A healthier take on takeout-worthy fried rice

By SARA MOULTON

Associated Press

Starchy, crunchy and flavorful, fried rice is a deeply satisfying dish no matter what you add to it. And you can add just about any vegetable or protein you care to name, fresh or left over.

I love fried rice not only for its taste and versatility, but because it's so easy to make at the last minute. I almost always have most of the core ingredients stocked in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer. If a carton of leftover take-out restaurant rice suddenly appears on a shelf next to the milk, I'm good to go.

I've never been all that great at cooking rice. I just can't seem to get the ratio right, and I always forget when you're supposed to leave it alone and when you're supposed to stir it. I finesse this handicap by leaning on a little trick I learned during my restaurant days: boiling the rice in a big pot of salted water as if it were pasta. That way there's no rice-to-water ratio to worry about. For brown rice, 45 minutes does the trick.

If you're in a rush, you can use instant brown rice, which is almost as nutritious as regular brown rice.

I made sure that the stars of the recipe were seasonal ingredients, starting with peas. Fresh peas are heavenly, of course, but they start turning to starch as soon as they're harvested, so be sure to cook them right away. I incorporated two other spring vegetables — sugar snap peas and radishes. I like the kick of raw radishes, so I simply shredded them and tossed them with a little seasoned rice vinegar. Sprinkled on top of the finished dish, these raw radishes are similar to a pickle.

This recipe calls for shrimp, but you can use any protein, or toss in mushrooms instead.

This dish requires little cooking time, but you must have all the ingredients measured and chopped before you toss them in the pan.

Try this recipe once, and you'll be inspired to make it again and again, making room for seasonal ingredients or leftovers crying out to be used up.