Carefree Cooking

I thought I had a post of a fried rice dish, but I can't seem to find it in my previous postings. So here is one for my loyal carefree cooking readers. I've been cooking different types of fried rice for a while, but I like this one the best.

The basis of this fried rice is based on a classic fried rice recipe (which I got from one of Ming Tsai's book). The main ingredients are pretty standard, and you can just add any other ingredients you like (leftover meat/vegetables are perfect for this). This is one good way to clean your fridge, and enjoy a good meal while you're at it.

Here are the main ingredients:

• Day old rice (newly cooked rice would work as well, but need to freeze it for a while to make the rice kernels firm)


• A couple eggs, beaten


• Chinese sausage or any salty ham (optional), sliced


• A few cloves of garlic (more if you're into it), minced


• 2-3 green onion, chopped


• cup of frozen vegetables - thawed (e.g. peas, carrots, corn, etc) (optional)


• A tbsp of minced ginger


• 2-3 tbsp Soy sauce


• Salt


• Pepper

Whenever I cook fried rice, I always start with the eggs. I use a non stick pan to cook fried rice because a) easier to clean and b) I don't have a wok. I start of with putting enough olive oil on the pan (just enough to coat the pan). Pour the beaten eggs and cook scambled style. It should only take half a minute to cook it. Transfer the egg into a separate container. Add some more oil on the pan and add the chinese sausage. After a minute or so (the chinese sausage will brown a little), add the minced garlic, ginger, and half the green onion. Adding the garlic at a later time will prevent it from getting burnt. Break up the day old rice and drop them in the pan. Break any clumps and cook for another minute or so. Add the soy sauce to give it a darker color (but not too dark) and add the salt and pepper to taste. When i first did this, I added more soy sauce and added less salt. The color of the friend rice was very dark and didn't look appetizing. So i've held back on the soy sauce and added more salt instead. Add the cooked eggs, thawed vegetables, and any other leftover food you have, and cook until everything is heated thoroughly. Remember to taste as you go to make sure that it's just right to your liking. Garnish with the left over chopped green onion.

It may seem like a complicated dish, but believe me, it's one of the simplest dishes you can make after you've tried it once. This is the best dish to expand your culinary mind as I don't think you can mess it up (unless you put too much salt/soy sauce). The only rule of thumb I follow with everything I cook is to only add ingredients you like. Enjoy!