Waakye Fried Rice with Garlic Shrimp

Waakye is Ghana's rice-and-beans staple, usually simmered together in one pot until the rice takes on its characteristic reddish-brown tint. This version keeps the same base — cooked rice and black-eyed peas — but sends it through a hot wok instead, in the style of a Chinese-American fried rice, with garlic shrimp and scallions folded in at the end.

Shrimp and the black-eyed peas both bring protein to the plate without a heavy sauce doing the work, which is why this dinner is tagged high-protein. It's a genuinely fast weeknight meal too, provided your rice and beans are already cooked — from there it's about 15 minutes at the stove.

Use day-old rice if you can; it fries up drier and separates better than fresh rice, which tends to clump. Push the scrambled egg and cooked shrimp to the side of the pan while the rice finishes so nothing overcooks, then toss everything together right before serving.