PERFECT Fried Rice EVERY TIME!
It’s always a great day when you learn how to do something the RIGHT way, don’t you think? All it takes is one person to come along and share a bit of information, and you bask in an “AH HAH!” moment.
This is how it was for me and fried rice. Try as I did, it never turned out the way you get it in the restaurant. Then entered Mindy Fox, food researcher and cookbook author, who shared her tips and tricks in a REAL SIMPLE magazine article a couple years ago. I learned quickly all I didn’t know and my fried rice has been restaurant-worthy ever since.
If you too, struggle with getting your fried rice right, read on. You’ll appreciate Mindy’s expertise.
FIRST: Rinse Your Rice Before Cooking. This allows it to shed some starch and leads to less clumpy cooked grains. All the good egg bits and other tasty seasonings will then mingle well with the rice, evenly distributing flavor throughout the dish. To rinse rice, simply place it in a mesh sieve or a colander with small-sized holes, then run cool tap water over the top for about a minute, stirring with your fingers or a spoon.
SECOND: Rest Your Rice After Cooking. Spread your cooked rice on a baking sheet, then place the baking sheet on a cooling rack to allow air to circulate around the pan. Let the rice stand for one to two hours until it's cooled to room temperature. Resting and cooling your rice allows excess moisture to evaporate, which also helps keep grains from clumping. If you want to do this a day or two ahead, let the rice cool completely, then refrigerate it in an airtight container. (Any leftover plain rice you have in the fridge already will also work well in fried rice.)
THIRD: Prep Ahead. After the rice cools, the rest of the dish will come together in a hot pan very quickly. Have all of your desired add-ins prepped ahead and arranged in small bowls stove-side, so you can cook up the dish in a flash.
FOURTH: Keep It Simple. You don't need 20 ingredients to cook the perfect fried rice. Blend cooked rice with some aromatics (garlic, ginger, scallions), eggs, some veggies (carrot, peas, baby spinach, chopped bok choy, or broccoli) and, if you like, some raw or cooked protein (tofu, shrimp, chicken, pork, salmon—heck, even leftover brisket works well!).
FIFTH: Use a Large Wok or a Very Large Skillet. For fried rice, you want to use a pan that seems large, perhaps even extra-large, for the amount of rice and other ingredients you are using. This allows the ingredients to heat up quickly and evenly without overcooking, and gives you room to toss everything together without ingredients leaping or falling out of the pan.
SIXTH: ONLY a HOT Pan, Please! Make sure your pan is nice and hot before you add your rice and other ingredients. You want everything to cook together quickly, so that the rice gets very hot but doesn't overcook.
SEVENTH: Season With Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, and Sesame Oil. While not every recipe calls for this fried rice trifecta, lots of recipes do. Why? Soy sauce is the salt element, rice vinegar gives the dish a touch of brightness, and sesame oil lends an utterly delicious, toasty note.
If you’re interested in perfecting YOUR fried rice, here is recipe for your dining delight!
3 tablespoons butter divided
2 large eggs whisked
2 medium carrots peeled and diced
1 small onion diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cloves garlic minced
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
4 cups cooked and chilled rice (short-grain white rice is preferred)
3 green onions thinly sliced
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce or more, to taste
2 teaspoons oyster sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
This is how it was for me and fried rice. Try as I did, it never turned out the way you get it in the restaurant. Then entered Mindy Fox, food researcher and cookbook author, who shared her tips and tricks in a REAL SIMPLE magazine article a couple years ago. I learned quickly all I didn’t know and my fried rice has been restaurant-worthy ever since.
If you too, struggle with getting your fried rice right, read on. You’ll appreciate Mindy’s expertise.
FIRST: Rinse Your Rice Before Cooking. This allows it to shed some starch and leads to less clumpy cooked grains. All the good egg bits and other tasty seasonings will then mingle well with the rice, evenly distributing flavor throughout the dish. To rinse rice, simply place it in a mesh sieve or a colander with small-sized holes, then run cool tap water over the top for about a minute, stirring with your fingers or a spoon.
SECOND: Rest Your Rice After Cooking. Spread your cooked rice on a baking sheet, then place the baking sheet on a cooling rack to allow air to circulate around the pan. Let the rice stand for one to two hours until it's cooled to room temperature. Resting and cooling your rice allows excess moisture to evaporate, which also helps keep grains from clumping. If you want to do this a day or two ahead, let the rice cool completely, then refrigerate it in an airtight container. (Any leftover plain rice you have in the fridge already will also work well in fried rice.)
THIRD: Prep Ahead. After the rice cools, the rest of the dish will come together in a hot pan very quickly. Have all of your desired add-ins prepped ahead and arranged in small bowls stove-side, so you can cook up the dish in a flash.
FOURTH: Keep It Simple. You don't need 20 ingredients to cook the perfect fried rice. Blend cooked rice with some aromatics (garlic, ginger, scallions), eggs, some veggies (carrot, peas, baby spinach, chopped bok choy, or broccoli) and, if you like, some raw or cooked protein (tofu, shrimp, chicken, pork, salmon—heck, even leftover brisket works well!).
FIFTH: Use a Large Wok or a Very Large Skillet. For fried rice, you want to use a pan that seems large, perhaps even extra-large, for the amount of rice and other ingredients you are using. This allows the ingredients to heat up quickly and evenly without overcooking, and gives you room to toss everything together without ingredients leaping or falling out of the pan.
SIXTH: ONLY a HOT Pan, Please! Make sure your pan is nice and hot before you add your rice and other ingredients. You want everything to cook together quickly, so that the rice gets very hot but doesn't overcook.
SEVENTH: Season With Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, and Sesame Oil. While not every recipe calls for this fried rice trifecta, lots of recipes do. Why? Soy sauce is the salt element, rice vinegar gives the dish a touch of brightness, and sesame oil lends an utterly delicious, toasty note.
If you’re interested in perfecting YOUR fried rice, here is recipe for your dining delight!
Perfect Fried Rice
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter divided
2 large eggs whisked
2 medium carrots peeled and diced
1 small onion diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 cloves garlic minced
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
4 cups cooked and chilled rice (short-grain white rice is preferred)
3 green onions thinly sliced
3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce or more, to taste
2 teaspoons oyster sauce (optional)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Directions:
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a large sauté pan* over medium-high heat until melted. Add egg, and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.
Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, peas and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce (if using), and stir until combined.
Continue sautéing for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice, stirring occasionally. (Let the rice rest for a bit between stirs so that it can crisp up on the bottom.) Then add in the eggs and stir to combine. Remove from heat, and stir in the sesame oil until combined. Taste and season with extra soy sauce, if needed.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
*Sauté pan: A nonstick or cast-iron pan is recommended for this recipe. But that said, any pan that you have can work — you may just have to be a bit more vigilant with stirring so that the rice and eggs don’t stick.
Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted. Add carrots, onion, peas and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft. Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce (if using), and stir until combined.
Continue sautéing for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice, stirring occasionally. (Let the rice rest for a bit between stirs so that it can crisp up on the bottom.) Then add in the eggs and stir to combine. Remove from heat, and stir in the sesame oil until combined. Taste and season with extra soy sauce, if needed.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
*Sauté pan: A nonstick or cast-iron pan is recommended for this recipe. But that said, any pan that you have can work — you may just have to be a bit more vigilant with stirring so that the rice and eggs don’t stick.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
