bob (06/08/82)
Cathy and I were out at a 50th wedding anniversary last Friday at which they served a meal at midnight. One on the items was a very good fried rice. We both came to the realization that we didn't know exactly how to make fried rice. So, what I am asking is if anyone has a fried rice recipe that they like and would care to submit. Thanx Bob Lawson (U of Toronto Computing Services)
wildbill (06/09/82)
Making fried rice is a lot like making hash--the recipe can stand a lot of fooling around with, proportions aren't really that important, and your best asset is a healthy imagination. Also like hash, it's a good way of getting rid of whatever is sitting around in your refrigerator threatening to rot or go to mold if you don't use it up. Thus, this should be regarded as a skeleton of a recipe rather than the word of Confucius (or whatever). Anyway: Fried Rice Per 2 cups COLD cooked rice: 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 egg, lightly beaten 2 scallions, sliced (optional) up to 1 cup whatever (cooked meat, raw or cooked vegetables, etc.) Heat oil in skillet or wok until it begins to smoke. If adding meat or raw vegetables, add at this point and stir-fry 1 to 3 minutes depending on the type of vegetable. Loosen rice with a fork, and add. Stir-fry 2 minutes, then add soy sauce and stir until rice is coated. Add cooked vegetables at this point. Reduce heat, add egg, and mix until egg is set. Garnish with scallions. Makes a substantial lunch for 1 person per cup of rice, or a side dish for 1 to 2 people per cup of rice, depending on amount served. Caveats: The rice MUST be cold, preferably refrigerated overnight. If you use warm fresh-cooked rice, you get a gooey mess instead. Do not use uncooked rice or uncooked "Minute" rice, either. The recipe does, however, work equally well with any kind of cooked rice (I have used both white and brown successfully).
robin (06/09/82)
Here is my recipe for fried rice. It differs from the kind that one gets in most chinese restaurants in that it is not dark brown (caused mostly by soy sauce) and is lighter and less greasy. It is delicious as a side dish to almost any chinese dish, and fried rice with barbecued spare ribs makes a great quick (and easy) meal. It's a good way to use up leftover rice. Yangchow Fried Rice 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup raw shrimp, diced 1/2 teasp. salt 1/2 cup roast pork, diced 1 cup lettuce, shredded 1/4 cup scallion, cut into 1/8" pieces 3/4 cup bean sprouts 4 cups COLD cooked rice 2 tsp. soy sauce 4 tbsp. oil Heat in wok 1 tbsp. oil. Scramble eggs, remove and set aside. Heat 3 tbsp oil in wok. Add shrimp and salt. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add pork, scallions, lettuce and beansprouts. Stir until slightly mixed. Add rice and soy sauce. Return egg and continue stirring until rice is completely heated. Liz Robenseifer
grunwald (06/10/82)
#R:utcsstat:-16500:uiucdcs:8600001:000:997 uiucdcs!grunwald Jun 9 17:17:00 1982 All fried rice usually consists of is cold or cool rice mixed with eggs and fryed. Typical embellishments include curry type spices (graham or just a ginger/garlic mixture works very well). Adding whatever is available (spring onions, leeks, tofu, sprouts, etc) works well, but they come out better if added at the end. If you like meat, it works well to fry some meat in a pan, remove the meat and use the grease to frye the rice, tossing the meat back in near the end. Cooking it is very simple -- oil in a pan (or wok if you have one) and constant stirring until it looks done (no set temp. or anything). Major problems arise from unwashed rice (the starch coating gums up everything) so wash your rice well before cooking it. Also, make sure that the pan is hot and has enough oil to overcome the rice soaking some of it up. Oleo works very well. Seeing as this is the breakfast of millions (literally), it can't be that hard to make. Give it a few trys -- rice and eggs are cheap.
jason@hp-pcd.UUCP (03/09/84)
Some good stuff to add: A few slices of cha siu (chinese barbacued pork) green/spring onions white pepper & couple of drops of tabasco in beaten eggs -Jay Su !hplabs!hp-pcd!jason
eac@drux3.UUCP (CveticEA) (03/23/84)
A recent article on fried rice by Ed Gould gave some very good pointers
on making fried rice. Fried rice is basically a dish of leftovers -- anything
goes. However, don't forget one of the key ingredients -- eggs.
After you have fried the rice, make a well in the center so you can see
the bottom of the wok. Add a couple of eggs that have been beaten lightly
and scramble them. Stir this into the rice. By the way, according to
Madam Wong's Chinese Cookbook, soy sauce is not an authentic ingredient in
fried rice but I usually add some anyway.
Betsy Cvetic
ihnp4!drux3!eac
303-538-3406llf@houxz.UUCP (L.FENG) (03/23/84)
The way is I always understood it to work, fried rice with eggs it called "egg fried rice". Fried rice itself can have anything you please in it. There are two ways of putting the eggs in. Betsy mentioned the first way. The other way (it has a name, I just don't know how to translate it) is to beat the eggs in a bowl and then pour on top of the rice so that you don't see the eggs, but it turns the rice a golden color. Both ways are good. Some fried rice has soy sauce in it, some doesn't. Depends on who's cooking what! L. Feng
donn@sdchema.UUCP (03/26/84)
If you don't mind including fried rice dishes from other Asian
cuisines, there is at least one more way to eat eggs with fried rice.
