Simple Fried Rice

Ingredients

Jasmine rice

Green onion

Eggs

Oil or butter

Other mix-ins

Directions

The Nicest Rice for Frying

1. Rinse and drain well

It’s important to rid the raw grains of surface starch so that the cooked rice isn’t too sticky and readily breaks apart into individual grains as you stir-fry it.

2. Cook in advance Fried rice is best made with day-old rice.The starch molecules in cooked rice crystallize (or retrograde) during chilling, and the hard, dry clumps of rice separate easily into individual grains that can be thoroughly coated in the flavorful seasoned oil. When stir-fried, these grains will turn pleasantly tender-firm—but not mushy.

3. Temper; then stir‑fry

If you’re working with fridge-cold rice, let it sit at room temperature while you prep the other ingredients so that the clumps soften and become easier to break apart during cooking. Alternatively, microwave it at 50 percent power for 2 minutes.

Smoking-Hot Scrambled Eggs

Pockets of fluffy scrambled eggs are a fried-rice staple, and the key to their texture is to cook them hot and fast. Poured into oil that’s just beginning to smoke (not merely shimmering), the eggs puff as their water rapidly turns to steam and their proteins set. In less than a minute, they’re tender enough to break apart easily but still hold their shape as you toss them in the rice.

Seasoned with Scallions

Jasmine has always been my default rice, and it’s especially worth using in a stripped-down stir-fry such as this, where its delicate fragrance can stand out. As with any type of fried rice, day-old stuff is best. The dry, clumpy grains can be pushed around the high, sloped sides of the wok without turning mushy, and after a few minutes the stove’s heat restores just enough of their tenderness to make them pleasantly firm.

The more nuanced work of making simple fried rice is seasoning it, and the magic of scallion-infused oil can’t be overstated. When you slice and toast the white part of the stalk in neutral oil and then toss the rice in it to coat, the grassy, fatty-tasting hot oil saturates each grain with beguilingly pervasive savoriness. Paired with ample salt and pepper, the effect is quiet but deliberate—and so tasty.

In the Mix

While stir-frying and seasoning the rice, I press down on the clumps with a spatula to break them up so that they separate into fluffy, distinct grains that easily merge with the mix-ins, and I aim for a ratio of roughly 1 part chopped proteins and vegetables to 2½ parts rice so that the finished product is appropriately grain-heavy. Sometimes it’s a fridge clean-out: cubed roast chicken, a handful of bean sprouts, punchy bits of ya cai (fermented Sichuan mustard greens), lacy shreds of napa cabbage. But when I plan for it, I tend to go for a combination of ham, carrots, peas, and egg. There’s virtually no prep work, and in between the tender chew of the grains of rice are smoky, meaty morsels of ham; sweet pops of vegetables; and—when I scramble them hot and fast—gently puffed egg curds. (For more information, see “Smoking-Hot Scrambled Eggs.”)

The only real strategy is to add the ingredients based on how much cooking they need. Eggs always go first, since they should be fully set. When wisps of smoke rise from the pan, I pour in the sunny whisked liquid and gently pile the puffed curds atop each other while allowing the still-runny egg to spill across the wok and cook. After shuttling them onto a plate to cool, I stir-fry dense produce such as carrots or broccoli until they’re mostly tender, followed by precooked proteins such as ham and naturally tender items such as peppers or snap peas. Those items get moved to a plate while the oil is seasoned and the rice stir-fried, and then I stir the precooked proteins and vegetables into the hot rice along with peas and anything else that just needs to warm through. Raw sliced scallion greens are added at the end, bringing bursts of sharp, oniony bite—the flip side of that subtle yet unmistakable allium savoriness that glossed the grains.

Notes

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/4232-a-love-letter-to-simple-fried-rice