Fried Rice

I don't normally follow a recipe when I'm making fried rice. Usually, it's a way to use up a bunch of leftovers in the fridge. However, I figured I could at least give some guidelines for making it in case our college students have a desire to do so someday. Besides, I came across a delicious "Fried Rice Sauce" that I want to be able to find again.

So, what I do first depends on what leftovers I'm trying to use up. If everything's already cooked, then I start by heating some butter or oil in the frying pan and cooking the rice. (Using cold, cooked rice gets much better results than using freshly cooked, warm rice.) Then I add in whatever chopped meat and vegetables and sprinkle it with some soy sauce. The last step is to push everything to the outer edge of the pan, add a bit more butter, and then cook some beaten egg in the center. I pour it in, let it set, flip it once, and then stir everything up.

If something's not cooked, then cooking it is the first step, using the same pan to which I'll eventually add the rice and everything else. Sautéing some fresh ginger and garlic in the oil first adds a nice touch and makes the kitchen smell great.

Now, this is the way my mom made it, and I like it just fine. However, it's too dry for some members of my family now and they always want to add teriyaki sauce to it. Since I don't always have teriyaki sauce available, when this was on the menu last week, I decided I should look for some ideas to spice it up a bit. And I was successful!

I followed the regular routine, but instead of sprinkling the mixture with soy sauce, I used this combination of ingredients. The end result was delicious, and we'll definitely be serving it this way again. In addition, the original plan was to take some ham from the freezer to put in this dish, but when I went to do that I saw a small bag of shrimp. Let's just say that shrimp is MUCH better than ham in fried rice. And you'll notice that the picture is taken when we tried it with chicken.

Fried Rice Sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
dash of pepper
dash of sugar

Combine all ingredients and stir to mix well.
This was enough for 3-4 cups of fried rice.