Mingster's recipe #3: How to make a killer fried rice that suits YOUR taste
02-23-2002, 11:35 PM
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Mingster's recipe #3: How to make a killer fried rice that suits YOUR taste
fried rice is something of an odd dish in Chinese food: normally found in Cantonese restaurants and served as a "dish" (as opposed to the mainstay of your meal like white rice would be), fried rice can have as much variety as you can imagine it to be. one of the dishes i dislike the most (there aren't many, btw, since i love to eat) is a Cantonese style fried rice where one of the main ingredients is a type of "stinking fish" - and just the smell can make me nauseous 
fried rice is also easy to make, thus popular with housewives, students, and children because it can contain almost any kind of ingredients one likes (no chocolate fried rice, i'm afraid).
anyway, here are some tips for those of you who enjoys fried rice, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to PM or email me.
1. Rice: the most important aspect of a good fried rice IMO is the rice's characteristics. the short grain rice usually associated with expensive sushi and high end Japanese/Chinese restaurants that i favor to use at home for normal food is NOT recommended for fried rice for many reasons, one of them being their tendancy to stick and form clusters that are difficult to stir fry. if you don't have rice at home on a regular basis (as most non-Asians usually don't), the easiest solution is to swing by a local Chinese restaurant and buy some rice. MOST Chinese restaurants that caters to Americans uses LONG GRAIN rice (sometimes called Thai rice) because long grain rice are typically much cheaper to purchase than high grade short grain Japanese rice, but if you frequent that Chinese restaurant you should know what type of rice they serve. if you don't know the difference, take a look at Uncle Ben's rice, it's your traditional long grain rice that doesn't stick together very well at all. i detest long grain rice for meals, but they're essential for fried rice.
after you purchase or cook the long grain rice, you MUST let the rice cool down to room temperature, or better yet, put them in the fridge and let it sit for a while. you want the long grain rice to be cool or cold - the reason is very simple: hot and steamy rice has a tendancy to stick together, making it difficult to stir fry.
2. Eggs: we can obtain eggs at every supermarket, so you don't need to worry about supply. typically i use one egg for every bowl of cooked long grain rice. when i say bowl, i'm referring to a smallish bowl that holds 1.75 cups of water. how much eggs depends on your taste - i love eggs, so i usually end up putting an extra one in for good measures (medium AA eggs). one secret i've used for years to prep eggs is milk: when you're beating the egg mix, make sure you put some milk into the egg beat. what the milk will do is to prevent the eggs from browning too quickly in a Wok or whatever you use to stir fry. don't use too much milk, a few tablespoons per egg will be just fine.
3. Green onions: they look like chives, but i don't think they're the same thing
. anyway, i can get green onions easily here at Ralphs, Vons, Pavillions and other typical supermarkets. chop/dice the green onions (cut off the root and throw it away) into very small pieces, and mix it into the egg beat. you can add a little bit of salt into the egg beat.
4. Garlic: this is purely based on personal preference, you don't need to use it. if you do, chop one or two pieces of garlic into small pieces and set aside.
5. Ingredients: this is where it gets interesting. the main ingredients for the fried rice is complete (long grain rice, eggs, and green onion), and you can now add ingredients to your liking!
Here's what i use on a regular basis in no particular order:
- Ham
- Canadian bacon
- Chinese/Taiwanese sausages
- Italian sausages
- Chicken pieces
- diced pineapples (canned)
the combinations are literally ENDLESS. i usually only add one or two ingredients into the fried rice, but you can experiment with differing ingredients to your liking, the decision is UP TO YOU. if you're vegetarian or feel a need to make the fried rice more "healthy", i suggest one of those frozen vege-packs from the supermarket with green beans and diced carrots (sometimes with corn pieces). i don't recommend any vegetables such as olives or anything that has a naturally strong taste - it may conflict with other ingredients.
