the thin chef

Fried rice is comfort food at its best—carbs, fat, and salt. I’ve eaten and loved it since I can remember. When I was little, there was Jum-Bo, our go-to Chinese takeout place. Their pork fried rice is among the best I’ve ever tasted…and even though I haven’t had it in years, I still remember that perfect balance of salty-greasy-chewy-sweet of the pork and rice.

When I was in high school, there was Miss Le, a lovely Vietnamese lady and a teacher at my brother’s elementary school. To thank my parents for helping out at the school, she lovingly made us dinner several times. Each of those dinners included a heaping plateful of fragrant Vietnamese fried rice. Different from the Chinese version, hers was softer, and flavored with fish sauce and rice vinegar. A memorable and truly special treat.

In college, there was Steamers, a tiny shack of a place that served sloppy joe sandwiches on onion bread, spicy coconut curry, and cheesesteaks. Oh, and fried rice. Huge, overflowing plates of freshly made fried rice. The cooks sweat over bright, hot orange flames that lick the bottoms of the perfectly seasoned woks. Not particularly Asian, the rice includes veggies, eggs, and meat, and is simply seasoned with salt, pepper, and the burnished copper-hued seasoning of the well-loved wok. That’s it, and it’s wonderful.

Is your mouth watering yet?

My version swaps brown rice for white, and isn’t too heavy on the oil. The trick is to cook everything separately and to use day-old rice. You can cheat by making the rice about 3 hours in advance, spreading it out on a cookie sheet, and refrigerating it.

I always add in some locally grown broccoli when it’s in season for the sake of having something green…and because it’s delicious. You can use your favorite veggie—baby bok choy and mustard greens both make tasty (and healthful) additions.

Shrimp and Pork Fried Rice
Serves 2 big appetites as a main dish, with leftovers

5 to 6 teaspoons peanut oil, divided
1 small head broccoli (about the size of a man’s fist), cut into tiny pieces
1/2 medium or 1 small yellow onion, diced
2 eggs, whisked
1/4 pound lean pork (tenderloin or boneless center-cut chops work well), cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 cups brown rice, cooked, cooled, and refrigerated for at least 6 hours
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Heat a large wok or skillet over almost-high heat. (*See note, below.) Add 1 teaspoon of oil, and heat until it shimmers. Add broccoli and onion; toss in oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender but still slightly crisp. Remove from skillet onto a plate, and set aside.

Return pan to heat, and add 1 teaspoon oil. Heat until it shimmers, then add eggs. Cook eggs until firm, breaking into bite-size pieces. Transfer to plate with veggies. Wipe pan carefully with a paper towel to remove any egg remnants.

Return pan to heat. Add another teaspoon or 2 of oil; add pork in a single layer. Don’t stir for at least 1 minute, to get a nice sear on the meat. Cook until mostly cooked through, then transfer to plate with eggs and veggies. Repeat process with shrimp, keeping in mind that shrimp cooks very quickly, and will cook further when tossed with the rice.Ttransfer cooked shrimp to the plate with everything else.

Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan. Add rice, in a single layer, and let cook without stirring for about 2 minutes. Toss rice, and continue cooking for another few minutes until rice is coated in oil and golden in color. Add veggies, eggs, pork, and shrimp, tossing to combine. Drizzle with soy sauce and sesame oil, tossing to coat. Taste, and add salt or additional soy, if desired. Serve immediately.

*I put my stove on an 8 out of 10. You know your stove best, so adjust accordingly—you want the pan nice and hot, but you also want to give food a chance to cook through without burning.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 12:58 pm and is filed under Asian, basic techniques, comfort food, pork, seafood, vegetables, whole grain. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.