Tom cooks 13. Chaahan (fried rice with assorted ingredients)

Fried rice is a creation to finish up leftover rice from previous meals. We freeze leftover steamed rice, and when enough has accumulated, it turns into fried rice. It is one of Tom’s menu choices to feed me when I am swamped with work.

He proves how nice he is by cooking my favorite food. He can also shut out my potential complaints on his food (Tom sees my comments as complaints). Fried rice à la Tom serves more than two purposes. A value meal?

While any ingredients work, I like to have at least chopped onion as well as thin squares of carrot and egg. I still have not had fried rice à la Tom that contains thin squares of carrot -- his fried rice  is basically a showcase of what we have in the fridge. He chops everything into small pieces and throws them in the frying pan. For Tom, a knife -- no matter how sharp it is -- seems to function only for chopping. Finely chopped cauliflower was a surprise the first time I saw it. 

So here we go again, Tom chops carrot.









On this day, he put onion, carrot, tomyo pea shoots, prawns and eggs.








Tai, the ever-present Boykin Spaniel, never loses hope when we are in the kitchen, looking up to catch the cook's eye and checking the cook's hands. And, when Tom is the cook, Tai also diligently stares at the floor. Not that Tom intentionally throws food at Tai; let’s just say, ingredients fly through the air. But poor Tai didn’t get to pick up any spillage from the counter or stovetop this time, as I was watching Tom cooking with camera in hand.

Tom's fried rice is finished with black pepper, my favorite spice.

Thank you, Tom, for the yummy food. I would like to see the clean rim of the plate next time.

See? I’m not complaining.