Easy Recipes: Egg Fried Rice

I previously wrote about some easy recipes for lazy students who've never cooked for themselves, and today I'd like to continue in that series with a really tasty yet authentic recipe for Chinese Egg Fried Rice. My wife, being Chinese, makes this all time. And I love it!

Traditionally, egg fried rice is a dish designed to use up left-overs - you wouldn't cook up a batch of fresh rice just to make it, for instance. In Asian families, it's quite normal to have the rice cooker in constant use, so there is always warm rice on hand - which also inevitably means that sometimes the rice won't be that nice to eat on it's own, so that why egg fried was invented.

It's a simple recipe with a lot of room for customizing, with whatever meat and veg was left from last nights dinner - so don't feel like you have to stick to it rigidly.

Main Ingredients:

- 2 eggs

- 2 teaspoons of Sesame oil

- 300g of any regular or long grain white rice

- 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 of pepper

- 1 spring onion

- 1 tablespoon of Soy sauce

 

Other things you might want to add:

- 100g Ham, Bacon, or Beef

- 100g Peas (frozen is fine)

- 100g bean sprouts

- Red or green pepper

- Really, whatever is left in the fridge!

 

Instructions:

I'm going to assume your rice is already cooked, and either sitting in a container in the fridge, or still warm in the rice cooker. Either is fine to work with.

Start by lightly beating the eggs, but not too much. My wife always fries the egg first, so pour a single teaspoon of Sesame oil into a pan and fry the eggs as if to scramble them. Don't cook them too much though, just so they solidify - you don't want them brown. Take them out and throw them back in the bowl for the time being.

At this point, how you make it will depend on what your ingredients are. Whatever you are using though, chop it up small. A really big Chinese cleaver helps this to go a little quicker! If you have uncooked meat, or fresh vegetables, then go ahead and fry them now. If everything you're putting in it is leftovers from last night, then you're probably good to move straight on.

This final step is probably the most difficult, so listen carefully! Throw everything in the fry pan with a little oil, and fry it. I know, it's difficult...

Constantly stir it, season with salt and pepper, and use your spatula to break up any clumps of egg or rice - mix it all up good! How long you cook it for is a matter of personal preference. Personally, I like to burn it a little on the bottom to get some nice crunchy bits, but whatever whets your whistle.

That's it for today, but you can find more egg recipes here, if you like. Next week I'll be posting some great authentic Chinese recipes from my wife, so be sure to check out my profile too if you have time.