Portuguese Fried Rice

Want to spice up your fried rice-literally? With this version of Portuguese fried rice you can inject a European flavour into your favourite Chinese fried rice. Thin slices of caramelised chorizo are added to a tomato based rice which is then finished with black olives. A final dusting of paprika gives the rice colour and spice!

Portuguese fried rice was a dish I tried in Macau recently. I love discovering new foods and Asia is perhaps my favourite destination because I tend to feel right at home there. A lot of Asian countries are geared towards eating and shopping, two things that I love to do. Throw in a bit of spa and things couldn't get any more perfect for a holiday.

A rather strange thing happened to me at a spa on a trip overseas a long while back and I wasn't sure if I should tell you about it. Mainly because it involves bodily functions and this is a food blog and it isn't an appetising bodily function. So I do warn you but read on Dear Reader at your own peril ;)

So there I was, lying face down on a massage bed, about three quarters of the way through a massage. My therapist whispered to me, "Do you mind if I use the bathroom?" Slightly drowsy I smiled and nodded and drifted back off to a twilight sleep without another second's consideration. But then a few minutes passed, and then more. I heard the toilet flushing several times as the massage was situated in a private, enclosed villa and then I figured it had been 10 minutes and I wondered was he ok?

My massage therapist came back and apologised and continued with the massage. It didn't occur to me to think twice about things until I opened the bathroom door. And then the stench hit me. It was epic. I couldn't get dressed quickly enough. I looked around - the shower had been going. I quickly punched in the safe combination my fingers slow and still half asleep from the massage. I threw on my clothes and closed the door tightly behind me breathing in the fresh air as subtly as I could without making a fuss. The poor guy was embarrassed and I didn't want to say "Hey don't worry, it's fine" because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I mean everyone does it so he shouldn't feel bad but I could sense that he did.

So some holidays have an element of being relaxing, others not so much but one thing I always come back with is a few recipes. This is one of them. I don't know if adding chorizo to a dish is ever bad and the black olives go surprisingly well with the rice. It's one of those adaptions that doesn't feel out of place.

So tell me Dear Reader, what do you like to do when you're on holiday? Would you have said something in that situation? Do you bring back recipes or recipe ideas from holidays?

Portuguese Fried Rice

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

• 4 cups day old cooked rice
• 4 tablespoons ketchup or tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• Oil for frying
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 2 chorizo sausages (around 235g), sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• 1 teaspoon paprika (sweet or smoked, whichever you prefer)
• 1 cup peas

Step 1 - Mix the rice, tomato sauce or paster, salt, sesame oil and white pepper together in a large bowl and set aside.

Step 2 - Place a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan on high heat and fry the eggs briefly as a large, thin omelette. Remove from pan and set aside. Add a bit more oil and fry the onion until translucent. Then add the chorizo and fry until caramelised. Add the rice mixture back into the pan along with the olives and paprika and stir until the rice is coated with the paprika. Add the peas and fry until cooked through. Cut up the egg omelette and scatter on top.