Fried Rice

by abbamoses

This is so simple it could hardly be called a recipe, but it’s tasty. We eat it often. The only caveat: do not use freshly-cooked rice; day-old rice works much better. In Chinese households, this is a standard way to use leftover rice.

Brown rice and white rice work equally well, since they’re already cooked. No quantities are given for the rice or vegetables: they don’t matter. Use what you have, or what will fit comfortably in the pan.

In a large frying pan, heat up some sliced garlic, some sliced ginger, some chopped onion, and a generous pinch of red pepper flakes in several Tablespoons of oil (we add some sesame oil for flavor). Fry the mixture at medium heat until the garlic has just begun to turn brown. If you want a blander or quicker dish, you can skip this step and just heat some oil in the pan.

Turn up the heat (to fairly high) and add chopped vegetables: broccoli, chopped carrots, chopped cabbage, peas, whatever. You may want to use pre-cooked vegetables if you’re adding something that won’t cook in a few minutes.

Add cooked rice. Drizzle some soy sauce over the mixture. While it’s cooking, stir well so the rice gets lightly coated with oil. Keep cooking and stirring till the rice shows some signs of browning.

Serve.