Fried Rice, although rarely served in Chinese households, is an absolute staple at every restaurant that serves rice. It's the best way to use up leftovers. Homemade fried rice is often a pale shadow of what gets served in even the most modest dining establishment.
[Skip straight to recipe]Here's my guide to help improve your fried rice. It's not really a recipe, as much as it is a guide, although I have linked a recipe below.
I look at the dish in terms of major ingredients, then balance it out in terms of flavor with aromatics and condiments. Try not to use too many different ingredients until you get the technique right.
Major ingredients for me, would be Rice / Protein / Vegetables. Aromatics and condiments are broken down into pre-frying/ mid-frying/ finishing, and are entirely optional.
Use a well seasoned wok or frying pan (carbon steel is best, but anything except for non-stick is ideal. If using a non-stick, try to avoid getting it too hot as your coating will burn off and create toxic fumes).
MAJOR INGREDIENTS
1) Rice. Any type of rice will work, but try to rinse well / soak before cooking to remove any excess starch. I usually use day old rice from the fridge, as fresh rice is usually eaten fresh, but serious eats has a great article that recommends spreading fresh rice on a tray and using a fan to dry it off.
If you are a fan of the blog, you'll know that I've got TWO methods of making Hainanese Chicken Rice - not just because I love the stuff, but also because it makes the best damn leftover rice for fried rice.
CHEF HACK - Chef Wang Gang recommends that you break up your rice before frying it, and also rubbing in a small amount of salt and starch powder into overnight rice with your hands to break up clumps. This is my preferred method for white rice. Proper HC rice doesn't have this problem.
2) Protein. Any leftover meats in the fridge, diced, works wonders here. Day old meat loaf? Thanksgiving turkey? Last night's char siu? I like using my defrosted & brined chicken tenders, diced up. I also enjoy using spam, diced sausages, bacon etc. For vegetarians, diced firm tofu also works very well. Seafood lovers can use shrimp (cut large ones, or use small ones whole), or any solid fish. I believe that Bacalhau would pair very well.
3) Vegetable. Use whatever leftover stuff that you have. I always try to keep a bag of frozen mixed veg in the freezer for this (frozen corn, peas and diced carrots) which I like to throw in without thawing. Just make sure everything is diced into small uniform shapes so that they cook evenly. Red / Green peppers, celery, mushrooms, snow peas, asparagus, raw cashews, pineapples, etc. Dicing everything up makes it cook quickly and browns easily. I like using broccoli or kale stems, cut up into small pieces.
4) Special mention - OIL. Most people recommend using a flavor neutral, high heat vegetable oil. Chinese restaurants use peanut oil, and some supposedly use rendered lard. I feel that anything that can tolerate high heat well should be used. Ghee, and bacon fat comes to mind. Butter has a tendency to burn, and most sesame oils you buy in Asian supermarkets are TOASTED sesame oils, which are not suitable for frying food with. It's fine to finish your fried rice with these oils.
AROMATICS
1) Before frying your fried rice, you can use aromatics to flavor your frying oil. Sinangag from the Philippines is a classic way to do this. Basically, toast minced / diced garlic (and any other oil soluble aromatics of your choice, like scallions, garlic, chili etc) in some neutral cooking oil over a low flame until they stop bubbling (meaning the moisture is cooked out), then use that oil to cook your rice. Some people like to fry curry sauce first, before adding your rice.
2) Some aromatics are best added as an ingredient, and lightly pan-fried before adding it to your rice. These include onions, shallots, bamboo shoots, fresh ginger, fresh tumeric, salted fish and preserved radish (not all together, mix and match your own flavors). I'm also very partial to using Chinese "olive vegetable", which are mustard greens that are fried with cooked green olives (with salt and herbs). You can decide if you want to use bold flavors, or just have something subtle. Onions and other high moisture items are usually not used with fried rice, to keep things dry.
3) Finishing sauces. This is to add a little extra boldness to the flavor of your fried rice. When adding wet sauces to your fried rice, try splashing the sauce onto the SIDE of your hot frying pan / wok, so that the sauces dry up a little before they get mixed into your rice. I usually like to keep this simple, using a little soy sauce, or fish sauce and some freshly ground black pepper. You can also drizzle a little toasted sesame oil, or add some butter to finish if you like the flavor and extra calories.
