Fried Rice: A Simple yet Adaptable Dish

Growing up Chinese-American, one might assume that fried rice was a staple in many households. However, my mom had two different versions: white fried rice and brown fried rice. The brown fried rice was seasoned with soy sauce, while the white fried rice was seasoned with salt. Today, I'll be sharing a typical version of fried rice that I make at home using ingredients from my refrigerator.

This dish is quick to prepare, taking less than 10 minutes to complete, including preparation and cooking time. It's perfect for lunch or as a side dish, and it's often made by me for my kids because they love it. Uncle Roger, a popular food reviewer, would likely approve of this recipe. With its simplicity and adaptability, fried rice is the epitome of culinary flexibility.

To make this dish, start by scrambling some eggs in a pan with a little bit of oil. You can add any leftover meat to the pan as well, but I prefer not to mix it with the eggs. Once the eggs are cooked, remove them from the pan and set them aside. Next, add some diced carrots and green onions to the pan, which will take a few minutes to cook. Add a sprinkle of salt and chicken bullion (made by Knorr) to the pan, followed by one teaspoon of sugar. This combination adds depth and complexity to the dish.

Add the cooked rice to the pan, mashing it down slightly to ensure good contact with the pan. Sprinkle half a teaspoon of salt over the top of the rice, which is crucial for bringing out the flavors. Now it's time to add some pepper – I prefer white pepper, but you can use black pepper if you don't have white pepper on hand. Add a pinch of salt and a few dashes of pepper to taste.

With the seasoning in place, it's time to add the ingredients we cooked earlier back into the pan. First, add some frozen peas (about half a cup) and any other vegetables your family likes. I also like to add corn and broccoli for extra flavor and nutrition. Next, add the green tops of our green onions and finally, a small amount of sesame oil (about a quarter teaspoon). This final touch adds a ton of flavor but be careful not to add too much.

The beauty of fried rice lies in its adaptability. If you want to make this vegan, simply skip the eggs and add more vegetables or kimchi for added flavor. You can also use cauliflower rice or quinoa as an alternative to traditional rice. The concept is the same – it's a dish that's all about combining ingredients in a way that works best for you.

In conclusion, fried rice is a simple yet delicious dish that can be made in under 10 minutes. It's perfect for lunch, dinner, or as a snack, and it's always a crowd-pleaser. With its adaptability and flexibility, it's no wonder why this dish has become a staple in many cuisines around the world.

As I conclude this recipe, I like to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of fried rice. It's not just a meal; it's an experience – a chance to come together with family and friends, share stories, and enjoy each other's company while savoring delicious food. So, go ahead, give this recipe a try, and enjoy the process of creating something truly special. With a little bit of effort and creativity, you can make fried rice that's truly unforgettable.

