Fried Rice

Another food court favorite for us is Fried Rice.  I have done it many times before but it was never as good as in a good restaurant. I have always blamed my stove but when I got thinking about technique I realized that it will be possible to replicate this dish even though my gas stove is nowhere near as hot as restaurant's burner. The secret in great texture of fried rice is water content and that was where I started to experiment. I am pleased to say that first experiment was fantastic and yes, it was the ratio of water and long grain rice in rice cooker that made all the difference. High heat is very important as well, of course.

Here is size and shape of my flame. The reason that I use large frying pan instead of wok is obvious here; there is no flame at center, just edges. Most important part of the wok, the small bowl at center, will also be coldest part. Not good at all.

Back to fried rice. Almost all fried rice recipes tell you to use overnight refrigerated rice and I wholeheartedly agree. Been there, done that. On this experiment I used 1 cup of rice and 1-1/4 cup water after washing and draining the rice 4 times. After rice was cooked, about 20 minutes in Panasonic rice cooker, I spread the rice on baking sheet and let cool for about 2 hours. In a plastic container it went, making sure that it is loose and not packed, and transferred to refrigerator overnight. Next day I used large stainless steel bowl to loosen and oil the rice before stir frying. I have also added about teaspoon of Madras Curry Powder for color and heat. If you want to have it mild use plain Turmeric instead.

Next, I had to decide what ingredient is cooked first and what will follow. I really want to keep things simple in my kitchen, The KISS Principal rules supreme there! So many recipes will tell you to cook every tiny piece of vegetables separately and than combine them at the end...not for me, way too much work and you can't taste the difference anyway. My vegies don't see a frying pan till the very end, they are all nuked, some together, some separately and some stay raw. It doesn't take more than 3 minutes total!

In this version for vegies I used broccoli, green onions, carrot, red pepper, green peas and roasted peanuts and eggs. Of course I could have used bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, baby corn, canned mushrooms (much better in stir-fry than fresh ones) and whole lot of other ingredients but I like to keep their number down to 4 - 5 so I was already over "enough". Only broccoli got cooked in microwave for half a minute before the final combine and ginger and garlic were cooked with rice.

As for sauce it is a bit simpler than chow mein noodles; all that is needed is Soy Sauce, Hoisin sauce and Sriracha (everything to taste, of course).

To get the rice to just right texture and dryness took just 5 minutes or so because the rice was already fairly dry. I did stir-fry the garlic and ginger first before adding the rice.

When the rice was done in went the vegies and pieces of 2 egg omelet that was cooked in separate small frying pan. For more substantial version I have added chicken thighs and shrimps. The sauce went in right after vegies were mixed in and heated. You just want taste and keep the rice dry so don't use too much.

I'll post my recipe for stir-fried chicken and shrimps in separate blog. They can be used in chow mein or fried rice.



Update of The Weekly Menu – April 10, 2011

Monday

Western Beef Stir-fry.

The rice was cooked like a regular fried rice with vegetables but the beef steak was cook in a hot frying pan till medium rare and then sliced into 1” wide strips on bias and then tossed with BBQ sauce. Since no knife is necessary in order to eat it, it makes it a good branch meal where all you need is a fork or chopsticks.

Tuesday

BBQ Chicken Wings.

Yah, I know, I had it last week and maybe week before that but hey, they are so good! Sweet and hot and sticky…heaven on the plate. As is usual for me I served it on bed of chopped Napa cabbage.

Wednesday

The Chicken Vegetable & Rice Soup.

This was a nice light lunch. It was just a previously made chicken stock with meat, carrots, celery, potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, rice and topped with Parmigiano cheese. I put a Parmigiano cheese rind in the stock and simmered it for 30 minutes and it gave the soup such a complex flavor! Since I have so much rind from the cheese I will use it in every soup base.

Thursday

Seafood-Mix Risotto.

Rice was the last staple that I didn’t use with frozen seafood mix. Week ago I saw on Food Channel tip for using frozen scallops and squids. As anybody that used them knows that they have a sort of metallic after taste that is hard to get rid off. I think it was on America’s Test Kitchen, they suggested to use lemon juice. I went one step farther: I have marinated the mix with grated zest and juice from 1 lemon. Did it work? Not a trace of any chemical preservatives. Not exactly like fresh stuff but pretty good. This trick will be in my repertoire from now on.

Friday

Risotto Cakes with Bocconcini.

Many restaurants cook risotto for a sole purpose of having it for cakes and I can understand why. When you bite into one first sensation is the super crispy Panko coating. Then you feel the cheesy and creamy rice followed by melted, stringy Mozzarella Bocconcini. Then you take a bite of crispy Napa cabbage. Wow! This is not a leftover meal, this is a meal worthy to be on a banquet menu. I did make one change since I cooked my last risotto: before forming the patty or cake, I mixed in a lot of grated Parmigiano cheese to help in binding it and hold shape. Great move! After all, I bought so much cheese at a basement price J !

Saturday

Stove-top Chicken Teriyaki.

In my opinion this version is so much juicier, tender and quicker to prepare then traditional cooking method over barbecue. Even though I have marinated for 6 hours skinless and boneless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch strips, I am not sure that it is necessary when cooked in non-stick frying pan. The chicken pieces are basically sauted in the marinade and when I turn then over after about 10 minutes I add the green onions and cook another 10 minutes, partially covered. At the end of cooking time the marinade turns into a thick sauce. Served over rice along with cucumber salad makes it a summer delight.

