蛋炒饭 Egg Fried Rice

This style of fried rice is what you typically find in restaurants in China. Other versions can be found but are not near as common. Soy sauce fried rice, also very very tasty, was the standard version that I saw at restaurants in Taiwan but can also be found in China. This recipe was a request from my husband. He ate tons and tons of egg fried rice in China.

Because I didn't want to post until it was absolutely delicious to me and at the same time it had to get approval from my husband this post took a number of trials and lots of help from some master chefs. At least in Beijing and at the restaurants we went to, I wasn't a huge fan of egg fried rice. I found it super oily and lacking in the robust flavor I was used to in Taiwan.  But after playing around with all the tips and tricks I learned on cooking shows I am totally addicted to egg fried rice. This recipe is the bomb!

Many of the cooking techniques you will learn in this post I learned from watching Chinese Cooking Shows. I actually came across Master Chef China. Super cool for any of you who like competitive cooking shows. In the segment of a Master Chef China that I have linked for you he is making egg yolk fried rice. Looks very interesting! I have yet to try it that way. What is your favorite cooking show?

Mixing the egg into the rice before it is cooked really has a huge impact on the texture of the rice. Also pouring the fried rice over the fried eggs while they are still a little wet, which is the most common way to make egg fried rice in Hong Kong, has a huge impact on the texture of the egg.

I added in bacon but you can also have it with just egg and green onion. You could replace the bacon with shrimp, ham, etc. and add in other vegetables such as peas, carrots and cabbage. Just make sure that all meat and vegetables are precooked before frying the rice. They leek liquid when they are cooking and would steam the rice instead of frying it and that is not what we are going for. What is your favorite version of fried rice? Please share!

Ingredients
2 cups leftover/chilled short grain sticky rice such as Calrose or Jasmine
4 green onions, chopped
6 slices of bacon (optional), cooked and cut into pieces
5 eggs, beaten

Rice Marinade
1 egg
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. rice wine or chicken broth

Crack 1 egg over 2 cups 1-2 day old and chilled rice. Add 1 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper and 1 Tbsp. rice wine.

Mix the egg and other seasonings into the rice with your hand till it is evenly mixed and there are no clumps of rice left.

Pour chopped green onion over top of the rice.

If you are adding bacon add it at this point (the bacon needs to be already cooked and cut into pieces).

Heat a wok over medium- medium high heat. Add 1/4 cup of oil and swirl it around the wok for a few seconds.

Add the rice mixture and spread it out and allow it to fry for about 30 seconds.

Then toss the rice mixture. Repeat the spreading and frying for 30 seconds two more times.

Then stir-fry moving continually until the rice is dry and changes texture. The texture will change to be springy and fluffy. Remove rice from the wok and set aside.

Heat another 1/4 cup oil in the wok over medium high heat. Pour in 5 beaten eggs and don't disturb until it starts to develop bubbles.

Continually run a spoon or spatula through the eggs (slowly!). You are not scrambling them, it is more like bunching up a sheet of silk or making ribbons of egg.

This is what it will look like when you are done. You want to eggs to be almost cooked through but still wet and shiny with a thin layer of uncooked egg.

 Pour the fried rice over the egg and stir it into the egg in a folding and flipping motion.

Continue to do this until the egg pieces are the size you desire them to be. The longer you toss the rice with the egg the more broken up the egg becomes.

This is where I like it. Medium-small size pieces of egg. I want it well blended and balance and at the same time I want to know I am eating egg and be able to feel it's texture in my mouth.

Don't you wish you could pick up that spoon and take a bite? I am craving more so bad!

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