6. Cooking: having chosen your ingredient(s), it's time to have some fun. bring your wok/cooking pot to high heat (make sure the pot/wok has no water in it), add 5 to 6 tablespoon of oil (i usually add more than that, but some people don't use that much oil) into the pot. heat the oil a bit, bring the egg beat into the wok/pot. keep stirring/cooking the egg beat until they become small pieces of scrambled eggs. if you used milk in your egg beat, it won't "brown" very quickly. add garlic (if you wish), add your ingredient(s), and cook the mixture a little (usually the ingredients are all pre-cooked, so you're just warming them up). when the mixture is cooked, add the COOL/COLD LONG GRAIN rice into the mixture. keep stirring/cooking the entire mixture until the rice is nice and hot, with a hint/glow of oil on the surface of the rice grains.
it's at this point in time when you can serve the fried rice. turn off the heat and eat - add salt to the mixture if you like.
some additional suggestions you may want to try:
1. soy sauce - don't use too much, but when you're cooking the fried rice, a little soy sauce can spruce up the ingredient(s)' tastes. i usually don't use soy sauce, but it's absolutely do-able
2. ketchup - that's right, you heard me, ketchup! one of my childhood favorite fried rice is with ketchup. you can add ketchup into the entire fried rice mixture while you're cooking, or you can add ketchup when you're eating it out of the bowl. i usually add it when i'm eating because i can taste more of the ketchup
3. salsa - i've never tried this, but i have heard that it's not that bad. you'll have a very "Latino" style fried rice.
4. chinese red pepper sauce - some like it hot
, i may sometimes put red chinese pepper sauce in the fried rice. trust me when i say Tobasco is NOT that great on fried rice.
have fun!
fried rice is also easy to make, thus popular with housewives, students, and children because it can contain almost any kind of ingredients one likes (no chocolate fried rice, i'm afraid).
anyway, here are some tips for those of you who enjoys fried rice, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to PM or email me.
1. Rice: the most important aspect of a good fried rice IMO is the rice's characteristics. the short grain rice usually associated with expensive sushi and high end Japanese/Chinese restaurants that i favor to use at home for normal food is NOT recommended for fried rice for many reasons, one of them being their tendancy to stick and form clusters that are difficult to stir fry. if you don't have rice at home on a regular basis (as most non-Asians usually don't), the easiest solution is to swing by a local Chinese restaurant and buy some rice. MOST Chinese restaurants that caters to Americans uses LONG GRAIN rice (sometimes called Thai rice) because long grain rice are typically much cheaper to purchase than high grade short grain Japanese rice, but if you frequent that Chinese restaurant you should know what type of rice they serve. if you don't know the difference, take a look at Uncle Ben's rice, it's your traditional long grain rice that doesn't stick together very well at all. i detest long grain rice for meals, but they're essential for fried rice.
after you purchase or cook the long grain rice, you MUST let the rice cool down to room temperature, or better yet, put them in the fridge and let it sit for a while. you want the long grain rice to be cool or cold - the reason is very simple: hot and steamy rice has a tendancy to stick together, making it difficult to stir fry.
2. Eggs: we can obtain eggs at every supermarket, so you don't need to worry about supply. typically i use one egg for every bowl of cooked long grain rice. when i say bowl, i'm referring to a smallish bowl that holds 1.75 cups of water. how much eggs depends on your taste - i love eggs, so i usually end up putting an extra one in for good measures (medium AA eggs). one secret i've used for years to prep eggs is milk: when you're beating the egg mix, make sure you put some milk into the egg beat. what the milk will do is to prevent the eggs from browning too quickly in a Wok or whatever you use to stir fry. don't use too much milk, a few tablespoons per egg will be just fine.
3. Green onions: they look like chives, but i don't think they're the same thing
. anyway, i can get green onions easily here at Ralphs, Vons, Pavillions and other typical supermarkets. chop/dice the green onions (cut off the root and throw it away) into very small pieces, and mix it into the egg beat. you can add a little bit of salt into the egg beat.4. Garlic: this is purely based on personal preference, you don't need to use it. if you do, chop one or two pieces of garlic into small pieces and set aside.
5. Ingredients: this is where it gets interesting. the main ingredients for the fried rice is complete (long grain rice, eggs, and green onion), and you can now add ingredients to your liking!
