Shaine's Fried Rice

I don't own a wok or have a 400 degree flame. But, I make fried rice for my family at home. Here is how I do it.

First, steam the rice. The easiest method is to buy a $20 rice cooker from Wal-Mart.

Rice cookers come with a measuring cup. Typically, four cups of uncooked rice is enough to fill a pot.

You should be sure to rinse the rice at least a couple times to remove the starch. I don't know if it makes a difference; but I use hot water.

You'll need to chop up some kind meat for flavor. You can mix meats if you like. In this case, I'm using beef and sausage. You can also use any combination including shrimp or chicken. Whatever flavor you like. I'm seasoning the meat with some diced onions and minced garlic. Fry it all together until browned.

While the rice is cooking and the meat is browning, chop up some green onions. You'll need those later.

Set the browned meat aside while the rice is still cooking.

I can't tell you the reason why egg is added to fried rice. I can tell you that it makes a difference in the final flavor and texture. So, scramble up an egg right before you add the rice.

Add the steamed rice to the egg in the pan. From experience, if the rice is too moist, it will clump while you're cooking. Next time, add a little less water. Start frying up the rice. Add a little salt and white pepper. Do not add black pepper; it's not the same thing.

Another thing to keep in mind is that restaurants cook this with the flame all the way up. This is a fast process. Turn it up and MOVE!

The reason why fried rice, and deniers that brown rice is fried, is that it has soy sauce to brown it. You will have to stir and stir until the soy sauce is evenly distributed and the rice has reached the desired level of browness. Careful, too much soy sauce will make the dish salty.

Add the meat. Keep stirring.

Add some frozen peas and carrots. The steam from the rice will thaw and cook them quickly.

When you're done cooking, add the green onions and stir them up with the rice. They should be slightly crunchy.

That's it, you're done. Serve it up and eat. I like to eat my fried rice with Sriracha, a hot Asian meat sauce. This is where you learn if your rice is too soggy. If done right, the rice will easily break apart. You may have noticed that restaurant rice has a lot of oil in it. That's what keeps the rice from sticking together, but the first step is not making the rice too moist.

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