Fried rice is a great vegan junk food, perfect on a Friday night with a couple of beers. Traditionally, this would require lemongrass and galangal, which can be hard to find the UK, so I omit them here.

Instead of egg, which is common in many fried rice dishes, I like to add toasted cashew nuts or fried tofu at the end to make this rich and filling.

Serves 2

Prep: 20 minutes

Cooking: 20 minutes

Sauce:

4 cloves garlic

2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce/ tamari

2 tbsp brown sugar (or ketchup)

2 inches chopped ginger

2 tbsp lime juice

1 shallot, finely chopped

Pinch nutmeg

Generous serving salt and black pepper

Optional: Turmeric, lemongrass, or galangal

For the rest:

2 servings cooked rice

2 cups chopped vegetables (I used broccoli, courgette, onions, and grated carrot)

Method:

1. Mix the ingredients for the sauce together and gently fry until aromatic in a large pan. Take half out of the pan and set aside for the next batch.
2. Turn up the heat, then tip half the rice and vegetables in the pan. Trying to cook all the ingredients at the same time will overcrowd the pan, so I do it in two batches.
3. Fry until hot and browned
4. Do the same with the remaining sauce, rice, and vegetables
5. Serve hot with peppery watercress, peanuts, and fresh tomatoes to bring out the flavours.