Stop Overthinking Fried Rice

This video uses the traditional steaming method to prepare fried rice, albeit using a little 'hack' that we thought up to easily port the method to a western kitchen.

0:00 - Preparing the Rice
0:38 - The Par-boil and Steam Method
2:45 - Frying up Osmanthus Egg (optional)
3:27 - Frying Rice
4:22 - Why do people tell you to use day old rice?

TO STEAM THE RICE

Rinse 230g (~1 metric cup) of Jasmine or any other medium grain rice (e.g. Calrose). Par boil for three minutes. Drain, keeping in a strainer. Rinse your pot and add in two inches of water, and get that up to a boil.

Spread the rice evenly on the strainer, and poke a couple holes in the rice. Place the strainer on the bubbling pot. Cover, wrapping the lid with a damp towel (foil is also ok). Steam for 15 minutes.

Transfer to a plate.

SIMPLE EGG AND SCALLION FRIED RICE

Add ins: Egg, ~2, beaten; Scallion, ~40g
Seasoning for the egg: salt, 1/8 tsp; sugar, 1/8 tsp
Soy sauce, ~2 tsp
Seasoning for the rice: salt, ½ tsp; sugar, 1 tsp; white pepper, ¼ tsp; MSG, ¼ tsp
Lard/oil for frying: 1 tbsp for the egg, 1.5 tbsp for the rice

Add the seasoning to the egg and beat well. Slice the scallions.

If going for osmanthus egg, over a medium low flame add the egg in a thin stream while stirring constantly. Continue to ‘smush’ it against your pan/wok for ~3-4 minutes until the egg is set and quite broken up. Alternatively, just scramble the egg. Either way, scooch to the side.

Add the remaining lard/oil, mix with the rice. Once combined, mix everything together. Fry for about ~1 minute, then add in the soy sauce. Fry for another minute. Add in the seasoning, and mix well. Add in the scallions, heat off.

PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE

Add ins: Pineapple, ~1/2 cup; Egg, ~1, beaten; spam, ~150g; scallion, ~2 sprigs

Dice the pineapple and the spam. Season the egg with a sprinkle of salt and sugar. Slice the scallions. Fry the egg, followed by the rice. Add in the spam and the seasoning. Fry those together for ~30 seconds, then add in the pineapple chunks. Shut off the heat, add in the scallions, mix. Optionally serve in a cored pineapple topped with pork floss.

SHACHA BEEF FRIED RICE

Add ins: Beef loin, 200g, marinated (see marinade below); garlic, 3 cloves; ginger, ~1cm; Teochew Shacha sauce (沙茶酱), 4 tsp

Marinade for the beef: salt, 1/2 tsp; sugar, 1 tsp; cornstarch, 1 tsp; soy sauce, 1/2 tsp; liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp; oyster sauce, 1 tsp; oil to coat, 1 tsp

Finely dice the beef (or just use ground beef, also ok), mix it with the marinade. Mince the garlic and the ginger. Fry the beef, scooch to the side. Fry the aromatics until fragrant, then add in the Shacha sauce. Fry for ~30 seconds. Add in the rice, and after quick coat with the oil, combine everything and fry for ~2 minutes. Add in the seasoning and give it a quick fry.

WESTERN FRIED RICE

Add ins: Onion, ½; Ketchup, 5 tbsp; Hotdog or Spam, ~75g; Char Siu BBQ Pork or Honey Ham, ~75g; Tomato, ½; Red Bell Pepper, ½

Finely mince the onion. Dice the hot dog, Char Siu, tomato, and red bell pepper.

Fry the onion until translucent, then add in the ketchup. Fry for ~3 minutes until the oil separates from the ketchup. Add the hot dog and the Char Siu, fry for ~30 seconds. Optionally hit with ~1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine, add in the rice. Fry everything together for ~2 minutes. Optionally season with a teaspoon of soy sauce, and add in the seasoning. Add the tomato and bell bepper, ~15 second fry.

GUIZHOU-ISH GUAILU FRIED RICE

Add ins: Hunan Chopped Chilis or Lao Gan Ma Pickled Chili, 1 tbsp; Garlic, 3 Cloves; Ginger, 1 inch; Scallion, ~2 sprigs, white and green parts separated; Bacon, 2-3 slices; Suancai fermented cabbage or Kimchi, 15g; Canned Kidney Beans, ~1/4 cup; Cilantro, ~2 sprigs
Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tbsp
Soy Sauce, 1 tsp
Seasoning: salt, 1/8 tsp; sugar, ½ tsp; MSG, ¼ tsp; dark Chinese vinegar, 2 tsp

In a mortar, pound together the chopped chili together with the garlic, ginger, and white part of the scallion. Cut the bacon into ~1 inch strips. Rinse the slime off the kidney beans. Mince the fermented vegetable. Slice the cilantro and scallion greens.

