Fried Rice

I usually make a big batch of basmati rice and keep it in the fridge for the week. Fried rice is my favorite. Very comforting. My ideas for this dish is to first saute the garlic and ginger for a few seconds. Then add the vegetables on high heat. I really like baby bok choy, snow peas, carrots, broccoli and sweet peppers. Stir fry the vegetables with low salt soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and a pinch of allspice. Add the cold rice and drizzle in small amount of hoisin sauce. Top with scallions.

In lieu of Shaoxing Wine you can use a dry sherry.

Don't forget a drizzle of fish sauce while cooking the fried rice! It's what gives it that take out fried rice flavor!

Concerning the defrosting of peas...

1) In dealing with high heat and oil, it only makes sense to defrost peas. Any ice accumulation will cause cause the hot oil to explode, making a mess and possibly causing injury.

2) The point of high heat used in Asian technique is to quickly sear in flavor and caramelize sugar. Using frozen peas defeats the purpose as they immediately lower the oil temperature. You may as well boil them in oil. Peas are sweet so you want to develop a complex flavor.

You possibly didn't cook me the aromatics well enough for flavor a to develop. Also, rice needs to be "fried" sufficiently to get the nuttiness that's key to a good fried rice. So often this step is skipped. If you mix in the cooked vegetables before the rice absorbs all the flavors in the oil, you'll have a flat tasting dish.

Left over brown rice is great too for fried rice!

Clear fish sauce is the missing ingredient here. A splash provides the flavor that home made fried rice is always missing. It's very salty so a little goes a long way. I usually mix it half and half with Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce, omitting plain soy sauce.

I fry a lightly mixed egg in my wok first. Just pour it in and let it set, then remove and chop it up. Then continue with the recipe and add the egg back in at the end.

I often add cooked chicken or shrimp to make it more substantial.

For better texture, use leftover rice.

Olive oil has a low smoking point, so it's not good for dishes like these. Always use the oil specified for dishes using high heat; they're used for a reason.

Loved it. Threw in more veggies (snap peas, asparagus, onions, and a bag of frozen mixed veggies), somewhat less brown rice, one grilled chicken breast, vermouth for the wine, 1 t 50% sodium tamari (to bring the sodium content down), then hit it with Penzey's Singapore Seasoning, to bring up the flavor without the sodium hit. Putting in the frozen veggies worked just fine - everything came out just right. Can't believe I've never made fried rice before, it was awsome for lunch.

Love the notes from the well-intentioned people here. "Didn't have neutral oil, used olive oil. Don't like onions, used shallots.Chopped the garlic roughly. Shaoxing wine was out, but had French vermouth. Don't know how the rice would have come out, but the rare rib eye steak was spectacular."

First saute the garlic and ginger for a few seconds. Then add the vegetables on high heat. I really like baby bok choy, snow peas, carrots, broccoli and sweet peppers. Stir fry the vegetables with low salt soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and a pinch of allspice. Add the cold rice and drizzle in small amount of hoisin sauce. Top with scallions.

There are several things to do to improve this recipe. First, of course, make a mise en place, everything ready. Next, before starting with the fried rice, make an egg sheet rather than scrambling the eggs into the rice at the end. Then, add some diced cooked chicken breast and diced cooked ham. Instead of using neutral oil, use freshly rendered pork lard for a huge improvement in flavor! Last, buy a jar of thick soy and add a teaspoonful at the end for restaurant-level color in your fried rice.

After reading a review on this thread that pitted Sam Sifton's fried rice with Mark Bittman's I naturally had to meld the two together. You should too. I didn't use cilantro and went for scallions instead. The Shaoxing wine makes it, as does the fried garlic and ginger crunchy/madly delicious topping from Bittman's. All to say, I will do it all over again in short order.