Following a fried rice recipe is easier to make than you think and what's more, fried rice is a great way to use up leftovers in your fridge.
History of Fried Rice
Fried rice originated in the Yanchow province of China as a way to use leftovers. That's right: That favorite dish of yours is actually Chinese leftover casserole. Fried rice came about as way to make use of leftover, day-old rice and other scraps left over from earlier meals. It was served as a main dish, not as a side dish or as an accompaniment to a main dish.
As a result, there is no one standard fried rice recipe. Instead, there is a standard practice or method for making fried rice. Essentially, day-old rice is combined in a wok with chopped leftover meat, seafood, and vegetables, along with leftover sauces from the dishes previously prepared, and then it is stir fried with peanut oil. Sometimes chopped onions or herbs are added to enhance the flavor.
Basic Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients You Will Need:
2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce, depending on your taste
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
Peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced fresh red chilies
2 chopped green onions
2 cups day-old white rice
1 cup leftover meat or vegetables or both, chopped into small pieces
Gather all your ingredients by your wok. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce (or fish sauce), salt, pepper, and sugar and mix well. Heat the wok until it is smoking, and then reduce the heat a bit, and add in enough peanut oil to coat the wok evenly.
Reduce the heat further and add the garlic, chilies, and green onions. Stir-fry for 10 to 30 seconds. Increase heat to high and add in rice, breaking up the bigger clumps with a wooden spoon. Add the meat and vegetables, and stir-fry, making sure everything is well coated with oil. Add in the sauce, tossing so that everything is well coated. Stir-fry until everything is hot, no longer. Serve immediately.
Variations of Fried Rice Recipes
Subgum Fried Rice
Various kinds of fried rice are named according to the meat or main ingredients in the recipe. Subgum fried rice means "everything" fried rice, meaning you've thrown in a little bit of everything in the fridge with no emphasis on one item over another. You can think of subgum as "potpourri" fried rice.
Pork Fried Rice
Try chopping up some leftover barbeque pork or pork tenderloin into small chunks, and fry this up with your rice. For additional flavoring, marinate the pork chunks in soy sauce and sugar for a few minutes before frying.
Chicken Fried Rice
Chop up pieces of leftover chicken, and fry this up with your rice. Take out any pieces of chicken skin or fat that is not attached to meat. If you wish to marinate the chicken before frying, dip the pieces of chicken in either a teriyaki sauce or soy sauce just before frying.
Vegetable Fried Rice
Some popular vegetables to use in vegetable fried rice are green peas, diced carrots, chopped onions and chopped celery. Fry in a large wok with some oil and soy sauce or fish sauce.
Pineapple Fried Rice
A fun favorite for sweet and sour fans, add some pineapple chunks (drain them well first and make sure you don't add much other liquid to the mix) to your fried rice. You will want to add the pineapple as the last ingredient, frying it in the wok just long enough to heat the pineapple so the rest of your fried rice does not get mushy.
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By making your fried rice at home, you can completely control what goes into it, which means this dish can be both low-fat and delicious. |
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