Last night we enjoyed fried rice, freshly made in just minutes.  This fried rice gets its delicious flavors from umami-rich shiitake mushrooms and the combination of ginger, garlic, and sesame found in Trader Joe's Soyaki.  The best part is that it's ready in a snap with nearly zero prep work.  My husband walked in just as I served up the finished dish and I exclaimed "less than five minutes!"  He laughed and asked if I was raising the ante on how short recipes should be. 

Sure, you can buy frozen fried rice already in a bag, but why not have the option of making it yourself in about the same amount of time and being able to customize the ingredients to your own tastes.  Add your own blend of vegetables, use Frozen Brown Rice instead of Jasmine Rice, use regular mushrooms instead of shiitake, add tofu or pre-cooked chicken (sold as Just Chicken), or tweak the seasonings to your tastes.  For a gluten-free version, just substitute tamari for the Soyaki.

This recipe is a good example of taking advantage of a few time-saving ingredients to cut prep times down to just minutes.  Frozen rice, frozen vegetable blends, and Soyaki are all very convenient in cutting out many of the steps involved in making fried rice.  If you haven't tried the frozen rice yet at TJ's, check it out the next time you go.  I once saw a woman filling her cart with about 30 boxes of the frozen brown rice.  It's that popular! 

Serve this fried rice alongside any stir fry, a couple of egg rolls, some teriyaki chicken, or some garlic shrimp.  To make it more of a meal on its own, add a fried or poached egg on top. 

Five-Minute Shiitake Fried Rice

1 packet (2 cups) Frozen Jasmine Rice
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups frozen Organic Foursome or Soycutash
5-6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp Soyaki
1 Tbsp Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
2 green onions, chopped or cut lengthwise* (as in photo)

1.) Heat rice according to package instructions (3 minutes in microwave).
2.) Heat oil in a pan or wok over high heat and saute mushrooms and frozen vegetables (no need to thaw) for 2 minutes until mushrooms soften.
3.) Remove pan from heat and add Soyaki, vinegar, and sesame oil, stirring mixture.  Add rice and stir to combine.  Serve immediately, topped with green onion.

4 servings as a side
2 servings as an entree

* To make green onion curly, cut it in long thin ribbons, encourage the curl by wrapping around your fingers, and place it in cold water.  After a few minutes,the cold water will cause the green onion to curl tightly.  It's a cute garnish for Asian soups, stir frys, or here in this fried rice dish.