Dinner Time: Fried Rice

Well of course I make my own fried rice. Actually, one of the problems I have is that once I feel I make a dish pretty tasty . . . I rarely want to order it in a restaurant.

This is a great thing to do with left overs. You want to cook your rice ahead of time and let it sit in the frig over night. I'll give you the basic recipe and then you can add as you like.

You'll need:

cold cooked rice
2 eggs
ham ( I get one or two slices of ham sliced at the deli . . . the slices should be about as thick as your pinkie finger, then I cut it up into smallish cubes)
green onions, one bunch chopped (whites and greens)
garlic/ginger, finely chopped or grated
oil
chicken broth or water
soy or tamari sauce
frozen peas

first, whisk up the eggs and cook them as you would an omelet . . . slide the cooked eggs to a plate and allow to cool while you finish the rice. When cooled, roughly cut up into smallish bits.

In a large frying pan or large wok . . . heat the oil until it is nearly smoking . . . and toss in the finely chopped garlic and grated ginger. Almost immediately afterwards, toss in the chopped green onions and ham. Stir fry quickly . . . when the ham starts to brown a bit, add in your rice. Add in a couple tablespoons soy/tamari sauce and 1/4 - 1/2 cup broth or water . . . stir a bit . . . and add in a few frozen peas, stir a minute or two. Make sure everything is hot . . . if you need to add a bit more seasoning or broth, feel free.

Turn off the heat, and stir in the chopped up cooked egg and serve. VOILA!

As for additions . . . you can add in pretty much any veg you like. If you want chicken or beef . . . use cooked (a little left over steak cut up is very good). If you want to add shrimps . . . brine frozen shrimp as you defrost them . . . then add them after the ham/onions . . . only cook briefly before you add in the rice (you don't want to over cook shrimps). If you want to add in broccoli . . . chop it and boil it for 2-3 minutes and then dump in ice water before you start the egg.