At most of the Chinese restaurants I’ve eaten at over the years, the fried rice accompanying the meal is usually quite boring. You know that mysterious brown stuff dotted with tiny bits of yellow and green that one assumes are vegetables and egg? It is served everywhere.
Is there some sort of Chinese restaurant rule it must be served this way? Once as I browsed through my Asian cookbooks, I discovered how various vegetable and meat combinations totally transformed this dish. It changed my entire view of what fried rice could be. Now I use whatever meat I have available along with vegetables such as green onions, peppers, mushrooms and bean sprouts. The stir-fried vegetables and meat are then mixed with the rice, soy sauce, eggs, hot pepper sauce and maybe an addition of a few shrimp, if I have some available.
Ingredients for Chinese-style fried rice. (Photo by Patty Schied)
This is a very versatile dish, quickly made in a wok or large fry pan. It can use many of the vegetables you have in your crisper along with whatever meat you have handy. Meat can include leftover chicken, ham, pork, shrimp or even cooked bacon. Or, if you are a vegetarian you can simply omit it entirely. The result is very flavorful and with enough ingredients can become a full meal or a very hearty side dish. To enhance the flavor of the rice I have tried adding grated ginger (didn’t work), chopped garlic (overpowering), finely chopped Serrano pepper (great), Chinese red pepper oil (a little bit enhances the dish). Feel free to experiment.
It is essential that the cooked rice is cold. Preferably refrigerated overnight. Otherwise it won’t fry correctly. There is a debate about when to put in the egg. The Koreans scramble them first. I put them in last, folding in the cooked egg with the fried rice. Other than that, there are very few rules. I just suggest you try my recipe first, then adjust it to your taste. It’s a great way to use your imagination and enhance your culinary skills.
Ingredients:
2 -3 cups of cold cooked rice
3-4 thinly sliced green onions
¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 serrano pepper, seeded and minced
1 to 2 cups rinsed bean sprouts
1 to 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
½ cup (or more) bell pepper, any color
2 cups chopped cooked meat such as leftover pork roast or ham
One egg, stirred in a small bowl
1 tsp or more of hot pepper oil (optional
Salt to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons of soy sauce to taste
Salt and pepper
Cooking oil
Stir-frying vegetables for Chinese-style fried rice. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (not olive oil) in a wok or large fry pan. When hot add Serrano pepper and green onions. Stir and cook for about a minute. Add remaining vegetables and cook until soft. Add whatever cooked meat you are using and stir-fry until hot. Remove everything from the pan into a large bowl.
Add another two tablespoons of oil and then pour in the egg. Lightly scramble it until firm then remove from pan. Add the cooked rice to the pan and press the rice down and on the sides of the pan with a spatula, turning it so that it gets heated through. Return meat and vegetables to the wok and stir. Add the soy sauce and a teaspoon of the hot pepper oil (or not). Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Fold scrambled egg into rice mixture. Remove from heat and serve.
This will feed two or three normal people. If you are feeding teenagers, this is only a side dish.
• Patty Schied is a longtime Juneau resident who studied at the Cordon Bleu in London, has cooked meals for both AWARE and the Glory Hall, and has written a cookbook. Cooking For Pleasure appears every other week in Capital City Weekly.
