Fried rice is a childhood favorite for most kids. It’s easy enough to make on your own, and there are so many variations of fried rice around the world. Growing up, there was egg fried rice from American Chinese restaurants (think Panda Express) which was always a bit dry and salty. Fried rice from good Chinese restaurants was better because using a seasoned wok creates a distinct taste in the food known as wok hei. Neither of these are my favorite, though.
As a kid, I always knew when my parents were making egg fried rice because they would let me help crack and beat the eggs. “Ma you jiang you” (sesame oil and soy sauce) was always the phrase we’d chant whenever they were frying the rice. My parents made fried rice differently. My dad is heavy handed with the seasoning while my mom adds vegetables and cooks it a little drier. Though different, these are the two types of fried rice I grew up with.
Dad’s Fried Rice
Ingredients
Instructions
Heat canola oil over medium high heat in a nonstick pan. There should be enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan. While the pan is heating, crack the eggs together in a bowl and scramble them together. Add a splash of soy sauce to the eggs and mix.
Once the oil is hot, add the egg mixture to the pan and gently stir to scramble the eggs. Keep cooking the eggs until they are dry, about 1-2 minutes, then move them to the edges of the pan.
Microwave the rice for two minutes to soften it. Add the rice to the center of the pan, and break up the rice using a spatula or wooden spoon. The goal is to separate the grains of rice, not crush them. If the rice is hard and dry, add a splash of water to the pan. Stir fry the rice and eggs together until the rice is entirely separated.
Finally, add the soy sauce and sesame oil to the pan and stir fry until evenly distributed, about 3-4 minutes. The pan should be fragrant from the sesame oil and there shouldn’t be dark streaks of soy sauce in the rice or in bottom of the pan. The rice should be glossy from the sesame oil.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Mom’s Fried Rice
Ingredients
Instructions
Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Pour canola oil in the pan, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Crack and scramble the eggs in a small bowl while the pan is heating up.
Test the temperature of the pan by placing a drop of egg in it. It should sizzle immediately. Pour the beaten eggs into the hot pan, and let it sit for a few seconds until the edges start firming up. Gently stir to scramble the eggs, and once there is no raw egg left in the pan, transfer the scrambled eggs to a bowl. The eggs should still be fluffy and soft. The whole process shouldn’t take longer than a minute.
Heat the same pan over medium heat without adding more oil. Add the frozen vegetables to the pan and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until they are no longer frozen.
Move the vegetables to the sides of the pan, and add the rice to the center. Use a spatula to break the rice up. The goal is to separate the grains of rice, not to crush them.
When the rice has been evenly distributed and the whole dish has been heated through, add the eggs, soy sauce, and sesame oil and continue to stir fry for another 5 minutes until the eggs are broken up, the rice is glossy, and there are no streaks of soy sauce or sesame oil.
Serve hot and enjoy!