In my mind, I had a dramatic introduction for this recipe.
Oh, I was going to talk about this recipe like it would your soul, nourish your body, and yeah, basically change your life, if I’m honest. Because it does all three of these things for me, and I felt that my enthusiasm for it would translate and gently beckon you into your kitchen so that you could have the same life-changing experience as I did.
And then I realised, it’s a bowl of tomatoes, rice, and kale, and calmed down.
That’s not to say that I don’t feel this recipe has all those exciting properties, it does, but realistically there’s only so much hyping I can do for a single recipe without gilding the lily. So let me just put it this humbly:
This recipe is in the top three most cooked things in my kitchen.
There’s a theme here at Mikey and the Kitchen of what is claimed to be some of the most cooked recipes, and for some reason, they all include packet rice.
Actually, it’s not for some reason, I know what the reason is.
I love rice, but I can’t always be arsed to cook it. There, I said it. So having a packet of pre-cooked white rice on hand for certain things is a life saver. Other cooks will tell you to cook rice from scratch, and that’s fine, I will tell you do it too, when I think it makes the experience better. When I think pre-cooked rice will give you the same experience, I will encourage that also.
A while back I said that this, albeit lazily titled Bowl of Fried Rice and Fridge Stuff, is my most cooked recipe, and that wasn’t a lie. I truly believe that damn bowl of rice has seen the unit of my kitchen countertop far more than any other recipe on this website, but I have to say that this soup recipe is a close second.
I work from home and while lunch can sometimes just be a rice cracker spread with peanut butter and Marmite (I said what I said) it can sometimes be something a bit more robust and heartier, but not necessarily with much more effort. That bowl of fried rice and this soup are that experience.
It’s sweet, it’s sour, it’s filling, it’s simple, and it’s versatile so it could pretty much hold any other ingredients you have on the go. You’ll love it, I promise. I have nothing else to say on the matter.
So, in the spirit of not being too enthusiastic and gushy over a bowl of rice, kale, and tomatoes, I’ll leave it there for now.
Actually no, one more thing, sorry I can’t help myself, there’s a really good rice recipe here if you wanted to make a bigger batch for something else, and then save some in the fridge for the next day to make this recipe.
Okay, I’m done now.
Serves 1 – 2
1 tsp flavourless oil (like vegetable)
1 onion
1 clove garlic
4 – 5 fresh cherry tomatoes
400ml vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
1 tsp rice wine vinegar (optional)
1 packet cold pre-cooked white rice
A handful of torn kale leaves
Spring onion (optional)
- Heat the oil in a wok or large pan with high sides and during that time, thinly slice the onions into little rounds. When the oil is hot, drop the onions into the pan with a little salt and cook for 10 minutes until soft and catching slightly.
- Grate in the garlic clove using a fine grater and cook with the onion for another 5 minutes or so until the garlic is hot, but not burnt.
- Halve the cherry tomatoes, cutting across their bellies, and add to the pan with a little more salt and some pepper. Cook them for about 5 – 10 minutes, stirring now and then and gently pushing down on them with a spoon so that the tomatoes soften, and burst their red, juicy insides into the pan.
- Once the tomatoes are softened, add in the stock with the soy sauce, fish sauce, and rice wine vinegar (if using) and bring to a bold bubble.
- Tip in the packet of rice and stir through the stock, using a spoon to break up any big bits of rice that have clumped together. The addition of rice will drop the temperature of the pan, so bring it back to confident bubble again, and cook the rice for about 5 minutes until piping hot.
- Add the torn kale leaves and stir through until they soften, and then remove the pan from the heat. Learn from my mistake here – it will be boiling hot, which is a good thing for the rice, but bad for your mouth, so don’t sneak a taste just yet, be patient and let it cool a little. When it’s cool enough to taste, taste it for seasoning, as you may want a little more soy or fish sauce, as I always do.
- Snip over some spring onions – which I forgot to do for the picture, you see – but I encourage you to be less forgetful than I.
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 