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20221110 Emshika 245

Photo by John Tully

Looking to mix up your run-of-the-mill Christmas dinner? Emshika Alberini, chef and owner of Chang Thai Café in Littleton, shares this recipe for a Thai-inspired ham fried rice that’ll freshen up your special Sunday meal. And to make things even easier, all of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store. Get cookin’!

Ingredients:
½ pound cooked ham shank, cut into diced about ½ inches cube
3 cups cooked rice, preferably Thai jasmine rice, available in supermarket
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup fresh pineapple chunk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup sweet white onions
½ cup broccoli
1/4 finely chopped scallions
¼ cup cucumbers thinly sliced
1-2 cilantros leaves
1-2 red pepper thinly sliced

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in the large skillet over medium heat, add garlic then stir-fry for 30 seconds.
2. Add ham, pineapple, and sweet white onions, stir fry for one minute.
3. Put everything aside and scramble egg for 10 seconds.
4. Add rice and sauce, broccoli and carrots and stir fry through the rice coat the sauce.
5. Serve immediately and sprinkle scallions, red pepper, cilantro, and garnish with cucumber
on the side.

About the chef
Emshika Alberini, a transplant to Littleton from her birthplace of Bangkok, Thailand, has brought a taste of her homeland to New Hampshire. She opened Chang Thai Café on Main Street in 2008 to introduce her family’s pad Thai, plus the flavors of lemongrass, cilantro and Thai basil in a variety of authentic dishes. Open for lunch and dinner.