Fried rice video from Kenji

[marilynfl]

kenji fried rice - Google Search

Today I took a LONG circuitous route to get my car's software updated and pick up medical records from a former doctor. The reason I drove to the far-away doctor and didn't just have them fax my records was because there is a very good Thai restaurant 1 mile away from the doc's office. I used to lunch there each time I had an appointment and possibly might be the reason I kept going to that doctor when there were others much closer. Who knows.

Anyway, I ordered two dishes "to go" as dinner for several days since I haven't had good Asian food in forever. I selected chicken pad thai and ginger beef but really wanted drunken noodles. For some reason I thought beef was supposed to be ground in that dish and they said it wasn't...it was sliced. So I went with a ginger beef dish.

I should have listened to my first instincts. While the pad thai was wonderful, the ginger beef was beyond boring. It was so boring I realized I could have made a better dish...maybe a fried rice dish?

So here I am, looking for good fried rice recipes with a lot of flavor. Kenji's isn't that...it's a very basic recipe with minimal ingredients, but what I loved was learning three important things:

1. Minimize the first swipe of oil to get the pan smoking hot. That way it won't splatter.
2. Use a butane torch (which I have for creme brulee) to give the rice a burnt smoky taste--like restaurant versions with their woks set to a bazillion degrees.
3. Pour the soy sauce around the edge of the wok-rather than over the rice-- to give it a smoky taste before incorporating it into the dish.

Also, you get to see Kenji's bare feet as this is a home-grown video--definitely not studio produced.

By the way, I decided to make my own improvements. I sliced up all the beef and vegetables into fried rice portions, then drained off the watery boring liquid. Put that into a small non-stick frying pan, added a blob of sesame teriyaki sauce, a blob of hoisin sauce, a bit of Chinese chili garlic sauce and a bit of Thai red chili paste. Then when it had reduced by about a third, I finished it off with a splash of Shao Hsing Rice wine (not rice wine vinegar). The taste was...very good. Tomorrow I'll try Kenji's wok methods for the cold rice that came with the dish and add my own sauce, frozen peas, more fresh ginger and egg.

I have to believe it will be better than what I got today.

 

[heather_in_sf]

Here’s my fried rice recipe, a friend who is an amazing Chinese and Korean cook said it was excellent, so there’s that.

3 cups rice, raw, cooked in the rice cooker with 4 large slices of ginger - then chilled
1 carrot, diced small
1 rib celery, diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 large green onions, sliced, white and green part separated
1/4 head cabbage, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (about 1/2 a grocery store box)
1 cup diced meat
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, minced
4 T oil + 1 tsp sesame oil

Sauce:
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tap sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbl fish sauce
1 Tbl mirin
1/4 tsp gochujang

Heat the work and add the oils, and stirfry the ginger, garlic, and white part of green onions until soft. Add yellow onion, carrot, celery, and mushroom, and stirfry until the carrot is almost tender. Add cabbage, and meats, and toss until cabbage is wilted. Add the sauce, and toss well, then add the rice. Toss until everything is incorporated and cook for another five minutes, then add green onion green part, toast to incorporate. Serve with chili crisp on the side.

For the meats, I use sliced Chinese sausage, Spam that I cube and brown in the wok first, then add teriyaki sauce or some sambal.Then wipe out the wok for the fried rice. Sometimes I have barbecue pork or duck from the local dim sum shop.

 

[marilynfl]

Here’s my fried rice recipe, a friend who is an amazing Chinese and Korean cook said it was excellent, so there’s that.

3 cups rice, raw, cooked in the rice cooker with 4 large slices of ginger - then chilled
1 carrot, diced small
1 rib celery, diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 large green onions, sliced, white and green part separated
1/4 head cabbage, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (about 1/2 a grocery store box)
1 cup diced meat
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, minced
4 T oil + 1 tsp sesame oil

Sauce:
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tap sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbl fish sauce
1 Tbl mirin
1/4 tsp gochujang

Heat the work and add the oils, and stirfry the ginger, garlic, and white part of green onions until soft. Add yellow onion, carrot, celery, and mushroom, and stirfry until the carrot is almost tender. Add cabbage, and meats, and toss until cabbage is wilted. Add the sauce, and toss well, then add the rice. Toss until everything is incorporated and cook for another five minutes, then add green onion green part, toast to incorporate. Serve with chili crisp on the side.

For the meats, I use sliced Chinese sausage, Spam that I cube and brown in the wok first, then add teriyaki sauce or some sambal.Then wipe out the wok for the fried rice. Sometimes I have barbecue pork or duck from the local dim sum shop.

Heather!! How lovely to see you!! Hope you are doing well and thanks for the recipe!

 

[heather_in_sf]

Nice to still see familiar friends here, I’ve been going through a rough patch but am slowly emerging. I came to find Steve2’s sweet potato biscuit recipe as I misplaced my copy, what a relief to find it here

 

[marilynfl]

You can thank our intrepid leader Paul, the Swap's Noah.

 

[marilynfl]

Well, Kenji's hacks helped make a great fried rice. I saved half of the meat/veggie portion from the restaurant to try Heather's sauce, then used the other half along with more fresh ginger, fresh garlic, frozen peas and a scrambled egg for this dish. I had already made adjustments to their insipid watery sauce and drizzled that around the edge of the wok as he suggested.

Another one of Kenji's hacks was to add a spoonful of cornstarch to the cold rice to keep it from sticking. I did that as well as the three steps I listed above. I could really taste the smokiness he mentioned after using the butane torch.

Fried Rice Craving?

 

[deb-in-mi]

Here’s my fried rice recipe, a friend who is an amazing Chinese and Korean cook said it was excellent, so there’s that.

3 cups rice, raw, cooked in the rice cooker with 4 large slices of ginger - then chilled
1 carrot, diced small
1 rib celery, diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 large green onions, sliced, white and green part separated
1/4 head cabbage, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (about 1/2 a grocery store box)
1 cup diced meat
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, minced
4 T oil + 1 tsp sesame oil

Sauce:
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tap sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbl fish sauce
1 Tbl mirin
1/4 tsp gochujang

Heat the work and add the oils, and stirfry the ginger, garlic, and white part of green onions until soft. Add yellow onion, carrot, celery, and mushroom, and stirfry until the carrot is almost tender. Add cabbage, and meats, and toss until cabbage is wilted. Add the sauce, and toss well, then add the rice. Toss until everything is incorporated and cook for another five minutes, then add green onion green part, toast to incorporate. Serve with chili crisp on the side.

For the meats, I use sliced Chinese sausage, Spam that I cube and brown in the wok first, then add teriyaki sauce or some sambal.Then wipe out the wok for the fried rice. Sometimes I have barbecue pork or duck from the local dim sum shop.

Hi Heather! So nice to see you again!!!