NOTABLE MENTION:
EGGS : There are mainly two times you can add egg to your fried rice, once before cooking everything, the other, near the end of the cooking process. Chef Wang's "egg fried rice" recipe calls for people to separately fry the egg whites and egg yolks, but constantly stirring the eggs and moving the pan to create small curds.
Another technique is to do it near the end, where you push your fried rice to the side of your frying pan / wok, add some oil, and fry the egg while stirring gently to create small curds, before combining it with the fried rice.
METHOD 1 - PROPER METHOD
The proper way of doing fried rice, or any stir fry type dish, is to fry all your major ingredients independently (and in small batches if you are home cooking with a weak stove and small frying pan), do the aromatics in one batch, then to combine them all together in a final step while adding some finishing sauces.
When frying things, do it over a high heat, with a hot frying pan / wok (don't use non-stick for this, as your non-stick coating might not do well at high heats over 500° F / 260° C).
When your pan is hot, add some oil, then immediately add your ingredient. This will cool down your pan enough to stop your oil from smoking. The high heat will help sear the surface of whatever you are cooking. Once you get a good sear on most of the surfaces, remove the ingredient, and add the next one, wiping down the pan / wok if there are any small bits left over. With a well seasoned frying pan / wok, things shouldn't stick, and this shouldn't be necessary. The various flavors of the ingredients will be absorbed by the oil during these steps, and it's a shame to let this flavor go to waste.
When all the ingredients except for the rice are seared, add everything together and toss with the rice over a medium flame.The idea is to let the rice absorb all the flavors that you built up. Toss and stir till it starts to smoke, then it's done. It starts to smoke when any surface moisture cooks off, and your pan starts to properly heat up.
This is when you add some finishing sauces, give it a final toss and serve. Garnish with some spring onions.
METHOD 2 - LAZY METHOD
Having prepped all my ingredients, and not wishing to wash two many bowls for a simple plate of fried rice, this is how I usually cook my fried rice. I'll make sure my proteins are dry, and sear them first, then before them are done, I'll throw in some vegetables, sear them, then throw in the rice. Cooking it this way runs the risk of overcooking your proteins though.
Ingredients
Finishing
PREP:
1) Brine your chicken (15min - 48hrs) in the fridge. If doing a short brine (15min) omit the water. For long brines, I find it helpful to first mix the marinade in a sandwich bag, then place the chicken thighs directly into the sandwich bag (I use frozen thighs, which then safely defrosts while being marinated in the fridge).
I'm using a Dark Soy with 234mg of Sodium per 5ml. Substitute other soy sauces or fish sauce if you wish, and adjust according to how salty your soy sauce is. The baking soda and sugar help with the browning, bringing some maillard and caramelization flavors to the dish.
2) Place your rice on a large plate, sprinkle the starch powder and salt on the rice, using a fork or your hands to break up large clumps of rice.
COOKING:
1) Heat up your wok, then coat the bottom with some vegetable oil. Throw in the garlic and frozen veg, and fry till all the liquid has dried off, and you see some browning happening on the garlic. Remove everything from the wok (because this veg will continue to sweat liquids, and it will make your fried rice mushy).
2) Make sure the wok is hot again, and that there's still some oil coating the wok. Add the cubed chicken and try to get a good sear on least 4 sides of the chicken. Strain the oil from the veg, and pour it into the wok. This is delicious garlic flavored oil, and you want to use it to flavor your rice.
3) Throw in the rice and start frying. If you have broken up the clumps of rice previously, you can keep tossing and frying the rice until you hear the kernels start to pop. Break up clumps by alternating pressing on them, scraping them off the bottom of your wok.
4) [Optional Lazy Egg Step] - Either push all the fried rice onto one side of your wok / pan, or push the rice to the sides of the wok, exposing the bottom of the pan, turn the fire down to a medium, and add a little oil to the bottom of the wok / pan. Pour your eggs in, and slowly push it around with your spatula to form curds. When it's 70% cooked, toss it with the rice.
5) Add your previously fried veggie and onions, and toss with the rice on high heat. I like my diced onions slightly raw, so I don't toss for long here. I'll also sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar and crack some black pepper to taste.
6) Get a spoon, and taste the rice. Splash some soy sauce on the sides of the hot wok / pan while you are tossing your rice. You don't add liquids sauces directly to the rice, because it is wet and will make your fried rice mushy. Splashing it on the side of your hot wok / frying pan before tossing it into the rice will help evaporate some of the liquid.
7) Give it a final toss, and plate it, serving it with some spring onions. Optionally add your spring onions with the onions if you like them cooked.
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