Left-over rice – Stir-fried rice

This recipe is how I make a usual midweek meal. Feel free to increase the veggies – and for a super speedy version use frozen diced veggies. If you substantially increase the veggies, reduce the quantity of rice, otherwise there won’t be enough sauce.

Other than the rice, the cooking technique and the sauce, feel free to substitute the other ingredients for whatever you want. That’s the beauty of fried rice – it’s so flexible!

This is a simple way how to add life to a left-over rice turning it into a new meal. Chinese food lovers will like it!

Tips:

1. The key to an authentic tasting fried rice at Chinese restaurants is the Sauce.
2. Fried rice is not meant to be sticky and the only way to achieve that is with cooked rice that’s been refrigerated overnight. Ensure you use day old or at least refrigerator cold freshly cooked rice – this is key! If making this with freshly cooked rice, spread it out on a baking tray then refrigerate until cold. Never throw away cooked rice – keep bags of cooked rice in the freezer.
3. Chinese cooking wine is key. It’s the secret ingredient that makes this into a fried rice that really does taste like what you get in restaurants. You can substitute with dry sherry for Japanese cooking sake. If you can’t consume alcohol, as a last resort, substitute with chicken broth/chicken stock.
4. High heat. Get that wok or skillet stinking hot and cook it hard and fast!
5. Get everything prepared. Once you start cooking, it comes together fast. So have everything lined up and ready to throw into the wok!
6. Keep it moving! Stir fry, stir fry, stir fry! Don’t let your ingredients sit still for a second!
7. Don’t overcrowd. Even in a large home wok, 4 cups of rice is the max. Unless, you are trying to make Stewed Rice.
8. Fried rice uses Chinese Sausage, but bacon is a good substitute. The flavor it adds to the fried rice is very similar.
9. Long grain rice is the authentic rice to use for fried rice. Medium grain will be ok but will be a bit stickier. Short grain rice, risotto, basmati or jasmine rice are not suitable. Brown rice will be ok but will have a nutty flavour from the rice.