Miso fried rice and a resolution

I know I`ve been MIAing for a while and that because for the whole last week, my mind was fully occupied with job-related things. I wanted to say that that`s a good thing with being busy, but sadly, it was not. My current job contract is about to end and a while ago, I applied for a job for the errrth time and I finally got myself an interview. The irony was, I wanted that job so much and I really felt that I had a good shot, but the second I finished my interview, I knew I blew it away just like that. That day, it seemed clearer than ever to me that my greatest weakness is being interviewed. So, I just went home feeling uneasy and regretting the way I responded to the questions. It`s all about "I should have explained this and that" in my mind. And despite my fear of the result, I still had the excitement thinking of a tiny possibility for me to get it until a letter came two days later saying that I don`t get the job. Then, I crashed down, pretty badly. I always knew that I`m more a writer than a speaker, but I never thought that it would cost me this bad. And to make things gloomier, my paper got rejected too earlier that day. But I quickly resubmitted it to a different journal in the same day and I`m glad I did. So, one rejection to start my day and another rejection to welcome me home. Now how about that?

Anyway, I`m glad to say that I`ve finished with the sad part, so let me continue with the good part. Or at least I think it`s good for me. I thought it would take days for me to get over it, but to my surprise, I was already fine the next day and even better, I`m ready to move on. It occurred to me that now I knew the root of my problem, I have to work on  my communication/speaking skill for interviews, or in a broader term, my self-selling skill in job hunting. Otherwise, I will spend the rest of my time just whining about why I fail again, or worse, blaming the universe.So here I am, with new battery, which I hope will last very long, and new homework to do. Failing should make me better instead of merely feeling defeated. And please remind me about all this speech when I start whining again, alright?

OK, now I`m done with sharing about my life. I don`t mean to drag you into my gloominess, but I hope the lesson works not only for me, but for people out there too who are probably in the same situation.

Now, please come to my kitchen because I`m going to share my quick and easy meal, which happens to be a vegan recipe too.  I just hope that this fried rice doesn`t represent my story above because really, they don`t relate at all. In fact, this post has helped me getting back on my feet before the Monday comes.
Cooking time!

Start with chopping a spring onion.

 

In a frying pan with a bit of oil, stir-fry the spring onion with chilli. 

You can remove the chilli seed before slice/chop it up for a milder heat. For me, I`ve never removed any chili seed in my life. Maybe having a baby would be my only reason to do that in the future.

Next, throw in sliced shiitake mushrooms. 

And toss in shimeji mushrooms.

Speaking of mushrooms, I remembered my recent conversation with my dearly cousin who lives in Netherland. She said that it`s difficult to copy my recipe because she rarely/never see the ingredients I use here at her place. I`m sure that she`s not alone in having this opinion because I too have some difficulties in finding some ingredients listed in recipes from outside Japan. But even so, I think the basic idea of sharing recipes, at least for me and especially for non-baking ones, is to inspire people to cook. And more importantly, with whatever we have or like. Other than that, don`t you think it`s fun to learn about new or foreign food we never see before?

Aaaand....back to the frying pan before I burn everything. 

Add a tbs (or more, or less) of miso paste and stir up.

Then, to give it a red effect, add 1 tbs of red chili powder or flakes.

Season with salt (go easy with it because miso is already salty), ginger, and pepper. Stir until everything combined.

Dump in cooked rice and good luck with the stirring.

This fried rice has a pretty good resemblance with Indonesian fried rice. Just add a fried egg on top and shrimp rice crackers on the side and no one will sue you from calling it Indonesian fried rice. Although, one will quickly notice a difference because of the dominant miso flavor in the dish. And before I forget, this dish is not only quick and easy to prepare, but also comforting.  After all, what`s not comforting from miso and mushrooms?

Print recipe

MISO FRIED RICE

Makes about 2 plates

Ingredients:

1 spring onion

2-3 chili

Shiitake mushrooms

Shimeji mushrooms

1 tbs miso paste

1 tbs chili powder/flakes

Ginger

Salt

Pepper

2 plates cooked rice

Tomato (optional)

Parsley (optional)

Method:

1. Saute chopped spring onion and chili in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil.

2. Stir in  shiitake mushrooms and cook until it wilted.

3. Stir in shimeji mushrooms and cook until it wilted.

4. Add 1 tbs of miso paste and 1 tbs of chili powder/flakes.

5. Season with ginger, salt, and pepper and stir up.

6. Add 2 plates of cooked rice and stir until everything combined.

7. Optional: garnish with chopped tomato and parsley to serve.