April 29, 2016

Fabulous Friday Flavour: Peppery Fried Rice with Anchovies

With Silver Bullet travelling, I seized the chance to cook something I absolutely like  and hardly ever get the chance to cook when he is around because Master Silver Bullet thinks they are smelly. He will complain big time.

I beg to differ really. It’s not that they are smelly; it’s just that his nose is untrained to appreciate the wonderful aroma of dried ikan bilis (anchovies). 

Yeeessss….the fabulous anchovies. Hmmmm…yummy stuff that’s ingrained in my Asian roots. They are so good when cooked with sambal (chilli paste) and if fried, they can be really good for snacking, too.

 

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So in his absence, I get to stink up the house to high heavens. 

Do you know what else would ikan bilis be good with? Fried rice, of course! It’s comfort food for me. It’s a taste only fellow Singaporeans can understand and appreciate. A dish Silver Bullet loves to hate!

But that don’t matter because he was not around when I made this. I relish my ikan bilis fried rice and this time, I made it peppery using both white and black pepper. I added some green chillies too.

Ahh! Taste of home.  

Peppery Fried Rice with Anchovies (Ikan Bilis)
Serves 2
A delicious, peppery comfort food
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Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
15 min
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
15 min
Ingredients
  1. Half yellow onion
  2. 6 green chillies
  3. 1 red chilli
  4. 3 garlic
  5. 1 potato, cubed
  6. A handful of dried anchovies
  7. 1 tspn black pepper
  8. 1 tbsp white pepper powder
  9. 2 eggs (optional)
  10. Cold boiled left-over rice
  11. Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Fry the anchovies in 4-6 tbsp of olive oil. When it turns brown, remove from the pan and set aside
  2. Microwave cubed taters in water for 3-4 minutes to soften it. This would be quicker.
  3. Blitz onion, chillies and garlic in a blender. Add a little water for easier blend.
  4. Using the remaining oil from the pan, pour all of the blended ingredients and fry for about 5 minutes or until it gets a bit dry. Careful not to burn it
  5. Add in black and white pepper. Stir well
  6. Mix in the taters for about 2 minutes. Add in salt to taste
  7. Add in rice and mix well
  8. Incorporate the anchovies into the mixture and mix well
  9. Make a well in the centre, add in the eggs and cover for about 20 seconds
  10. Open the cover and mix well for another minute or two
  11. Turn off the fire and serve!
Notes
  1. Feel free to add in your choice of veggies. You can also reduce the chillies used, but with the green chillies as the base, this fried rice was not spicy at all!
Grubbs n Critters https://grubbsncritters.com/

 


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Comments
  1. There’s nothing in this recipe I don’t like. Sounds delicious! I don’t think I can find dried anchovies around here, unless I go to an Asian specialty store. They usually come packed in oil in a jar. I love anchovies on my pizza and most think I’m crazy. Maybe I’m part Asian, who knows? LOL. I will definitely try this out. I might even add the chilies, although, I don’t like my food too spicy. Thanks for sharing!

    • Maybe you are part Asian, Jas! Perhaps you’ll find out more as you go into your family tree project. 😀 We don’t get those in an oil jar here and I wonder if they taste the same like the dried ones which tend to be a bit more smelly. Anchovies are great though and I’m glad you like the recipe. We’ll need to get you used to chillies. ;D

  2. Gen

    Gavin loves anchovies! Like, he reeeeally loves them! I always say I haven’t found a recipe that I’m willing to try because they’re not my thing, but I think you might make a convert out of me yet! I love fried rice, and I can get my hands on anchovies, so I think Gavin might be in for a nice surprise! Great recipe, Ann, can’t wait to try it! Xoxo

    • Yay! There are now 2 more people I know who like anchovies and that makes me feel less weird about liking them. LOL. Let me know how that works out when you get the chance to try the recipe, Gen! xxx.

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