Fried Rice
Sorry about the messy formatting on the last post. I'm still trying to work out a decent presentation format. I also plan to add pictures later to illustrate the recipes.
Making fried rice is about the easiest kind of Chinese cooking, if you already have cooled cooked rice on hand. In fact, fried rice is the perfect use for leftover Chinese takeout rice. (If you like rice or couscous a lot, you may also also consider buying something like this for cooking rice and to use as a steamer.)
Ingredients:
2-3 eggs
2 cup of cold cooked rice (either Chinese restaurant leftovers or cook your own with jasmine rice)
1 oz water
1 tbsp of oil
1-2 tbsp of soy sauce
salt to taste
optional:
1/4-1/2 cup of chopped onions or 2 green onion plants
1 cup of chopped vegetables less than 1/2" across (small broccoli florets, corn, carrots, peas, asparagus, thinly sliced mushrooms)
some cubed ham (preferably cubed proscuttio or dry cured Smithfield) or bacon (or precooked bacon bits) or precooked chicken
sesame oil
hot sauce
a few sprigs of fresh basil or chives
equipment
1 - 3 quart nonstick sauce pan with cover
1 - pair of Chinese restaurant bamboo chopsticks
1 - 1-2 quart bowl
Start by cracking the eggs into a 1-2 quart bowl. Beat the eggs lightly and add in some salt and garlic powder. Now warm up the pan and add about 1 tsp of oil and set the burner to medium high. (If you like green onions or onions, chop some up and lightly brown before adding in the eggs. Add a little more oil to adjust for the extra bulk.) Add in the eggs and scramble, breaking the egg into small pieces, until everything is fully cooked. Return the egg to the bowl.
Now add in the rest of the oil into the same pan, turn to medium high heat and add in the vegetables and/or meats. Cook for a minute or two, stirring frequently. Then add rice and continue to stir a little. Then add in the eggs. (and put the bowl in the sink, serve the cooked rice in a different bowl). Then add about 1 oz of water to the pot and soy sauce. If you have sesame oil, add a couple dashes now. Stir to everything together, taste and adjust salt, then cover and reduce heat to medium. This allows the rice and other ingredients to steam, ensuring even heating and a moist texture.
Wait 2 to 3 minutes and then check to see if the liquid is absorbed. Once that happens, lift the top lid and continue to stir. Allow the oil to cook the rice a little to add a crust. Now it's ready to serve. You can serve by cutting (with kitchen scissors) some chive or basil on the top. Feel free to add hot sauce to taste.
posted by astrid @ 9:21 PM
16 Comments:
Excellent!
I think smoked salmon can also be used in the fried rice too. It tasts good especially if asparagus is also used.
I have tried stiring-in the egg while frying the rice. This saves a bowl. :-)
I prefer to keep the egg separate while cooking. Maybe it's and asthetics thing, but I don't like the egg when it's cooked over the rice.
I like the idea of salmon and asparagus with the rice. Sounds good.
Some people also like to have egg-white fried rice. What do you guys think?
I just tried the recipe and major correction! Use about 1 oz of water and not 3 ounces. 3 ounces is too much water.
I like the eggs separate because it gives the egg a firm texture. I just tried adding egg afterwards and the texture was too custardy.
Smoked salmon is very good, but you probably should add it immediately after cooking. The residual heat of the rice will cook it through.
Let me add that tobiko fish roe will add distinct taste and texture to the rice. I would also suggest the use of butter and ponzu sauce.
Crab roe would be even beter. :)
tobiko is a great idea, great texture to compliment the rice
Crab might be a little too fancy. Plus, if you have crab meat and crab roe, you could try making tofu with crab.
Crab might be a little too fancy. Plus, if you have crab meat and crab roe, you could try making tofu with crab.
Trader Joe's has pasteurized crab meat in cans.
Oops, I forgot you hate pasteurized crab meat.
Even TJ crab meat is quite expensive for my budget. Pasturized crab meat is actually okay for something fried rice, but fried rice would be a wasteful use of high quality crab meat.
The main spirit of fried rice is that it's an easy and delicious all in one meal made from leftovers - a Chinese casslerole. It's a way to use up leftover chicken or ham, sketchy pieces of vegetable (like a broccholi floret that's been in the fridge for three week or half an onion from an earlier recipe) and cold rice.
Thanks for reminding me about crabs though. I should head out and see if they're on sale this week.
Yeah, it is still 7.99 a can, not too cheap.
I agree with your fried rice philosophy in principle. :)
If you like the umami of crab roes, you might want to try shrimp paste (made with only shrimp and salt). That adds a good body, especially to some seafood and vegetable dishes.
If you promise not to sue me, I can mail you some freshwater shrimp eggs (they're not too dangerous, I've eaten this batch with no harmful effects). You can use it very sparingly in sea food broths/soups or steep some in soy sauce. That adds a lot of umami to the soy sauce.
Did you mean dried shrimp roe? I love it. :)
It is also great on top of noodles.
However, I may be able to find them locally or in China Town.
Thanks for offering though.
Yeah, they're probably the same thing. I've never seen them in Asian supermarkets so please let me know if you locate some.
I have seen them in restaurants. They have dishes like crab casserole with bean-thread noodles and shrimp roe.
Let me know if you'd still want them. A little goes a long way and I've still got 2 or 3 ozs left.
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