Oolong Fried Rice

When I set up a dinner date with a dear friend this week, I learned something new about her: she’s allergic to almost everything under the sun. Thus, whatever I cooked needed to be gluten-free, soy-free, and corn-free. I had no idea until yesterday that almost everything in my pantry includes some form of gluten, soy, or corn! I began hunting two weeks ago for a flavorful Fried Rice (with no soy), and do you know what? I found one.

Just look how beautiful it is in the skillet! I should preface this recipe by saying that it does indeed call for soy sauce. However, with a soy-free friend, it’s easy to leave it out of the skillet and just add it to my own bowl. And even without the soy sauce, this Oolong Fried Rice will not disappoint your taste buds!

Find the original recipe here!

The only adjustments I made to the recipe:

• No soy sauce
• Green onion (instead of regular onion)
• Peas and broccoli (instead of peppers and celery)
• 1 ½ cups of water (instead of 1 ¼ cups)
• Specifically, Jasmine rice as the white rice
• Specifically, Formosa Oolong as the tea

Adding the Formosa Oolong

As the recipe states, I put the tea leaves in with the rice as soon as it came to a boil, then left them in with the rice to simmer on low for 10-15 min. Seeing the Formosa Oolong infuse the rice with color was my favorite part of the cooking process!

Infusing the rice with the oolong

The final product really is stunning. Look at the green, orange, and brown! What a heart-warming dish for these chilly fall days. And my friend could not stop saying how delicious it was! The oolong flavor is subtle (especially if you add soy sauce like me), but adds a unique richness to the recipe that I love. And if you need a gluten-free, soy-free, corn-free option, this recipe is for you! It’s a small cost to pay for true friendship.

The final product (right before we added the scrambled egg and gobbled it up!)