Fried Rice

I know you don't need a recipe for fried rice, but the recipe was like a reset button after too many mediocre attempts. I made the rice the night before following Jamie Oliver's recipe for rice, and it was perfect. If you already make perfect rice, that's' fine - I suck at making rice so this was really helpful.


For the rice - day before

Jamie Oliver's Light and Fluffy Rice
Put a large pan of salted water on a high heat and bring to the boil (no specific amount of water, or
rice!).

Rinse the rice in a colander under running water for about 1 minute, or until the water runs clear (this will stop the grains sticking together later).

Add your rice to the boiling water and wait for the grains to start dancing around. From that point, boil for 5 minutes

Drain the rice in a colander. Pour 2.5cm of water into the pan, put it back on the heat and bring it to the boil again, then turn down to a simmer.

Cover the rice in the colander with foil or a lid. Place the colander on top of the pan of simmering water and let the rice steam over it for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and if you’re ready, serve immediately. If not, leave the foil or lid on and put aside until ready to serve – it should stay warm for about 20 minutes.

Next, the Fried Rice
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12177-fried-rice

3 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped (I didn't use this much onion but also used some green onions)
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, cored and roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic, or to taste
1 cup peas (it says defrost if frozen, mine were frozen and I didn't bother defrosting them)
*I also had some snap peas, and celery
1 tablespoon minced ginger, or to taste
3 to 4 cups cooked white rice, cooled
2 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup Shaoxing wine, or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil (I did not use this much)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup minced cilantro or scallions, to serve - optional
(I also added a few dashes of fish sauce at the same time as the soy)
 Hot Pepper flakes

Put 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or a large skillet, and turn heat to high. When it begins to shimmer, add onion, pepper and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove vegetables to a bowl.

Drain peas if necessary, and add them to skillet; cook, shaking pan, for about a minute, or until hot. Remove them to the bowl. I wouldn't bother with that step

Put remaining oil in the skillet, followed by garlic and ginger. When the mixture is fragrant, about 15 seconds later, add the rice, breaking up clumps with a spoon as you go along and tossing it with oil. When the rice is well coated, make a well in the center and break the eggs into it. Scramble these, then stir into the rice (I started stirring them into the rice right away because I didn't want any obvious egg clumps, I like the results better this way).

Return vegetables to the skillet and stir to integrate. Add wine or water and cook, stirring, for approximately 1 minute (I didn't have any wine, and didn't feel any water was necessary so I skipped this step). Add soy sauce and sesame oil, then taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Turn off heat, stir in the cilantro and serve.