Both 'khao phat' (Thai) and 'nasi goreng' (Indonesian) can be served
with a nice big fried egg with a gooey yolk placed atop each portion.
The Indonesians add a condiment called 'serundeng' which is basically
fried shredded coconut and peanuts. Peanuts alone (unsalted of course)
are fine too. When there is tons of rice left after a party (and for
some reason Americans never eat as much rice with Asian dishes as
Asians do) I almost always make the following dish (stolen from THE
COMPLETE ASIAN COOKBOOK by Charmaine Solomon (c) 1976, Australia):
Khao Phat Prik / Chilli Fried Rice
4 cups cold cooked rice | 2 eggs, beaten [you can leave these
3 tablespoons peanut oil | out if you add fried eggs]
1 large onion finely chopped | pepper and salt to taste
1 red chilli finely sliced | 3 tb fish sauce or soy sauce [some
1 green chilli finely sliced | people can't abide fish sauce]
1 pork chop, finely diced | 1 cup chopped spring onions including
1 lb raw prawns, shelled and | green tops ['spring' == 'green']
deveined [I usually cheat | 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
and get salad shrimp] | 1 tb red curry paste [I use 4-5 tb]
'Cook rice by steaming method... Allow to cool. [My standard
technique is to use leftover rice still cold from the fridge.] Heat
oil in wok and fry onion and sliced chillies until soft. Add the curry
paste and fry until the oil separates from the mixture. Add pork and
fry until cooked, then add prawns (chopped into pieces if they are
large). [Don't waste prawns on leftovers -- just use frozen salad
shrimp.] Fry for a minute or two longer, until prawns turn pink, then
add rice and toss thoroughly until coated with the curry mixture and
heated through. Push rice to the side of wok and pour the beaten eggs,
seasoned with salt and pepper, into the centre. Stir on high heat
until eggs are cooked. Sprinkle fish sauce [or soy sauce -- I like
fish sauce but some people gag at the mere thought of consuming the
liquid left over from decomposing fish] evenly over the rice and mix
well, then remove from heat. Stir the spring onions through. [Add
leftover cooked veggies or meat here, too; make sure it's all chopped
up into bite size pieces.] Garnish with coriander leaves [beware, some
people hate these too]... and serve.'
If you do it the way I do, you set out extra chilli paste such as
'sambal bajak', perhaps some 'serundeng', some unsalted peanuts, and on
top of each serving put a soft fried egg. The accepted eating
technique is to scoop things up with a spoon, tamp it down with a fork,
and shovel the mess into your mouth. Thais and Indonesians don't use
chopsticks. It can be argued that this dish is a Chinese dish made
Thai, so if you like chopsticks don't get upset, just use them.
You may be wondering what goes into 'red curry paste'. The answer is,
everything but the kitchen sink. I have a recipe for it if anyone
wants it, but the basic mix is:
4 parts chilli paste (e.g. 'sambal ulek') or dried red chillies
4 parts chopped or mashed garlic
4 parts ground coriander
2 parts ground cummin
2 parts 'blachen' or 'terasi' (shrimp paste)
1 part 'sereh' (lemon grass) powder
1 part 'laos' powder
1 part turmeric
Some chopped onion
Enough oil to make a paste
Put the result in a blender. If you want to be fast, just leave out
the onion and mash it all together. If you can't find some of the
ingredients, don't fret -- the important parts are quite common, namely
the garlic, the coriander and the cummin. If you feel inclined to
skimp on the chilli, then add lots of paprika (paprika is a chilli
pepper that isn't hot; do NOT mistake it for cayenne pepper). Use
even more chilli or garlic if you are so inclined.
Mmmm.
Donn Seeley UCSD Chemistry Dept. ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdchema!donnnosmo@pyuxqq.UUCP (P Valdata) (04/10/84)
A cookbook I have says that it is vital to start with cold rice. That may keep it from geting too mushy. I have always used cold rice and it works well. I usually make it when I have leftovers to get rid of, so it's never the same twice. I always throw in a little soy sauce and sherry, then whatever I have on hand--scallions, garlic, ginger, sesame oil-- some or all of them, veggies, chicken, scrambled egg, whatevr's handy. probably isn't "authentic" but it usually works. Sorry about the typos.
eac@drutx.UUCP (CveticEA) (04/15/85)
>Break in the egg right on top of the rice, scramble it with whatever you're >tossing with, and mix it right into the rice. Heat until the egg cooks. If you want the eggs lumpier, move the rice to the sides so there is a well in the middle. Pour the beaten eggs in, cook until scrambled, and then mix the rice in. Betsy Cvetic ihnp4!drutx!eac