In a bit of oil or lard, fry the bacon until it renders out all of the grease. Remove, set aside. Add in the pounded chili paste mixture, fry for ~3-5 minutes until the oil’s obviously clear again. Add in the fermented vegetable and beans. Quick fry, add in the rice. Fry for ~2 minutes, then swirl in the soy sauces. Fry for another minute until incorporated. Add in the seasoning, mix, add in the scallion greens and cilantro.

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Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ

[ChineseCookingDemystified]

Hey guys, a few notes:

1. IMPORTANT CORRECTION: Jasmine rice is apparently categorized as a long grain rice, not medium grain. I'd always thought of it as 'medium', as it behaves quite differently to other long grain rices like Basmati, and much closer to something like Calrose (which *is* a medium grain). While this might feel like a small mix-up, that quick suggestion of "or any medium grain rice" MIGHT lead to issues, as apparently risotto rices are also technically categorized as 'medium'... and would unequivocally *not* work, as those are unpolished rices. What I can tell you with confidence is that both Jasmine rice and Calrose rice will work for this method :)

2. I know that this is our… nth video on Fried Rice. Apologies, we just wanted to have a good 101 sort of video out there that (1) used the steaming method together *with* (2) our ‘made for the western kitchen’ strainer hack. Something I could send people on /r/askculinary or whatnot if they’re struggling with fried rice. Previously, the strainer thing was sort of hidden inside of our Western Fried Rice video, which was a fun one but not really the best introduction to the technique.



5. One of the nice things about using steamed rice over leftover rice is just how quickly everything comes together. With leftover rice, you really need to work to break up the clumps (I know some people ‘pre-break-up’ the rice, but we find that really runs the risk of breaking the grains themselves).

6. Quick heads up, I might have been slightly guilty of doing the ‘recipe writer underestimates timing’ thing with the 30 minutes. If you’re firing on all cylinders, efficiently moving from one step to the next… it could be done in 30 minutes. In the real world where you’re making a couple other dishes, listening to music, having a couple beers? Timed myself the other day - probably more like 40-45.

7. Oh, I know I might've triggered some people dumping the rice boiling water down the drain haha. In some places in China (Sichuan for sure, but elsewhere too I think?), people will keep the water, season it, and drink it as a soup... which's called 米汤. Alternatively, if you have plants, rice boiling water is *fantastic* to water plants with (let it cool down first of course!). I just wanted to keep this video as tight as possible, and we ended up cutting out a small aside on the topic.

The next video - an intense primer on seitan making, including a couple different recipes - is still in the works (cutting it tomorrow). Just sort of wanted to get this one off our chests first :)

[haileybalmer]

Okay. I just tried this. I have thoughts.

1) It works really well
2) It's delicious
3) Clean up was easy

Yep, I'm gonna keep doing this.

[milotheviewer]

It’s really funny how I went to my local supermarket to find msg, only to get frustrated walking up and down the aisle until I saw a white powder in a shaker labeled “accent: flavor enhancer.” I thought “hmm, MSG was demonized for a while in the US, so maybe it’s marketing” and lo and behold, the ingredients listed one thing: monosodium glutamate. I was both bewildered and pleasantly surprised at my discovery.

[fajarsetiawan]

What I truly love about this channel is the attention on the mindset of a home cook and simple things that may not be a problem in commercial cookery but present in homecookery. And this video is one of the great example. Thank you.

p.s. that egg basket is SUPER FREAKING

[ninnusridhar]

I completely agree with this philosophy for cooking. A lot of internet chefs and "critics" get too into the restaurant side of food and ignore that 99.6% of people cooking that dish are not going to be using restaurant grade equipment. We dont have a jet engine wok burner or a tandoor in our homes. We cook with what we have, and it's freaking delicious.
Don't overcomplicate simple food lol

[michelhv]

This is the gift that keeps on giving. I had never tried the parboil-steam method, and it's amazing how cleanly the grains separate and retain their chewiness. I just made this, and it was a case of "wow" at every bite, mainly because the texture was so well balanced. It was like chewing a pillow, in a good way. I followed the same seasoning as the recipe, and it was also a revelation. Most cheap restaurant fried rices tend to be heavy soy sauce affairs, but this is so much more delicate. Like other very simple dishes (omelette, pasta, etc), it's amazing when a few simple ingredients come together and work perfectly.

[bryan]

I rarely comment on YouTube videos, but I have to say: I followed your directions exactly on how to cook and steam the rice and it came out perfect. It was, and I am happy to say, one of the best meals I have ever made, and I owe you the credit. Thanks!

