Basic Fried Rice

When I lived in Brookline (just outside of Boston), I was fortunate to live near some excellent Asian eateries. This is when I learned that fried rice done properly should be a fresh, well-balanced meal rather than a dark, greasy side dish. However, I always assumed that fried rice was either too complicated to make at home or too fried to handle on a regular stove or...something.

Then I discovered this extremely helpful step-by-step guide to making fried rice on digsmagazine.com, which sadly appears to be on a long hiatus. I was surprised to learn how easy this is - if you had sufficient knife skills (which I do not), you could probably pound this out in 15 minutes of work time.

This is a great middle-of-the-week dinner and an excellent use of leftover rice. Now I try to include it in a week's plan of cooking - make extra rice with one meal, make fried rice later in the week. This is my basic recipe, but fried rice is really just stirfy, and similarly it's more about the method and the specific ingredients, flavors, and proportions are extremely fluid. As a note, I have only tried making this in a wok. I'm sure you could make this in a large skillet, but a wok is a lot easier and a lot less messy.

Basic Fried Rice

1/2 lb. boneless pork chop, sliced into bite-size pieces

1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. soy sauce

peanut oil for cooking

3 large garlic cloves, pressed

4 to 5 scallions, sliced into 1/4" to 1/2" diagonal pieces, including greens as desired

3 to 4 cups precooked rice

2 cups of minced vegetables - carrots, bell pepper, broccoli stalk, frozen peas (whole), etc.

2 or 3 eggs

sesame oil

soy sauce

teriyaki sauce

salt

pepper

sesame seeds

- Marinate pork chop pieces in cornstarch and soy sauce for about 20 minutes.

- Start chopping and prepping other ingredients in the meantime. Take out frozen peas if you're using them so they have some time to thaw.

- Heat about 1 tbsp. of peanut oil in a medium-hot wok, then add pork.

- Stirfry pork until cooked through (ok if it's just a little undercooked because the pork will sit for a bit and will cook a little more with the rice later on).

- Wipe extra food off the wok with a paper towel (carefully! it's still hot!).

- Heat another 1 to 2 tbsps. of peanut oil in a low-medium heat wok.

- Add the garlic and scallions and stirfry for about 30 seconds until aromatic.

- Add raw veggies and stir-fry for a few minutes until they start to become tender (but not cooked through).

- Add rice and mix everything together for a few minutes until everything is warmed through. You might need to turn the heat up just a little bit.

- Push the rice mixture to the sides and create a well in the center. Add just a little bit of peanut oil in the well. Beat the eggs together and pour into the well. Let the eggs cook until the bottom starts to solidify. Start to break eggs up and scramble as they cook through. Once the egg is completely dry, stir and combine into the rice mixture.

- Add cooked pork and frozen peas and stir together. Cook another few minutes until everything is heated through.

- Turn heat down and season primarily with sesame oil, salt, and pepper. I do also use soy sauce and a little teriyaki sauce (I know, inauthentic, but tasty!), but I try not to rely too heavily on them. I sometimes sprinkle in sesame seeds as well. Continue flavoring to taste.

- Best consumed with mai tais!