NAGI MAEHASHI is behind RecipeTin Eats, an Australian food blog with a devoted worldwide following. She founded the blog in in 2014 to share her passion for creating affordable everyday meals. RecipeTin Eats: Dinner is her first cookbook and includes 150 dinner recipes. Read on for an extract.

About the Book

150 dinner recipes. Fail-proof. Delicious. Addictive. The food you want to cook, eat and share, night after night.

Through her phenomenally popular online food site, RecipeTin Eats, Nagi Maehashi talks to millions of people a year who tell her about the food they love.

Now, in her first cookbook, Nagi brings us the ultimate curation of new and favourite RecipeTin Eats recipes – from comfort food (yes, cheese galore), to fast and easy food for weeknights, Mexican favourites, hearty dinner salads, Asian soups and noodles, and special treats for festive occasions.

Featuring a photo and how-to video for every recipe (follow the QR code), readily available ingredients, Nagi’s famously helpful notes, and Dozer, Australia’s best-loved food tester, this is a kitchen-shelf must-have for the novice cook, the expert seeking to perfect technique (straight to the Beef Wellington!), and everyone in between.

EXTRACT

MAGIC BAKED CHICKEN FRIED RICE

Just put it all in a pan – even the uncooked rice – and bake!

SERVES: 4 AS A MAIN I PREP: 10 MINUTES I COOK: 45 MINUTES
Sometimes after a long day, even I don’t have the energy to deal with the hassle of chopping vegetables, pulling out woks and smoking out my kitchen – let alone remembering to cook rice the day before! So I published a ‘dump and bake’ fried rice on my website – albeit with some trepidation – convinced it would be slammed as an abomination. To my total surprise, the recipe was a smash hit and had 100,000 views in 24 hours! Truth is, it’s delicious – the flavour is fantastic, the rice is fluffy and moist. The most asked question I get is, ‘How can I add chicken to this?’ Well, here’s how!

BAKED FRIED RICE
1½ cups (300 g) long-grain white rice¹, uncooked
1½ cups (375 ml) low-salt chicken stock*
1½ tbsp light soy sauce*²
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine*³
2 garlic cloves*, finely minced⁴
¼ tsp white pepper
2 cups (270 g) frozen diced
vegetables (carrots, peas and
corn mix) still frozen
¾ cup (100 g) chopped bacon
or ham (I use store-bought
chopped bacon)

MARINATED CHICKEN
500 g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 1.5 cm pieces
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine*
1 tbsp light soy sauce*
2 tsp sesame oil*
1 garlic clove*, finely minced
TO FINISH
2 eggs, scrambled⁵ (optional)
2 tsp sesame oil*
1 green onion* stem, finely sliced

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).

Bake covered – Place all the baked fried rice ingredients, except the vegetables and bacon, in a 23 x 33 cm metal pan (not ceramic or glass). Shake to spread the rice evenly, ensuring all the rice is submerged under the stock. Sprinkle the vegetables evenly across the surface, then sprinkle the bacon on top. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

Marinate chicken – Meanwhile, place the marinated chicken ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine. Set aside to marinate while the rice cooks.

Bake uncovered – Remove the foil (reserve foil), then spread the chicken in a single layer across the surface of the rice. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Rest and serve – Remove from the oven, cover with the reserved foil and rest for 10 minutes.
Use a rubber paddle to turn the rice over and gently break it up. Add the scrambled egg (if using). Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with the green onion. Gently toss the fried rice to mix it through, then serve!

NOTES

1. Basmati and medium-grain white rice can also be used. Not suitable for risotto rice, paella rice, brown rice or sushi rice.
2. Or all-purpose soy sauce. Do not substitute with dark soy sauce.
3. Or mirin* or dry sherry. If you can’t consume alcohol, omit and add ¼ cup (60 ml) low-salt chicken stock and cook for 1 minute longer.
4. I just use a garlic crusher in this recipe for convenience.
5. I tried all sorts of ways to bake the egg in the oven along with the rice! But it just didn’t work, or got unnecessarily fiddly. Really, it’s just easiest to cook it on the stove. Whisk the eggs, then scramble them in a non-stick frying pan over medium – high heat with a teaspoon of oil until just cooked. Transfer to a bowl, then add to the rice as directed.

LEFTOVERS Fridge 3 days, freezer 3 months.