Fried Rice Feng Shui

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If you enjoy this tutorial, take a peek at my tutorials on Re-visiting the Casserole and Making the Perfect Fried Chicken…



One of the most frequent questions asked here on 4 hats and frugal, food-wise, is “how do you actually make fried rice?”

I put in on my menu plan at least once a month, since it’s a perfect way to use up leftovers and create a quick meal that won’t leave me at the stove for a long time. Now, although fried rice is so easy to make, there is a balance to it. A Feng Shui, if you will. Today, we’ll talk about it a bit.

As you can see above, I make sure to have all of my mise en place, or recipe ingredients, ready to go before I even pull out the pan. Onions are chopped, veggies are placed in one bowl, garlic is measured and put in a small cup, etc. This is important to do because once you turn on that heat and put the oil in the pan, you won’t have time to stop.

Not pictured above is the rice. The rice is sooooo important! Making two cups of white(or brown rice) the same day just for fried rice is a no-go. The rice will be too soft when you make the fried rice and will result in a gummy mess. It’s best to make the rice the day before and let it sit overnight. This is why this is a great leftover meal, because actual leftover rice works so well. So, make sure that rice is nice and old! It will be sturdy enough to accept all the flavors but will hold it’s shape very well.

Now, once you have everything in place, you can pull out your pan. If you have a wok, you are super lucky! But, if you don’t, try to look for a pan that is as close to a wok as possible. Most kitchenware sets have these types of pans, but if you don’t, just use the biggest skillet you have with the flattest bottom. Turn the heat up to medium, give it about 20 seconds and add your oil.

Now, the order that we place the ingredients is the real Feng Shui of this meal. Do it right and you’ll have success. Do it wrong, and well, you can still eat it, it just won’t be as yummy :o)

Once the oil ripples, crack the egg and add it. Stir very quickly until the egg is half done.
Next, add the onion and continue to stir quickly.
Add the garlic and stir stir stir! (we are trying to get all the raw items cooked first)
Add any other veggies that you have that ARE NOT cooked, such as cut-up carrots. If you are using leftover veggies, they can be thrown in after all the raw items.
At this time, turn up the heat to medium high. Yes, I said turn it up. You gotta get the rice and other protein(if you have any) warmed up without turning the rice gummy.
Once you start to hear the veggies really sizzling, you can add in the protein, whether it’s chicken, seafood or beef.
If using raw seafood, let it cook for about 2 minutes in the pan. With the temperature and the carryover cooking later, the seafood will be perfect once it’s time to eat.
Now, add the 2 cups of rice. At this time, I tend to use two spoons to help get the rice coated with the oil from pan and veggies, and allow it to “fry” before adding the seasonings and soy sauce.
Add your pepper and ground ginger, if you have it. Trust me on the ginger….this is where it starts to actually taste like take out fried rice.
Once everything looks hot, start adding the soy sauce. Now, this is to your discretion. Some people can’t use too much salt while some will still add even more to their share when it’s time to eat. For us, I pour 2 turns of the pan and call it a day.

Once everything is incorporated, I stop tossing(you’ll start to break apart the rice), turn off the heat and get the bowls ready. It’s go-time, people!
I do love the economical factor of this meal, as well. If we have no extra protein in the house but leftover rice and veggies, I can just add another egg or two to the mix and it’s still a hearty meal for everyone. Now, since there really isn’t a recipe for this(it’s mostly to your taste and what you have in the fridge), I’ll at least make a list of what I tend to put into ours, so you have an idea. Here’s our usual mise en place:

2 cups leftover white rice
1 small onion, chopped
1 to 2 cups protein
1 egg
1 to 2 cups veggies(whatever we have in the fridge)
2 tablespoons light oil(no olive oil!)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tsp or so of ground ginger
ground pepper to taste
soy sauce to taste

Whew! That was a lot of info! Did I miss anything? Anyone have any questions?