Basic (Chinese Sausage) Fried Rice

Here's a basic recipe for my favorite kind of homemade fried rice.  It's what I grew up on, and is a formula that I've seen countless times in restaurants. My parents used to make a sort of crepe/omelet with the eggs, remove them, dice them, and then return them to the pan, but that's always been so labor-intensive. And I could never get a flat, thin omelet to cut up.  However, in observing how Chinese restaurants cook their food, I started doing it this way.  MUCH more efficient.  ;)

The key for this dish is to ensure everything is ready ahead of time, so all you have to do is add & stir and keep the food moving.  Also, use as high/hot heat as you can stand.  (These kinds of foods especially make me yearn for a professional-type high BTU burner. Like 10,000 BTUs. Hee!)  As with any kind of stir fry, the key to the crispness & flavor is to get it cooked as fast as possible to sear it all in. Basically, you add ingredients, stir, add, stir, etc., until your dish is done. 

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I forgot to capture diced onions & garlic, but they are a part of this.

 Ingredients:
6-8 C cooked, plain sticky rice. (Day-old leftovers work best)
2 C Chinese sausage, diced
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 C peas (frozen are OK)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, diced
1/4 soy sauce (can use reduced-sodium)
3 Tbsp sesame or canola oil

This is Chinese sausage, diced.

Directions:
In a wok or high-sided skillet, heat pan on high and add oil. Add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes, then add garlic. 

When onion has just started to become translucent, add Chinese sausage and continue to stir quickly. Then add the eggs, making sure to vigorously stir so that scrambled eggs don't clump too much and are broken up into small pieces. Once eggs are no longer runny, add peas.

Stir for another 3-4 minutes, then add rice. Drizzle soy sauce over rice, distributing as evenly as possible.  Fold rice over and over to incorporate the rest of the ingredients and to ensure even coverage of soy sauce. If there are any big clumps of rice left, this is the time to break them up so they can get covered, too. Continue to stir for another 5-7 minutes, or until fried rice is well incorporated.

Fried rice can be served as a side or as a main course.

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GBAdams
10/29/2011