Seafood Mix Fried Rice

This is experiment #2 with seafood mix that contains ingredients with different cooking times. As I pointed out in my recipe for Seafood Mix with Pasta, this presents quite a challenge for a cook. After I have prepared the fried rice one thing became very clear to me: the mix has to be just heated through. If you cook it much longer then 2 minutes you end up with some tough inedible seafood. Another thing I discovered is that I had much better results if I thawed out the mix in cold water for about 1/2 hour, drained and marinated in appropriate seasonings. The squid rings and cuttlefish slabs benefited the most; they have perfect texture when cooked.

As is with any fried rice recipe, this one has few steps. Fried rice is not a meal where you plop a pot on a stove and walk away.  When you wok, you wok non-stop J.

Ingredients (in order of prep):

1 tsp. peanut oil

2 beaten eggs with 1 tsp. rice wine and pinch of salt

1 tsp. peanut oil

1/2” piece of ginger, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1/2 red pepper, diced

3 scallions, cut into 1” pieces and white and green parts separated

4 water chestnuts, diced

1/2 cup green peas

1 Chinese sausage (Lap Chong), steamed for 10 minutes and sliced on diagonal

I leaf Napa cabbage, shredded or 1 cup blanched bean sprouts

1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (cremini, shitake, oyster or King oyster)

1 tsp. peanut oil

2 cups day old and refrigerated rice, clumps broken into individual grains

1 tsp. salt

1 cup frozen seafood mix, soaked and defrosted in 3 cups of cold water

1/2” piece of ginger, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 Tbs. rice wine

2 tsp. fish sauce

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Prepare all ingredients in 5 bowls.

1. Beat eggs in bowl 1 with 1 tsp. rice wine and pinch of salt and reserve.
2. In a large bowl #2 mix pepper, white part of scallions, water chestnuts, green peas, Lap Chong, cabbage and mushrooms and reserve.
3. In large bowl #3 add the rice and separate into individual grains. The rice should be very cold. Sprinkle with salt and reserve.
4. In a bowl #4 add drained seafood mix and toss with ginger, garlic, rice wine, fish sauce and sesame oil. Mix till all ingredients are well coated.
5. Heat up a large steel bowl #5 and keep close to wok.

Directions:

1. Heat a wok and add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. When wok is very hot add eggs from bowl #1 and scramble lightly. Remove to preheated bowl, break up the eggs, set aside and keep warm.
2. Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Add ingredients from bowl #2 and stir fry for about a minute. Remove to bowl with eggs.
3. Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Drop in the rice and stir fry till rice is evenly coated and grains are separated and rice is lightly colored. Remove to bowl with eggs.
4. Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Drop in bowl #4 and cook for 1 minute.

Add all contents of bowl #5, mix till all ingredients are well combined and serve in one large serving plate or individual bowls. Sprinkle fried rice with green parts of scallions and serve immediately.