khaosworks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
khaosworks) wrote2003-09-20 06:54 am
khaosworks) wrote2003-09-20 06:54 am
Adventures in Cooking: Chinese Fried Rice
The beauty about fried rice is that you can chuck anything you want into it and it's easily adaptable to be kosher if you don't use say, pork or shrimp. The American equivalent would probably be Jambalaya, which I'll talk about in another entry. So if you have some raw meat leftover from another dish, say, consider using it.
I really cannot emphasise enough that if you want to consume rice on a regular basis (and really, it's a great staple), get yourself a proper rice cooker, and remember - it's 2 cups of water for every cup of rice - or, fill up the pot so that the water level is one knuckle-length of your index finger above the level of the rice. And always let the rice continue to steam for about 15-20 minutes even after the cooker goes off so it's not too soggy.
Chinese Fried Rice
Serves 3
Ingredients:
2 cups rice, cooked and cooled
1 boneless chicken breast, diced
1/2 cup ham, diced
1/2 cup shrimp, peeled
1 onion, chopped finely -OR- 4 shallots, sliced thinly
2 spring onions, chopped
2 eggs, beaten and seasoned with pepper and salt to taste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 handful of parsley, chopped
1 cup mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots) -OR-
Instructions:
1. Cook the two cups of rice in the rice cooker with 4 cups of water. For added flavor, you might want to add one or two chicken cubes into the water as well for them to dissolve as the rice cooks. Once the rice is done, leave it to cool to room temperature - a quickie way to do this is to spread the rice out on a cookie dish.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a preheated wok at medium-high heat. Cook the eggs as a thin omelet and scramble them, preferably until it is dry and just slightly toasted, but don't fuss if you can't get it right and it's still a bit wet. Use a slotted spoon and remove the eggs and put them aside.
3. Add 1 tbsp of oil, and stir-fry the onions or shallots until transluscent. Add the chicken meat and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, then add the shrimp and continue stir-fying until they become pink. Add the vegetables and continue to stir-fry until they soften. Finally, add the ham and continue to stir-fry for about a minute.
4. Lower the heat to medium, and add the rice, mixing well with the ingredients until the rice is nicely coated with the oil and moisture from the previous ingredients. Add the soy sauce and stir it into the rice.
5. Add the eggs, then the parsley, remove from heat and continue to stir it for about a minute or until the rice is heated through. Take care not to burn the rice or let it stick to the bottom of the wok.
6. Transfer from wok to casserole dish and serve. Pepper and salt to taste. I like flavoring it with Tabasco, myself.
Variations:
Leave out the ham, the shrimp, hell, leave out the meat and add more veggies if you want to go vegetarian. Try to add a variety - I like using the frozen corn, peas and carrots medley you find in supermarkets because it adds nice color and that's the way Mom always makes it. Always remember that in one-pot cooking, the trick is never to cook the meats together, but one at a time, so that the individual flavors get to infuse into the dish and stay individual.
I really cannot emphasise enough that if you want to consume rice on a regular basis (and really, it's a great staple), get yourself a proper rice cooker, and remember - it's 2 cups of water for every cup of rice - or, fill up the pot so that the water level is one knuckle-length of your index finger above the level of the rice. And always let the rice continue to steam for about 15-20 minutes even after the cooker goes off so it's not too soggy.
Chinese Fried Rice
Serves 3
Ingredients:
2 cups rice, cooked and cooled
1 boneless chicken breast, diced
1/2 cup ham, diced
1/2 cup shrimp, peeled
1 onion, chopped finely -OR- 4 shallots, sliced thinly
2 spring onions, chopped
2 eggs, beaten and seasoned with pepper and salt to taste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 handful of parsley, chopped
1 cup mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots) -OR-
- 1 carrot, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
Instructions:
1. Cook the two cups of rice in the rice cooker with 4 cups of water. For added flavor, you might want to add one or two chicken cubes into the water as well for them to dissolve as the rice cooks. Once the rice is done, leave it to cool to room temperature - a quickie way to do this is to spread the rice out on a cookie dish.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a preheated wok at medium-high heat. Cook the eggs as a thin omelet and scramble them, preferably until it is dry and just slightly toasted, but don't fuss if you can't get it right and it's still a bit wet. Use a slotted spoon and remove the eggs and put them aside.
3. Add 1 tbsp of oil, and stir-fry the onions or shallots until transluscent. Add the chicken meat and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, then add the shrimp and continue stir-fying until they become pink. Add the vegetables and continue to stir-fry until they soften. Finally, add the ham and continue to stir-fry for about a minute.
4. Lower the heat to medium, and add the rice, mixing well with the ingredients until the rice is nicely coated with the oil and moisture from the previous ingredients. Add the soy sauce and stir it into the rice.
5. Add the eggs, then the parsley, remove from heat and continue to stir it for about a minute or until the rice is heated through. Take care not to burn the rice or let it stick to the bottom of the wok.
6. Transfer from wok to casserole dish and serve. Pepper and salt to taste. I like flavoring it with Tabasco, myself.
Variations:
Leave out the ham, the shrimp, hell, leave out the meat and add more veggies if you want to go vegetarian. Try to add a variety - I like using the frozen corn, peas and carrots medley you find in supermarkets because it adds nice color and that's the way Mom always makes it. Always remember that in one-pot cooking, the trick is never to cook the meats together, but one at a time, so that the individual flavors get to infuse into the dish and stay individual.
no subject
Debbie
Guess what I'm having for breakfast...
My fried rice these days involves a teflon-coated, 8-inch frying pan -- easier to clean than the wok. I cook a selection of garlic, onions, shallots, and ginger (whatever's sitting around from the night before) in a little fat (bacon grease preferred). Bacon if available. Black or red pepper to taste.
Then I add a cut-up green onion if I can find one, almost immediately followed by the rice.
Finally, when the rice is fully coated with the hot oil, I push the rice to the side and drop in the egg. Stir (scramble) the egg in place, trying not to stir too much rice into it.
Serves one.
no subject
1. My father periodicaly forgets how many times I've made this and asks why the rice is not brown and salty like you get at the restaurant, and
2. I am the only one in the house capable of consistently producing decent cooked rice. My mother is so afraid of burning it she inevitably undercooks it, and Dad doesn't cook.
I should get them a rice cooker before I find another place to live.