Char Siu Fried Rice

 

 

One of the best things about Asian leftovers is that you can always turn them into fried rice.  Well, almost always.  For instance, leftover skirt steak or flank steak marinated in a mixture of soy, ginger, garlic, and sriracha makes a wicked Korean fried rice with kimchi.  And this leftover char siu made a fantastic fried rice as well.  The nuggets of meat were both salty and sweet from the hoisin, and contrasted well with the sweetness of the onion and carrot.  The sesame oil gives the fried rice a nice subtle perfume and taste, while the soy sauce provides the necessary saltiness.  From start to finish,  including digging through the fridge before prepping and chopping all of the ingredients, the fried rice took less than 30 minutes, which is a miracle in our kitchen!  And visually speaking, the fried rice is beautiful and colorful.  I love it.

Recipe after the jump!

 Char Siu Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus 1 tsp

2 eggs, scrambled

s&p

1 small onion, diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

3 cups leftover cooked white rice (it's important that the rice be cooked the day before and refrigerated so that some of the moisture in the freshly cooked rice has time to evaporate)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

6 oz. leftover char siu, diced

2 scallions, whites and greens, finely chopped

Heat 10 inch non-stick frying pan over medium heat.  Add 1 tsp vegetable oil.  Gently pour eggs into pan.  Add 1/2 tsp kosher salt.  Allow eggs to set into thin egg pancake, about 3-5 minutes.  Once top sets, flip the eggs over and remove from heat.  Allow eggs to cool until they can be handled, then dice the eggs up finely.

Heat a large wok over high heat.  Once hot, add remaining 1 tbsp vegetable oil.  Swirl the oil around the wok to ensure that all surfaces are coated.  Oil should be hot, but not smoking.  Throw ginger in wok and stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add onion and carrot.  Stir fry onion and carrot until vegetables soften, about 2-3 minutes.  Add cooked white rice and stir fry vigorously until each kernel of rice is coated in oil.  Add sesame oil and soy sauce.  Stir to combine.  Add char siu.  Stir fry until char siu is heated through, about 2 minutes.  Taste fried rice to determine if seasonings need adjusting.  Season to taste.  Remove wok from heat.

Garnish rice with scallions.  Stir to mix.  Serve.