102. FRIED RICE with TUNA and CRISPY BACON

makes four to six servings


3 cups water
2 cups long-grain rice
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 bacon slices
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 big, fat garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 cup coarsely snipped fresh chives or chopped green onion tops
1 cup frozen tiny peas
1 can (about 6 oz.) solid light tuna packed in olive oil, well drained and broken into large chunks
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Bring the water to a boil in a heavy, medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in the rice and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove the pan from the heat, remove the cover, and fluff it with a fork. Let the rice stand, uncovered, until completely cooled. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before using.

Fry the bacon in a large, heavy, nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat until crisp. Using tongs, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, leaving the bacon fat in the pan. Coarsely crumble the bacon and set aside.

Add the canola oil to the bacon fat in the pan and heat until very hot. Add the garlic, ginger, chives, and peas and cook for 30 seconds. Add the rice, breaking up any lumps with your hands before adding, then add the tuna and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the rice is heated through. Add the soy sauce, toss until combined, then sprinkle with the bacon and toss again. Serve at once.


courtesy of: Take a Tin of Tuna by Joie Warner. San Francisco: Chronicle Books (85 Second Street, San Francisco, CA, 94105), p. 113.