In the end, it's all about embracing the art of adaptation and customization. Whether you're a seasoned cook or a beginner in the kitchen, fried rice is the perfect dish to experiment with. Don't be afraid to try new ingredients, flavor combinations, or cooking techniques – after all, that's what makes life interesting! So, go ahead, get creative, and enjoy the delicious world of fried rice.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(inquisitive music)- Greetings my beautiful lovelies.It's Emmy. How are you?It's great to see you and welcome back.Today, I'm gonna be showingyou how to make fried rice.Fried rice is seeminglysimple and easy, and it is,but there are a few tips I want to offer.Growing up Chinese-American,you may think that we had friedrice a lot, but we didn't.My mom would make two different versions.One she would call the white fried rice,and one was a brown fried rice.The brown fried rice wasseasoned with soy sauceand the white fried ricewas seasoned with salt.Now today, I'm gonna be showing youa typical version I make at homewith things that are in my refrigerator.Now, it whips up togetherin less than 10 minutesand that includes the prep time,cutting everything, and cooking it.It is so fast, it is so easy.I often make this for lunch for my kids.They love it and I amhappy when they love it.So let me show you how to make this.I think it's a fried ricethat Uncle Roger may even approve of.So to get started, I'mgonna be cooking the ricein a stainless steel pan.You can cook it in pretty muchany kind of pan you've got.Nonstick, if you have a wok great,if you don't you can still make this.I do recommend a skilletthat has some edges though,because we're gonna bestir frying the riceand we want it to stay in the pan.Fried rice is an excellent wayto use up leftovers like leftover rice.In fact, fried rice tastes betterwhen you use rice that hasbeen cooked and cooled alreadybecause when it's cold, ricehas a really firm texture.It's a lot easier to stirfry, it won't be gummy,and it'll be less likelyto stick to your pan.So, I would say this is aboutthree cups of leftover Thai jasmine rice.Love jasmine rice. It's therice of choice in our house.I'm gonna be including threeeggs in this fried rice.My youngest adores eggsso I have to put eggs in the fried rice.My mom always would put eggsin the fried rice as wellbecause she said that the yellow colorjust made the fried ricelook even more beautiful.Oops, don't put in the shell.And if a piece falls in that's okay.You can just use yourfinger and pull it out.Three eggs.Beat that up just likeyou would scrambled eggs.Jacques Pepin alwayssays to beat your eggsfrom side to side rather than in a circle.He said that acts kinda like a wet mop.Great analogy, right?And then to use your fork like thisto break up any of those egg white bits.Can season that with a little bit of salt.Whenever I salt things, Itend to use kosher salt.I like how it feels in my fingersand it tends to be lesssalty than table salt.So if you're using table salt, use less.I'm gonna preheat my pan andI'm gonna put that on medium.Eggs can be enough for yourfried rice in terms of protein,but I'm gonna go ahead and add some Spam,which I have left overfrom my Spam Oreo burgerthat I made a couple days ago.So, I'm gonna use aboutthree pieces of that.So you can use any protein you like.Here's where the flexibilityof fried rice is so great.I have used lunch meat slices.I've even used pepperoni, bacon,any kind of protein that's tastyand you can cut it up in little bits,feel free to add it to your fried rice.So great and you don't need much.I'm just gonna to cut theseinto little, tiny cubes.I'm gonna add little bit of oil.That's about probably a halfteaspoon of oil, not much.Fry my Spam in there,(pan sizzling)just so it renders some ofthat fat and gets caramelized.It's a great opportunityto raid your freezer.I'm gonna be using some frozen peas.Frozen peas and carrots would be great.Since I don't have them,I'm gonna be using some regular old carrotand cut this too into small pieces.I'm gonna be using this burgerspatula to scrape this up.Next we're gonna need some green onions.Now, I think green onionsare pretty important in fried rice.If you don't have green onions,you can substitute yellow onions,but that onion flavor is delicious.Also the green tops of the green onionsadd a beautiful color.One of my biggest tricksis when I buy a bunch of green onions,I just chop it up all at onetime, put it in a container,and then it's so easy to add it to dishes.I like to put the whites on one sideand the green tops on the other.The white part has a littlebit more oniony flavor.Now I'm gonna add my carrots.These take some time to cook.Now I'm gonna add some of thewhite part of the green onion.I put the meat and the carrots in the bowlthat I'm actually gonnaserve the rice in later.And now if there's not enoughoil, add a little bit more.Now we're gonna scramble the eggs.(pan sizzling)Now, you could've tossedthis with the meat as wellbut I like that the scrambledeggs aren't stuck to the meat.You can see the little individualcomponents of the fried rice.Done.Same pan. Eggy bits, no big deal.Little bit of oil, swirl that around.Now, we're gonna add our cold rice.(pan sizzling)Mash it down so it has somegood contact with the pan.Half teaspoon of salt justsprinkled all over the rice.This is a key component in my opinion,and this is chicken bullion.This is made by Knorr.This adds that nice MSG flavorand some chickeny flavorto your fried rice.I'm gonna add one teaspoon of this.If you don't have this,go ahead and add soy sauceand make the soy sauce version of this.That will also give thatkind of salty complexity.And a quarter teaspoon of sugar as well.So this is the key to me.If you don't have it,you don't need to add it.So one teaspoon.(pan sizzling)I like to taste it at this point.Mm, good for seasoning, perfect.Now it's time to add some pepper.I love using lots of white pepper.My family likes white pepper.If you don't have it, use black pepper.We're gonna put the ingredientswe cooked earlier back in.It looks so colorful.So now I'm gonna add some frozen peas.These don't take any time at all to cook.So that's probably about a half cup.You've got corn, great.You've got broccoli, great.Whatever vegetables your family likes,you add to your fried rice.(sighs) Look, look howbeautiful that is. Beautiful.We're gonna add the greentops of our green onions.And for the final, final touch,I like to add the tiniestlittle bit of sesame oil.This adds a ton of flavor,but be careful not to add too much.My mom says it smells likeskunk and she's not wrong.Maybe a quarter teaspoon.Very potent stuff.And that's it. We are done.(warm music)I like to eat it in a bowl,most often with a squirt of Sriracha.Itadakimasu.(Emmy humming)So delicious, warm, hearty,eggy, little bit of vegetable,a little touch of sesame oil.(Emmy humming)A little pop of Spam in there.Fried rice is the epitome ofadaptation and customization.If you wanna make thisvegan, great, skip the eggs,add more veg, add kimchi,boost up your probiotic load.If you wanna make thiswith cauliflower rice,if you wanna make this with quinoa,you could probably do that too.It wouldn't be technically friedrice, but you get the idea.You have the same kind of concept. Mm-hm.The point is this is way too deliciousand way too easy not to make.So go ahead, do yourself a favor,and make a pot of fried rice.You'll be so happy.Mm-hm, mm-hm.(Emmy grunts)There you have it.Beautiful, delicious friedrice in less than 10 minutes.Five minutes, even, if you skipsome of these other ingredients.I like to add the carrots and the peasbecause I think it makes itso colorful, but you do you.Thanks so much for joining me.I hope you enjoyed that one,I hope you learned something.Please share this video with your friends.Follow me on social media,like this video, subscribe,and I shall see you in the next one.Toodle-oo, take care, bye.(friendly music)Turn this off, turn this off.\n"