Here's what i use on a regular basis in no particular order:
- Ham
- Canadian bacon
- Chinese/Taiwanese sausages
- Italian sausages
- Chicken pieces
- diced pineapples (canned)
the combinations are literally ENDLESS. i usually only add one or two ingredients into the fried rice, but you can experiment with differing ingredients to your liking, the decision is UP TO YOU. if you're vegetarian or feel a need to make the fried rice more "healthy", i suggest one of those frozen vege-packs from the supermarket with green beans and diced carrots (sometimes with corn pieces). i don't recommend any vegetables such as olives or anything that has a naturally strong taste - it may conflict with other ingredients.
6. Cooking: having chosen your ingredient(s), it's time to have some fun. bring your wok/cooking pot to high heat (make sure the pot/wok has no water in it), add 5 to 6 tablespoon of oil (i usually add more than that, but some people don't use that much oil) into the pot. heat the oil a bit, bring the egg beat into the wok/pot. keep stirring/cooking the egg beat until they become small pieces of scrambled eggs. if you used milk in your egg beat, it won't "brown" very quickly. add garlic (if you wish), add your ingredient(s), and cook the mixture a little (usually the ingredients are all pre-cooked, so you're just warming them up). when the mixture is cooked, add the COOL/COLD LONG GRAIN rice into the mixture. keep stirring/cooking the entire mixture until the rice is nice and hot, with a hint/glow of oil on the surface of the rice grains.
it's at this point in time when you can serve the fried rice. turn off the heat and eat - add salt to the mixture if you like.
some additional suggestions you may want to try:
1. soy sauce - don't use too much, but when you're cooking the fried rice, a little soy sauce can spruce up the ingredient(s)' tastes. i usually don't use soy sauce, but it's absolutely do-able
2. ketchup - that's right, you heard me, ketchup! one of my childhood favorite fried rice is with ketchup. you can add ketchup into the entire fried rice mixture while you're cooking, or you can add ketchup when you're eating it out of the bowl. i usually add it when i'm eating because i can taste more of the ketchup
3. salsa - i've never tried this, but i have heard that it's not that bad. you'll have a very "Latino" style fried rice.
4. chinese red pepper sauce - some like it hot
, i may sometimes put red chinese pepper sauce in the fried rice. trust me when i say Tobasco is NOT that great on fried rice.have fun!
02-23-2002, 11:42 PM
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Mingster you're a legend Finally something useful on this site 
An Chinese ex-girlfriend taught me how to make fried rice. Ingredients I like that you didn't mention are those really tiny dried shrimps and cha sui (sp?, you know, Chinese barbecued pork). I also put peas in sometimes. One other trick is to use dark soy for a little extra colour and flavour, and use peanut oil for the wonderful aroma it gives.
Finally something useful on this site An Chinese ex-girlfriend taught me how to make fried rice. Ingredients I like that you didn't mention are those really tiny dried shrimps and cha sui (sp?, you know, Chinese barbecued pork). I also put peas in sometimes. One other trick is to use dark soy for a little extra colour and flavour, and use peanut oil for the wonderful aroma it gives.
02-24-2002, 05:08 AM
#4
Originally posted by mingster
one of the dishes i dislike the most (there aren't many, btw, since i love to eat) is a Cantonese style fried rice where one of the main ingredients is a type of "stinking fish" - and just the smell can make me nauseous
one of the dishes i dislike the most (there aren't many, btw, since i love to eat) is a Cantonese style fried rice where one of the main ingredients is a type of "stinking fish" - and just the smell can make me nauseous
it's the fried rice with fish and chicken right?
02-24-2002, 07:20 AM
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Originally posted by eyescream
lol.......i know what u r talking about.......
it's the fried rice with fish and chicken right?
lol.......i know what u r talking about.......
it's the fried rice with fish and chicken right?
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02-25-2002, 01:42 AM
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Hey Richard,
You know I only have the Japanese rice at home. My Mom used to make fried rice with the stuff and it came out pretty good. What's wrong with using the good stuff???
By the way, I already knew about the ketchup trick.
You know I only have the Japanese rice at home. My Mom used to make fried rice with the stuff and it came out pretty good. What's wrong with using the good stuff???
By the way, I already knew about the ketchup trick.