This probably is one of my favorite recipes. While a lot of fried rice is more of a mix of ingredients that are stirred together, I am going to show you guys a less traditional recipe. I’m also going to incorporate some small nuances of Vietnamese cuisine in this recipe since this is how my mother makes it.
I don’t know if you guys have ever heard of xoi, but it is a Vietnamese rice dish. Sweet sticky rice is often piled up with a variety of toppings like crumpled mung beans, coconut, sesame seeds, Chinese sausage or fried garlic. It can be made both sweet and salty (sometimes both) and it features sticky rice. Unfortunately when I had a xoi craving come up a while back, I did not have any sweet rice on hand. But I did have short grain, glutinous rice that would lend a similar texture. With that idea in my head, I decided to simplify the average xoi recipe into an easy fried rice recipe you guys could work with. Now on to the recipe!
*You can find all of these ingredients in an Asian grocery store, but if you have trouble finding Chinese sausage, bacon would work well instead.
Ingredients
- 2 whole Chinese sausages, sliced
- 3 eggs, scrambled with a little water
- 2-3 cups cooked white, short grain rice (you can change this amount if you have a strong carb craving)
- 2 whole green onions, sliced, soaking in mix of 1 tbs sesame oil and 2 tbs vegetable oil
- sprinkling chopped cilantro for garnish
- sprinkling fried garlic for topping
Step 1: Heat a large frying pan on high. Add a good amount of oil, brushing the pan with a napkin to ensure there is an even coat of oil. When the pan is hot enough, add the scrambled eggs, rotating the pan to create an even, thin layer of egg. Reduce the heat to medium and place a lid on the pan so that steam can cook the surface of the eggs. Cook until they are solid.
Step 2: Roll the eggs up in the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into thin, half-centimeter thick ribbons. Use your fingers to shake the rolls so the ribbons separate and fluff up. Set aside.
Step 3: In the same frying pan (you don’t need more cooking oil for this step), cook the sliced Chinese sausage on high until they release their own oil and crisp up. Scoop the sausage out of the pan and into a plate, set aside. Keep any remaining oil in the pan, it will be used to season the rice.
Step 4: With the pan still heated, add the rice. Use chopping motions with a wooden spoon to separate the rice and cover the individual grains in a thin layer of oil. This motion will prevent you from squishing the rice, keeping the grains whole. When the rice is warmed and slightly toasted, add the oiled green onion. Stir the onion in and remove the pan from the heat.
*quick tip, the oil in the green onion helps wilt the leaves and mellow their sharp flavor.
Step 5: Now its time to assemble the plates. Put a bed of rice at the bottom of the serving dish. Top with the egg ribbons, Chinese sausage, cilantro and fried garlic.
The Glutton Diaries 