Working on my Dad’s style of fried rice, which continues to evolve to meet the changing times and fridge contents. We don’t actually have a recipe. It’s more of a method, as in our family, fried rice is made from all the little bits of things you have saved in the fridge because they are too good to toss out.
Don Yuen’s Fried Rice
- cold leftover rice
- sesame oil
- leftover meat
- pipikaula* or other smoked meat
- garlic
- round onion
- Szechuan pepper
- leftover vegetables
- eggs
- spring onions / green onions
Some people insist on specific types of long grain rice. We just use whatever happens to be left over from the night before. Put the rice in a big bowl and fluff it up a bit so it can dry while you are getting ready for it.
Julienne the meat, garlic, onion, and vegetables and set them in separate bowls.
Mince the green onions.
Beat the eggs.
Put a little sesame oil in a heavy skillet or wok. As it is warming, add the leftover meats and pipikaula.
Heat so that the fat renders. When the fat starts rendering, add the garlic, onions, and Szechuan pepper. Scrape to the side of the skillet or wok.
Pour the eggs into the fat and make a thin omelette. When it is cooked through, remove it from the pan and set aside.
Turn up the heat and give the meat a stir. When a drop of water dances in the pan, add the rice a little at a time so that it lightly toasts as it is added. Keep stirring and turning the rice as you add it. When all the rice is added in, then add the vegetables.
While the vegetables are heating in the rice, cut the egg into narrow strips about two inches long. Add the egg to the rice. Toss gently so it is well mixed. Garnish with green onions. Also, you can serve the whole green onions on the side with a little salt for dipping.
Serve with your favorite chili sauce.
*Pipikaula gets its name from the Hawaiian words Pipi (beef) Kaula (rope). In the old days, flank steak would be cut into long ropes, soaked in a sauce of shoyu, ginger, garlic, peppers, etc. and then hung in the smokehouse to cure.