Random fried rice

This is quite possibly the best fried rice I’ve ever made, basically just using whatever I had in the pantry along with day-old rice. Kind of an amalgam of Chinese, Thai, and Korean techniques and ingredients, it really packed a flavour punch! I served it with a side of sauteed spinach and garlic.

In true Asian style, I never measure ingredients when making fried rice, so quantities are my best guess. Sadly, that means I can’t guarantee your results! But I think that’s in the true spirit of fried rice - using whatever you have on hand, it’ll never be the same way twice.

Serves 1 as a main, 2 as a side dish.

Ingredients

• ~1 1/2 cups cold and day-old steamed medium grain rice (I used a sushi rice here)

• vegetable oil for stir frying

• 1/8th of a red onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, diced

• 1/2 inch ginger, peeled and finely diced

• ~4 sprigs of cilantro, stems diced, leaves roughly chopped and kept separate for garnish

• 1 1/2 inch length of chorizo or other firm but not herb-flavoured sausage, cubed

• 1 king oyster mushroom, roughly cut into 1 cm slices

• 2 eggs

• 1 tbsp korean chili pepper flakes

• 1 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• salt to taste

• (optional) half a seeded Thai chili pepper, very finely diced

• 2 wedges lemon or lime

Procedure

1. Add vegetable oil to a smoking hot wok, swirl to coat the sides of the wok, and turn off the heat

2. Add red onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro stems, and quickly mix. Return heat to medium, stir-fry until fragrant (~15 seconds).

3. Add chorizo and mushrooms. Stir fry until mushrooms are a bit soft.

4. Add chili pepper flakes. Stir quickly, then push the ingredients up the side of the wok.

5. Crack two eggs into the bottom of the wok. Break yolks, and scramble slowly until almost set. Push eggs to side of the wok, and crank heat up to medium-high.

6. Add rice, making sure to break up clumps. Incorporate ingredients that have been pushed aside in the wok, and stir fry.

7. Add sugar to the rice and stir quickly.

8. Add soy sauce and cooking wine along the sides of the wok and stir quickly.

9. Add fish sauce and stir quickly.

10. Taste, add salt if required, and stir quickly.

11. Turn off heat, add sesame oil, squeeze one lemon/lime wedge, and stir.

12. Plate the rice and garnish with cilantro leaves, (optional) diced hot pepper, and lemon/lime wedge.

13. Enjoy!