Fluffy Leftover Fried Rice
One of the best ways to use random leftovers and veggies that have passed their prime.
Brendon suffered through many, many iterations of my failed attempts at homemade fried rice. So much mush. I almost gave up, but I’m glad I didn’t. It isn’t your favorite asian restaurant’s white box fried rice, but it shares all of those umami-packed elements with a fresher, lighter spin.
Ingredients
Basmati rice (if you’re making fresh. If you have day-old leftover rice from takeout, this is a good application for it.)
Your protein of choice (I love a combo of a few if you have them – chicken, shrimp, pork. One time I had a lacquered duck leg left over from Christmas dinner, that was a great sticky crunchy sweet fried rice. Shrimp from the freezer is pictured here.)
Carrots
Peas
Egg
Scallions (green onion)
Toasted sesame oil
Soy sauce
Fish sauce
Instructions
Cook your rice to bag instructions. You have to soak and rinse a few times basmati rice before you cook it – that should be in the instructions. There should also be instructions for drier versus fluffier rice, go for the drier preparation. Moisture will be the enemy when you begin to build the dish.
While the rice is cooking, you can rinse, peel, and chop your carrots. You’re looking for little bite size niblets. Depending on the size of your carrots, this might mean cutting each in half long-ways, then half again long-ways, then a half-inch chop down the length. Get the meat off the bone (chicken/pork) or shelled (shrimp) and chop it into sizes similar to your carrots. Whisk an egg or two in a bowl.
Warm about 2 tbsps of sesame oil to medium high in your largest sauce pan (a wok if you have one). Remember when I said moisture was the enemy of this dish? Overcrowding your pan creates moisture as each element comes together and steams.
The rice should be done by now, so scoop it out and get it on a paper towel-lined sheet tray, cutting board, counter top, whatever, just let it spread out and dry for at least 10-15 minutes.
Get your carrots in the hot oil and flip them around a bit to sizzle. After 5 minutes or so, throw in your peas. After a minute or so of them crackling away, toss in a little splash of fish sauce to kinda coat. One more minute of frying, then scoop out the veggies into a bowl. In that still-hot, still-greased up pan, pour in your egg. Quickly push it around and chop it up with a rubber spatula to scramble. Add that to the bowl of veggies.
Bring the rice over to the pan one big scoop at a time. Spread it out in the pan. Drizzle a little bit of neutral oil and a little bit of soy sauce over it and let fry for 30 seconds or so. Shove it to the outside of the pan and repeat until all the rice is migrated. You’re basically frying the rice in batches to ensure every grain gets its shot at the hot oiled surface.
Make a well in the middle (push everything up on the sides). Add in your chopped protein and chopped scallions. Mix in everything from the bowl to combine. Plate.
