Fried rice is the ultimate lazy weeknight dinner. It is quick to throw together, has pretty much anything in it and helps clear up your fridge by using up all leftovers! And in this house, we always have leftover rice! (Day old rice is the best!)
In Malaysia we have many types of fried rice cause every race has tried their hand at it, added their own flair while drawing inspiration from each other along the way. From Yang Zhou Fried Rice to Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) Kampung and Nasi Goreng Paprik (Thai inspired fried rice), we truly are spoilt for choice. In fact, I feel it’s the one thing we got completely right – when it comes to food, Malaysians truly do not discriminate.
Yang Zhou Fried Rice, in particular, has always been one of my favourites and going out for Chinese food without ordering it always feels somewhat incomplete. The only problem with trying to make it at home is, you never quite get that charred taste and honestly who has char siu (sweet barbecued pork) on standby in their kitchens anyway? More importantly what kind of person would have leftover char siu? (it truly is delicious!)
Another pretty big issue – ‘Wok Hey’. What is Wok Hey? The breath of the wok, it is what seals the deal in almost every Chinese dish. You need a steel wok, propane burner/large flame and most importantly skill, to get the perfect balance of crispy vegetables and that slightly smoky flavour. Realistically and to set our expectations, none of that is happening on my electric hob no matter how quickly I toss the rice. Hence the almost restaurant-style.
What I have learnt from trying and failing way too many a time comes pretty close. And because I never ever have char siu lying around or pork lard for that matter, bacon is my secret weapon for that added bit of flavour.
Recipe
Ingredients
1.5 cups of day old rice
4 cloves of garlic diced
50gm green beans diced
50gm carrots diced
1 Scallion diced
50gm peas
50gm cooked prawns
1 chicken breast
5 strips of bacon diced
1 egg (if you like a little more egg use 2)
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper or 1/2 tsp black pepper
Note – you can just use 1.5 cups of frozen vege too!
Serving suggestion – Serve with a side of diced birds eye chillies/red chillies in soy sauce for added oomph!
Method
Do you have your own favourite fried rice recipe? To be honest I have a few favourites, shall I share the others too – a fried rice series perhaps?