Fried Rice
Cold day-old rice, a screaming pan, and everything prepped before you start. The whole cook is four minutes.
- Prep
- 15m
- Cook
- 8m
- Total
- 23m
- Serves
- 3
- Effort
- Easy
Scale
Units
Method
| 2 tbsp | 1 Fry the aromatics until fragrant, 30 seconds 2m | 2 Break up the rice and fry until it starts to pop 3m | 4 Toss everything together over the highest heat, 90 seconds 2m Spread the rice up the sides of the wok. Piling it in the middle steams it. | |
| 3 cloves | ||||
| 1 tbsp | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 cups | ||||
| 3 | 3 Scramble in the space you push the rice aside to make 2m | |||
| 1 cup | ||||
| 2 tbsp | ||||
| 1 tsp | ||||
| 3 | ||||
- 1
Fry the aromatics until fragrant, 30 seconds
2m- neutral oil 2 tbsp
- garlic 3 cloves
- ginger 1 tbsp
- spring onion whites 3
- 2
Break up the rice and fry until it starts to pop
3m- from 1 Fry the aromatics until fragrant, 30 seconds
- cold cooked rice 4 cups
- 3
Scramble in the space you push the rice aside to make
2m- eggs 3
- 4
Toss everything together over the highest heat, 90 seconds
2m- from 2 Break up the rice and fry until it starts to pop
- from 3 Scramble in the space you push the rice aside to make
- frozen peas 1 cup
- light soy sauce 2 tbsp
- toasted sesame oil 1 tsp
- spring onion greens 3
Spread the rice up the sides of the wok. Piling it in the middle steams it.
Why yesterday’s rice
Freshly cooked rice is saturated and its starch is fully gelatinised; in a hot pan it releases moisture and clumps into a sticky mass. Overnight in the fridge the grains dry out and the starch partially retrogrades, so they separate and fry rather than steam. If you must use fresh rice, spread it on a tray and freeze it for thirty minutes.
Notes
- Everything chopped and within reach before the pan goes on. There is no time to prep once it starts.
- Sesame oil is a seasoning, not a cooking fat — it burns and goes bitter. Always off the heat.
- Cook in two batches if your pan is small. A crowded wok cannot hold its temperature.