Hi Everyone,
Let me start with a cliché – with apologies to all English teachers the world over – “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” The other day I heard that there is still a stigma attached to buying Egg Fried Rice. A friend told me that there are still people who look down on Egg Fried Rice as “poor people food”. To purchase Egg Fried Rice still means that you are too poor to buy one of the meat or seafood versions of fried rice. I remember that people used to feel that same way when I was young. Madness! I am here to tell you that Egg Fried Rice is good food whether you are poor, rich or anywhere in between.
Now, I admit, I didn’t buy Egg Fried Rice from the restaurant when I was young. But that wasn’t because of any sort of food snobbery. The reason I never bought Egg Fried Rice was because it was one of those things that I could easily make at home; now the Chicken Fried Rice on the other hand or the Roast Pork Fried Rice were different. Creating that chicken in a home kitchen is tricky, as part of the cooking requires bathing the chicken in hot oil. The pork, well you’d have to marinate it for a long time and then roast it and let’s be honest, in both cases you have to make large quantities. Now with Egg Fried Rice, there is no big set of work nor any long meat prep, all you have to do is beat a couple of eggs.
So because it is so quick and so tasty, Egg Fried Rice is now one of my go-to staples at home. I’ve served it to lacto-ovo vegetarians (these are vegetarians who eat eggs and dairy products) and meat lovers alike and the response has always been, “This is so simple and so tasty.” Everyone I’ve made it for asks for the recipe and they’re always surprised by the simplicity of the dish.
Six ingredients are all you need (I am not counting the oil and salt as among the ingredients). A 7th ingredient can be toasted sesame oil but really, only use it if, like me, you always have it around.
This recipe is all about impromptu cooking and using leftover rice. The eggs can be cooked and presented two ways as shown in the photographs. You can either scramble the eggs or cook them in a single layer and immediately roll it up like a cigar while still hot to keep its shape and then slice and assemble around the rice.
Here goes.
Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
2 eggs, room temperature
2 – 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Minced hot pepper to taste
½ cup thinly sliced green onions (white and green parts)
3 cups cooked rice
Salt to taste
Directions
1. Crack eggs into a bowl and beat well but not until frothy. Add a pinch of salt.
2. Take a little oil and lightly coat the bottom of a non-stick pan. Add the eggs to the cold pan and place on medium heat. As soon as the eggs start to cook, reduce the heat to low and keep moving it around with a fork making scrambled eggs. Remove the eggs from the pan and chop up and set aside.
3. If you do not want your eggs scrambled, as soon as they start to cook at the edges, lift the pan by the handle and swirl it around while still holding the pan over the heat until the eggs are in one thin layer around the pan. Return the pan to the direct heat and reduce the heat to low, cover the pan to steam and cook the top of the eggs. This should take about 30 – 45 seconds. Slide the eggs out of the pan onto a clean work surface and roll tightly from one end to the other to make a cigar. Careful, the egg will be hot, let it cool a little if you like but you must roll it while it is still somewhat hot so that it can keep its shape. If you do it when it is cold, it will unravel. Set aside.
Add the remaining oil to a pan such as a karahi, wok or the same frying pan in which you cooked the eggs. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot.
Toss in ginger, garlic and hot pepper and sauté for 1 minute.
Add rice and salt to taste and toss to mix with ginger, garlic and pepper. Let cook until rice is heated through – about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add green onions and toss to mix, if using scrambled eggs add in at this stage as well.
Once the rice has been heated through and is hot, remove the fried rice from the heat and serve immediately. If using the rolled up omelette, cut into quarter inch pieces and arrange around rice before serving.
Enjoy!
Cynthia