Chicken Fried Rice

Another fried rice recipe, this time chicken tenders (part of chicken breast) being main ingredient. This is very similar to Fried Rice with Char Siu recipe posted last February. Major difference is omission of shrimps and use of chicken tenders in place of Char Siu.

Here is my version of this dish.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken tender strips, cut in half lengthwise

1 carrot, julienned

3 Chinese mushrooms

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup green peas

1” piece ginger, chopped

Garlic, 1 clove chopped

2 eggs

3 cups leftover and refrigerated rice

2 Tbs. peanut oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. white pepper

Preparation (mise en place):

§    Soak mushrooms in a 1:1mixture of hot water and dark soy sauce, for at least 1/2 hour. Remove stems and cut into 1/4” slices. Reserve 1/4 cup of the water.

§    Marinate chicken strips, in 1 Tbs. of rice wine, 1 Tbs. dark soy sauce,1/2 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. sugar and 1/2 tsp. white pepper.

§    Peel and julienne carrots into 1/4” pieces. Parboil for 1 minute in boiling salted water. Drain and plunge into cold water. Drain again and set aside.

§    Cut green onions diagonally into 1” pieces and separate white and green parts.

§    Soak frozen green peas in salted hot water for 1/2 hour, drain and set aside.

§    Beat eggs in a bowl with fork, add salt and white pepper and set aside.

§    Crush and chop ginger and garlic and set aside.

§    Break up clumps of cold rice till you have individual grains. Set aside.

Sauce:

1/4 cup mushroom soaking water

1 Tbs. of Oyster sauce

1 Tbs. of Hoisin sauce

Stir together all ingredients till well combined.

Directions:

§    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 and scramble lightly. Remove to preheated bowl, break up the eggs, set aside and keep warm.

§    Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Sprinkle 1 tsp. of salt and drop in the rice. Stir till rice is evenly coated and grains are separated. Remove to bowl with eggs.

§    Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Add chicken with marinade and stir-fry for 2 minutes or till cooked through. Remove to bowl with rice and eggs and keep warm.

§    Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for few seconds then add mushrooms and stir.

§    Add previously prepared green peas, carrots and white parts of green onions. Stir-fry till well combined.

§    Add reserved rice, shrimps and eggs and mix well till all ingredients are very hot.

§    Pour sauce on side of wok and stir.

§    Serve immediately in individual preheated bowls and garnish with green parts of onions and coriander (optional).

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.

Fried Rice with Char Siu

Barbecue Pork Fried Rice

It is absolutely amazing in how many Chinese dishes this great barbecued pork is used. Dim Sums, soups, noodles, rice and even deserts! This pork fried rice is another restaurant favorite. To make it at home traditional way is, as usual, a bit tedious since everything has to be cut in uniform sizes and cuts and then each item is cooked separately. As with so many dishes less is sometimes more. By substituting just one or two items will change the texture and taste of a dish that it is in reality another item on most restaurants menus. It is always better to use at least one day old and refrigerated long grain rice.

Here is my version of this dish.

Ingredients:

1 cup Char Siu, cut into 1/4” strips

12 large shrimps, shell, tail and veins removed

1 carrot, julienned

3 Chinese mushrooms

2 green onions

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup green peas

1” piece ginger, chopped

Garlic, 1 clove chopped

2 eggs

3 cups leftover and refrigerated rice

2 Tbs. peanut oil

1 tsp. sesame oil

1/2 tsp. white pepper

Preparation (mise en place):

§    Soak mushrooms in hot water for at least 1/2 hour. Remove stems and cut into 1/4” slices. Reserve 1/4 cup of the water.

§    Marinate shrimps in 1 Tbs. of rice wine and sprinkle of salt, sugar and white pepper.

§    Cut ends of green beans and cut diagonally into 1” pieces. Parboil for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and plunge into cold water. Drain again and set aside.

§    Peel and julienne carrots into 1/4” pieces. Parboil for 1 minute in boiling salted water. Drain and plunge into cold water. Drain again and set aside.

§    Cut green onions diagonally into 1” pieces and separate white and green parts.

§    Soak frozen green peas in salted hot water for 1/2 hour, drain and set aside.

§    Beat eggs in a bowl with fork, add salt and white pepper and set aside.

§    Crush and chop ginger and garlic and set aside.

§    Break up clumps of cold rice till you have individual grains. Set aside

Sauce:

1/4 cup mushroom soaking water

1 Tbs. of Oyster sauce

1 Tbs. of Hoisin sauce

Stir together all ingredients till well combined.

Directions:

§    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 and scramble lightly. Remove to preheated bowl, break up the eggs, set aside and keep warm.

§    Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Sprinkle 1 tsp. of salt and drop in the rice. Stir till rice is evenly coated and grains are separated. Remove to bowl with eggs.

§    Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Add shrimps with marinade and stir-fry for 1 minute. Remove to bowl with rice and eggs and keep warm.

§    Wipe the wok clean, add 1 tsp. of oil and spread with steel spatula till sides are well coated. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry for few seconds then add mushrooms and stir.

§    Add the pork strips and stir till heated through.

§    Add previously prepared green beans, green peas, carrots and white parts of green onions. Stir-fry till well combined.

§    Add reserved rice, shrimps and eggs and mix well till all ingredients are very hot.

§    Pour sauce on side of wok and stir.

Serve immediately in individual preheated bowls and garnish with green parts of onions.