Fried Rice

It does take a bit more prep than I care for, because you need to use cold cooked rice (and you would be shocked at how many recipes fail to mention this).  So I found that the easiest thing to do here was cook up some rice when I had a minute one night, and the next day, I tackled turning it into fried rice.

There are so, SO many variations to the fried rice recipe out there.  It’s hard to tell which recipes are as good as they say by the reviews, because everyone seems to substitute ingredients, add and omit, increase and decrease – so you never can tell how a reviewed recipe really turns out as-written.

You will find your own preferences.  I have made this twice now, and the second round was awesome!  (The first was good, don’t get me wrong, but I found I liked it much better after a couple adjustments.)  I will share how I’ve made it here.  You may find you want to go heavier on the sesame, lighter on the garlic, etc. to suit your family’s tastes!

• 4 c. cooked and cooled white rice
• 1/4 c. soy sauce (you might want to start with 2 tablespoons first, and add more to your liking – I ended up at 1/4 cup but you can’t take it out if you get too much!)
• 3 cloves finely chopped garlic
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 lb. chicken (or beef, or pork, or whatever you like!)
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 lb. + fresh and/or frozen veggies of your choice – we use a frozen baby corn medley plus some carrots and snow peas, but use whatever your family enjoys!
• olive oil or butter for frying
• optional – sesame seeds to garnish

First of all, rice that has already been cooked and cooled overnight works best.  I did read that you can cook it in your rice cooker with a reduced amount of water, but I don’t own a rice cooker and didn’t attempt it that way, so I can’t speak to how that would turn out.

Dice and cook your chicken, or use leftovers from another meal.  Set aside and drain if necessary.  Scramble your eggs in a bit of oil or butter, and break them into small pieces.  Set that aside too.  You want these to be fully cooked before you add them back to the rice, because the rest of the cooking doesn’t take long at all!

Depending on whether you use fresh or frozen veggies, cook those next in a bit of olive oil (you don’t need much, maybe a tablespoon or two) in a wok or a very large pan.  You want the veggies fully cooked, but firm.  If you are using frozen veggies, the bag will probably have stir-fry instructions for cooking and you can follow that.  Once they are nearly done – for me that’s about 3-5 minutes – add everything else, including your rice.  Toss it until it’s coated, and fry it for a few minutes more.  Once everything is heated through, it’s ready to serve!

I sprinkled a few sesame seeds on top just before serving.  The sesame oil helps with the flavor so you can omit these if you want.

This turned out so yummy, and it’s simple (enough even for me) that it’s going into our regular meal rotation now! :) Don’t forget the fortune cookies!

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~ Adrianne