Even Better With an Egg: Garlic-tomato fried brown rice with cilantro pistou

Even Better With an Egg is a series dedicated to my personal aspiration to turn every meal into brunch.

When I first thought of this series, I tried to recall dishes I’ve had in the past that could’ve used a little extra oomph. Garlic tomato fried rice from Bunker Vietnamese came to mind almost immediately. I remembered loving its strong garlic aroma and crispy fried bits, but thinking it needed… something. Of course what it needed was a fried egg! Because everything needs a fried egg, duh.

This dish turned out even better than I had imagined. The rice is so fragrant - fellow garlic lovers will swoon - and the cilantro pistou lends notes of acidic brightness and freshness to balance out the starchy rice and silky runny egg.

This also happens to be a great make-ahead dish. The rice and pistou can be made in advance - say, over the weekend. For a fast weeknight dinner, the rice can be reheated in a saute pan with a bit of oil and topped with a freshly fried egg. I also recommend you make double or triple of the cilantro pistou; it is the perfect condiment for soups and sandwiches, and a great base for salad dressings.

I’ve hope by this point I’ve succeeded to convince you that you need this dish in your life - on to the recipe.

Garlic tomato fried brown rice with cilantro pistou and fried eggs
(Yield: 4 servings)

Rice:

• 1 c brown rice
• 1 c water
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce (low sodium, if possible)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp (or to taste) Sriracha or other hot sauce
• Sea salt

Cilantro pistou:

• 2 c packed cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt + freshly ground black pepper

Eggs:

• 4 eggs (organic and cage free, if possible)
• 1 tbsp butter
• Sea salt + freshly ground black pepper

Procedure: Combine water and tomato sauce in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Season with a pinch of salt and add rice. Turn heat down to low, cover saucepan tightly with a lid, and simmer rice until all liquid is absorbed (do not stir) - about 25 min. When rice is finished cooking, turn heat off and allow rice to stand covered for another 10 minutes to steam (this prevents stickiness). Heat coconut and sesame oils in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir garlic into oil and cook for a few seconds until fragrant. Transfer rice to skillet, stir in Sriracha, and cook, stirring frequently, until rice starts to brown a little - about 2 minutes.

To make pistou, combine cilantro and lemon juice with in a blender and pulse a few times until cilantro begins to break down. Stream in olive oil and puree until smooth. Transfer pistou to a bowl and season with pinches of salt and pepper.

To fry eggs, heat a skillet over medium heat. Melt butter in skillet. Break eggs(s) (depending on the size of the skillet, you may have to fry eggs one at a time) directly into skillet. If the egg doesn’t sizzle as it hits the skillet, the skillet isn’t hot enough. Season with pinches of salt and pepper, and cook until white is set and outer edges of the egg are brown and crisped - about 2 minutes.