Secrets of Making Fried Rice

Fried rice (Simplified Chinese: 炒饭; Traditional Chinese: 炒飯; Pinyin: chǎofàn) is a popular component of Chinese cuisine and, by extension, various other forms of Asian cuisine. The fried rice originated as a home made dish from China, made from cold leftover rice fried with other leftover ingredients. Fried rice is sometimes served as the penultimate dish in Chinese banquets (just before dessert).

There are dozens of varieties of fried rice, each with their own specific list of ingredients. In Asia, the more famous varieties include Yangchow (Yangzhou) and Fukien (Fujian) fried rice. In the West, Chinese restaurants catering to non-Chinese clientele have invented their own fried rice's varieties of fried rice including egg fried rice, Singaporean (spicy) fried rice and the ubiquitous 'special fried rice'.

Fried rice is a common staple in American Chinese cuisine, especially in the westernized form sold at fast-food stands. The most common form is a basic fried rice, often with some mixture of eggs, scallions, and vegetables, with chopped meat (usually pork or chicken, sometimes beef or shrimp) added at the customer's discretion. Fried rice is also seen in other American Asian restaurants, even in cuisines where there is no native tradition of the dish such as the Caribbean.

Fried rice is usually made from rice which has already been cooked by steaming. The wok is heated until it starts smoking, with some oil. Rice is stirred quickly and uniformly to prevent burning, and to coat the rice grains with oil to prevent sticking. After 1-2 minutes the rice is flavored to taste and stirred throughly, then the other ingredients are added.