A handful of leftover rice, a bit of oil to cook it in, an egg, and a bit of soy sauce . . . what could be simpler?

And sadly, that’s sometimes what you get with Chinese delivery. But fried rice can be delicious.

This is another “non-recipe,” in the sense that it’s infinitely variable and you can customize it to however you like it. (But I would REALLY recommend using oyster sauce rather than soy sauce). This recipe is lightly seasoned, in the sense that you can still taste the rice, the egg, and the vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 4 C. cooked, cooled rice (yesterday’s is best)
• Any neutral cooking oil (canola/peanut/yer generic “vegetable” oil)
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped OR 2 onions, chopped (I like onions better)
• 3 eggs
• 2 C. vegetables (if frozen, thawed; if tough [carrots etc.] parboiled)
• (optional) raw or cooked shrimp/chicken (both delicious!)
• 4 Tbsp. oyster sauce or 3 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• (optional) 2 scallions, chopped
• 1-2 tsp. sesame oil

I love shrimp in this (and everywhere else!) and would normally have used smaller (=cheaper) ones, but only had the larger ones on hand. I would recommend chopping them no less than 1/2″, or the taste will be lost:

Some on-line recipes recommend using exclusively sesame oil:

. . . which I don’t recommend, because then you end up with fried rice that tastes like sesame oil and nothing else.

Also, Madge left me this 1/2 bag of frozen mixed vegetable. Ordinarily I would even think about using mixed vegetables, but these are perfect in fried rice.

And I’m still working on my big 4.4-pounder of Napa cabbage, so I added 2 leaves, chopped:

. . . and some Sichuan bacon, which I chopped before adding:

Method:

More skilled people than I can make this in one skillet/wok, but it’s easier to cook each ingredient individually and add it to what I affectionately refer to as a “crap bowl,” then combine everything at the end.

Stir the eggs together with 2 tsp. water. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil, and add the eggs:

Stir them, and as soon as they become opaque (they won’t be totally done), add them to the crap bowl:

Clean the pan, more or less. Heat 2 tsp. oil (if using garlic) or 2 Tbsp. oil (if using onions) and cook the garlic for a minute or so; or if using onions, sauté them for a couple of minutes until slightly softened:

Add to the crap bowl. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil, then add the vegetables and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until of desired doneness:

Remove from the pan and add to, yup, you guessed it . . .. If using raw chicken or shrimp, add about 1 tsp. oil and cook for a couple of minutes, or until done:

And . . .

Rice time! Scrape the cooked rice with a spoon or fork to (mostly) separate the grains. Add 4 Tbsp. oil to the pan, and once heated, add the rice and stir, scraping up the bottom (it will stick), for about 5 minutes:

Add the oyster or soy sauce, and stir to incorporate:

Now add everything that’s in the crap bowl, plus the scallions. If the eggs have consolidated, break them up:

Stir it all together for a couple of minutes, and taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat, sprinkle over the sesame oil, and stir it in:

Bowl it up:

Looks pretty, tastes even better.

Yum!

-R