[blackironslayer]

This channel is gold in general, but this video may be one of your most important yet. It's going to save people so much headaches.

[lemonmelon]

I love the approach this channel takes towards not just Chinese cuisine, but cooking in general. It has given me a lot more confidence in the kitchen, and I've whipped up more than a few tasty dishes for my family! Keep it up guys, love your content!

[ramelchilds]

I love that this doesn't NEED leftover rice because I rarely have it left over so great recipe!

[TF_NowWithExtraCharacters]

If you're struggling with what other ingredients to put in, just remember: this is home cooking and there are many regional styles. Don't stress about the authenticity (unless you're specifically trying to mimic a style) but instead focus on what would go well in terms of flavours and textures.
- You'll want them all roughly the same small size so the cooking time will be predictable, you can avoid overcooking that way. And small because you'd prob eat fried rice with chopsticks or a spoon and you want the ingredients to fit.
- You'd want a variety of textures. Something crunchy, something solid to sink into, maybe something chewy, things like that. Mixed peas and diced carrots are common for that reason. I've had the stems of kai lan (something like a brocolini) sliced into thick rings as one of the ingredients, it works well too.
- Usually you'd want a protein as the "highlight" of the dish. Diced shrimp has a nice pop, that works well. Diced up spam has that intense burst of salty umami, you can basically try swapping that for any cured meat (smoked duck breast, anyone?) You can also just go with diced chicken, or any other meat sliced small enough, I just personally like the cured meat route. If you're looking for a meat-free option, substitutes work, or you can explore mushrooms. I'd say the only thing that probably won't work well is something soft/mushy.
- Another optional ingredient: some sort of crispy topping. Pork floss? Good. Dried fried anchovies? Good. Fried shallots/garlic chips? Yeah that'll work too. Chili crisp? Go for it! Plain ol' chopped nuts will also work. As long as the flavour combo works with the rest of the dish, it's worth a try. Worst case scenario, file that under "I'm not going to try that again" and you'd still have a perfectly edible meal.

[Sickdudenomnomnom]

I love this channel and the almost educational approach it takes to explain what really are the key points to get a dish right. A lot of times FoodTubers don‘t realise they have an explanatory gap, where they know something, because they‘ve done it a million times, but for the viewer it might be the first video they watch. Never had anything like that here and I really enjoy the chill tone of your videos!

[fjiordor]

Fried Rice has for me become a tool that is mostly used to never waste food. I will make an involved recipe on day 1 and have people over to eat it and by just tossing everything together into a fried rice on day 2 I can simple not worry about portion size and cook plentiful portions. As long as you have a protein source, the easiest being egg, fried rice is in my opinion extremely forgiving, because anything that tastes good with rice will taste good mixed into fried rice and with egg and scallions(or peas, corn, leftover sprouts, carrot, etc, ) you always have a good base to add if you are missing something.

I think it is a mistake defining fried rice to rigidly when in essence it is just flavorful fried up rice with "stuff" in it and that "stuff" can take incredibly diverse forms.

[lewismaddock]

I love this video, and not just because it's an effective way of making fried rice from scratch under 30 minutes, and it's straightforward without trying to mask it up with elaborate crap, but it shows that there's no need for rice cookers, or without internet prejudice based on one youtuber. It's actually experience based.

I always have left over rice because the diet is rice based where I live, but this truly demystified for a lot of folk.

[SamanthaSmith-fpez]

bless I just whipped up a batch to try right before my husband leaves for work. Turned out perfect, and I've never made fried rice in my life. I love you guys, in fact, I specifically sought out your channel when my husband asked for fried rice! Thanks again for all your hard work!!

[Jaggedknife]

after watching I attempted this recipe with Basmati rice and a not-quite-fine mesh strainer and it came out great. light and fluffy but just firm enough rice. added onion, garlic, white pepper, Chile powder, soy and oyster sauce, sriracha, salt, eggs and some kale i had lying around. delicious. thanks guys!

[Majk__]

This is one of my favourite cooking channels because the doggy is really cute

[zulucruz]

Finally a western-friendly fried rice making with colander and non-sticky pan involved

[slipperynickels]

it was liberating when i finally internalized that "fried rice" is just rice that's fried and everything else you add is entirely just whatever you want. my favorite fried rice is 0% traditional and it's delicious, just made it up on the fly one day. i still mostly use rice from the day before, but it's entirely out of convenience.

[nikofloof]

I commented 10 months ago, and im commenting again. I cook fried rice like this all the time, and even workshopped my own recipe blends. Im so thankful for this channel and its recipes