buys me a few extra minutes of downtime at the end of the day and fills our bellies {not to mention contains vegetables. Bonus!} without being made of complete junk, then it’s for me. And if my current {slightly more wrinkled and grayed} mom-self could talk to my younger {more vibrant and rested} pre-mom self, I would look deep into my eyes and say, “SHORTCUTS ARE OUR FRIENDS, DIANNA.” Because they are. They really are.

Easy Coconut Red Curry Fried Rice

Coconut Red Curry Fried Rice is the easy weeknight dinner you need in your cooking repertoire! Just 7 convenient ingredients make up this filling, one-pan meal!

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Course Main Course

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 2 servings

Author Dianna Muscari

Ingredients  

• 1 medium zucchini {about 2 cups} chopped
• 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
• ½ a small red onion sliced
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste such as Thai Kitchen
• ⅔ cup coconut milk*
• ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• About 2 1/2 cups frozen brown rice*

Instructions 

• Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add zucchini, broccoli and red onion and cook until just starting to soften and get charred in spots, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add red curry paste and toss with vegetables to coat.
• Pour in coconut milk and soy sauce and stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
• Stir in frozen rice. Reduce heat to medium and allow to simmer until the rice is heated through and has absorbed some of the liquid {it should thicken quite a bit}, stirring often. Serve hot.

Dianna's Tips

*I usually make this with frozen brown rice. You could probably make it with cold leftover rice, too, but you may need to reduce the amount of liquid.