I can’t believe it’s already the last week of October. These months are just flying by, I can’t wait for the new year to come. But before that, I have some yummy recipes coming up this week. I also have my next email newsletter going out November 2nd. If you have not yet subscribed, you can do so by clicking the link here 🙂 .

For today, I wanted to share a new recipe for something you may not have tried before. I certainly had never done this, so that’s why I decided to try it out. And I can happily report that it is delicious!

Essentially, I made fried rice. BUT I didn’t use rice, I used israeli (pearl) couscous. I love the texture it brings to a dish, I like it a lot more than regular couscous (or rice, for that matter). If you’ve never tried couscous, it is just dried pasta and cooks quite fast. It is frequently used in Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern/North African cuisines. I’ve never seen it used in a Chinese dish like fried rice so that is why I had to make it.

Like with regular fried rice, you could use leftover cold pearl couscous in this recipe – you will need between 3-4 cups cooked – just stir it in at the same point, near the end. However, I cooked my couscous fresh and stirred it into everything else, which you will see in the recipe below.

This was such a good side dish. It was packed with vegetables which makes it so colourful and fresh. And I love the green onion and cilantro on top too! You could always change up the veggies by substituting mushrooms, celery or even cabbage. There is also so much flavour from the sauce – mix of sweet, salty and spicy. You could easily turn this into a meal by serving it in a bowl with your protein of choice, like chicken or salmon. If you wanted to keep it vegan, I would throw in some shelled edamame or tofu!

If you like regular fried rice, you will love my twist on it 🙂 .

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups israeli (pearl) couscous
• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp sriracha, or more, as desired

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small zucchini, diced (~1 cup)
• 1 small carrot, diced (~1/2 cup)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (~1/2 cup)
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. In medium pot, bring water to a boil. Stir in couscous and olive oil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer 8-10 minutes, until water is fully absorbed. Set aside when done.
2. While couscous is cooking, prepare the sauce: In small bowl, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin, rice vinegar, sesame oil, maple syrup and sriracha. Set aside.
3. In large frying pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium. Add zucchini, carrot and bell pepper, and saute for about 4 minutes, until softened. Lower the heat to medium-low and pour in the sauce. let it bubble for 1-2 minutes, until thickened a bit. Stir in cooked couscous and get everything well combined.
4. Garnish with green onion and cilantro. Serve hot.