COOKING AT HOME: EASY FRIED RICE
Making fried rice is the perfect example of why I believe the five senses is more important than measurements, when cooking.
I can make the fried rice that I think tastes perfect, for me, then serve it to my son who will tell me, "there's not enough soy sauce."
So here's a loose recipe of easy fried rice you can make at home, the hardest component: you need day old rice (an easy remedy, just make more than you need the next time you make rice. And the next day you've got your day-old rice for this recipe).
What you'll need:
Day-old rice, I usually make about 3-4 cups of cooked rice (but any amount will do)
1-3 Eggs, whisked with a couple drops of sesame oil (optional) and a splash of soy sauce.
1/2 a pack of frozen diced vegetables (I use a carrot and pea mix) definitely use what you like.
1 Cup of leftover meat, small diced (optional)
*I've used different kinds of meat in this recipe. Sometimes there's a lot of it, sometimes there's just a little bit because that's what I had in the frig – it's all good.
Soy sauce to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Sesame oil to taste (optional)
2-3 tablespoons of butter (optional)
*Note: Most of the ingredients are optional and/or can be substituted for other ingredients. The only ingredients you truly need is: day old rice, soy sauce, diced vegetables. Everything else are add-ins.
What you'll do:
1. Make scrambled eggs with the egg mixture. Take it off when the scramble is held together but not too dried out. We want moist scrambled eggs here. BUT, if it's fully cooked scrambled eggs that's fine too. Once the scrambled eggs is done set it aside on a plate, we will incorporate this into the fried rice later.
2. I heat up about 2-3 tablespoons of fat on high in a high-sided pan for about 3-4 cups of cooked rice (I usually use a combination of butter and oil).
*Remember to choose the fat you prefer. If you want only oil, that's totally fine. The butter adds a nice flavor to the fried rice but I some don't like the flavor — you do you. Also remember to add in as much fat as you think necessary for the amount of day-old rice you're cooking. You can always add more fat into the pan while cooking, so if you're a little short it's not the end of the world — fried rice is pretty forgiving.
3. Dump the day-old rice in the pan, toss a bit, break it apart, and toss some more to coat the rice in the fat.
4. When the rice is softening up and most of the grains have fallen apart from each other, add in the cooked diced meat, if using. Toss around and allow the meat to heat up. If you feel the need to add more fat, do so. (I did not use meat this time).
5. Add a good pinch of salt and ground pepper (keep in mind we will add soy sauce which is also salty).
6. When the meat is heated through, add in the frozen vegetables. Toss the rice again, so all the ingredients are mixed throughout. Let the frozen vegetables heat up, this should take about 3 minutes (*it might be longer if you are using more frozen vegetables or larger diced vegetables - just keep an eye on it and when it looks heated through is when you move on to the next step).
*I also go at the frozen clumps of diced vegetables with my wooden spoon, they break apart fairly easily. Don't be scared.
7. Add a few drops of sesame oil (if using. Remember a little bit goes a long way.) Add a couple rounds of soy sauce (I do maybe 3-4 rounds around the pan = 2-3 tablespoon. If you are unsure, start with a little bit and keep tasting until you get to the umami level that suits you). Mix all of this into the rice. Taste. Add more of both if you need to. Turn the heat down just a tad from high to med-high. Give the rice a couple of minutes to dry out from the soy sauce.
8. Add the scrambled eggs, break apart the scramble egg into the rice, then toss it so it's evenly incorporated into the rice.
8. Keep the fried rice on the heat until the rice is dried to the consistency that you like/prefer. We like our fried rice fairly dry and so I'll keep it on the pan and keep tossing every now and again until it gets to that stage.
*Remember to keep tasting, especially while adding sesame oil and soy sauce. I did a taste test and added five extra rounds of soy sauce, two more pinches of salt, and a pat of butter before I got it to the flavor I wanted.