Stir-fried Rice with Soy Sauce

中文： 酱油炒饭

Stir-fried rice is also one of my favorite comfort foods. You should be able to find stir-fried rice in any Chinese restaurants.  They come in so many flavors and countless combinations of meats and vegetables that there are many cooking books devoted to stir-fried rice. 

A good bowl of stir-fried rice should feed you and also satisfy you at the same time.  I learned how to cook rice when I was in elementary school.  And now I am still learning how to do it better and better.  O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients:

1 bowl of cooked rice (about 2 cups; cooked and refrigerate overnight)
2 egg yolks
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce  I use low sodium soy sauce)
1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1/4  to 1/2  teaspoon oyster sauce
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil
a pinch of sugar
a pinch of ground white pepper
2 teaspoons lard ( I use bacon fat)
2/3 diced ham
chopped green onion

Sometimes I collect excessive bacon oil when I bake bacon in the oven.  Drained and stored in an air-tight mason jar, it will last a long time in the refrigerator. 

I use it to bake some traditional flaky crispy cookies like this one.  They always come out amazing. (The cookie recipe was posted before )

I use low sodium soy sauce .  If you are using the regular one, please sample the rice a couple times when adding soy sauce and dark soy sauce.  You might need to use less.

Dark soy sauce  is usually used for food coloring.  It is not as salty as soy sauce.

Directions：

The secret to good stir-fried rice is cooked and refrigerate overnight rice.  Do not the use the freshly cooked rice because it is kind of sticky.  Trust me; you don’t want sticky rice when you are making stir-fried rice.

Break apart any large lump of rice with a wooden spoon or fork.  Try not to smash them.

Add 2 egg yolks to the rice.  With a pair of chopsticks, gently whisk them together. 

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add oil, and then the rice with egg yolks.  Stir fry until both the rice and yolks are cooked through.  

Transfer to a plate.

If you do it right, nothing shall stick to the wok.  If you don’t, clean and rinse the wok under running water before moving on to next step. O(∩_∩)O~

Heat the wok on high heat again.  Add bacon fat.  When it melts, swirl the wok a couple times so that the bacon fat can evenly coat the bottom of the wok.  That is a very important step.

Add cooked rice.  Stir fry for a couple minutes.  The rice shall be evenly coated with bacon fat and it is kind of glowing.  Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and oyster sauce.

Stir fry for another couple minutes.  Add ground white pepper, chopped green onion and diced ham.  Stir fry for one last minute.

Now you have a bowl of beautiful stir-fried rice with soy sauce.

I think the best way to enjoy it is to take small bites.  The umami taste comes from the combination of soy sauce, eggs, ham and rice cooked together over high heat and it is very satisfying. That is the reason why it is called comfort food. O(∩_∩)O~

Fried Rice with Ham and Shrimp

中文：火腿虾仁蛋炒饭

Fried rice is such a traditional Chinese dish that there are so many variations and so many different ways to cook it.  Two principles remain the same no matter whichever version of fried rice you are making.  One, fried rice is the best when made with day old cooked rice.  Two, fried rice always comes with eggs in it.

As for the rest, there is no rule.  Sky is the limit.  You can add whatever ingredients you like to the rice as long as they go well with cooked rice.  Eggs and chopped green onion are the two must have ingredients in my version of fried rice.

And today I am making fried rice with ham and shrimp.

Ingredients：

1 bowl of cooked rice (about 2 cups)
3 large eggs
1 to 2 egg yolks (optional)
1 cup diced ham
12 to 14 jumbo shrimps
2/3 cup frozen or fresh green peas
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice cooking wine
1/2  to 1 teaspoon soy sauce
chopped green onion
salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons cooking oil

Directions：

Like I mentioned earlier, fried rice is the best when made with day old cooked rice.  Refrigerate 1 bowl (about 2 cups) of cooked rice overnight.  10 minutes before making the fried rice, remove it from refrigerator.  With a wood spoon or spatula, break apart any large clumps of rice.

In a bowl, add eggs, yolk and a pinch of salt.  Whisk them together with a wooden spoon or chopsticks.

Microwave the frozen or fresh green peas on high for 1 to 2 minutes.  Drain any extra juice or water.

Blanch the shrimp in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat; peel; and then cut each shrimp into 3 or 4 pieces.

Heat a wok over high heat.  Add oil.  Swirl the wok a little bit so that the oil can grease the whole wok. 

Add egg mixture to the wok.  The high heat will cook the egg very fast.  But you need to act faster.  Add rice to the wok before the eggs are fully cooked.  Stir fry the rice with a spatula and try to gently break apart any clumps of rice.

When the rice and eggs are cooked, add shrimps, salt, sugar, rice cooking wine and soy sauce.

Stir fry until everything comes together.  Add diced ham, green peas and chopped green onions.  Stir fry for another couple minutes.

Serve immediately.

You can eat it with a spoon or chopsticks. (∩_∩)O~