BELL PEPPERS STUFFED WITH SPICY PORK FRIED RICE
Serves 4.
From "Simply Ming in Your Kitchen," by Ming Tsai and Arthur Boehm.
• 4 large red bell peppers
• 5 tbsp. canola oil, plus more for coating the peppers
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 lb. spicy ground Italian sausage
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced
• 2 bunches green onion, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced (with 3 tbsp. of green part reserved for garnish)
• 4 c. cooked rice (preferably half white and half brown)
• 1 tbsp. tamari sauce
• 8 oz. baby spinach leaves
• Juice of 1 lemon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove stems from peppers and cut off tops. Mince tops and set aside. Remove pepper seeds and ribs, and reserve. Coat peppers inside and out with oil, season with salt and pepper, and transfer to a baking dish. Bake until peppers have softened, 10 to 12 minutes.
Cover large dish with paper towels. Season eggs with salt and pepper. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add 4 tablespoons oil and swirl to coat pan. When oil is almost smoking, add eggs and scramble, stirring constantly, about 15 seconds. Transfer eggs to paper towels to drain.
In same pan, over medium-high heat, sauté sausage, breaking it up, until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a medium plate and set aside.
Return pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and swirl to coat pan. When oil is hot, add ginger, garlic, jalapeño and green onion (except for garnish). Add rice, tamari, eggs, sausage and reserved minced peppers and heat through, stirring 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
In a medium bowl, combine spinach with lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and toss. Stuff peppers with rice mixture. Place on top of beds of spinach, garnish with green onion tops, and serve.
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