Step-by-step guide to the perfect fried rice
Whether you’re going for Indonesian nasi goreng or Korean fried rice with kimchi: fried rice is the perfect way to use up leftovers. Leftover rice and bits from the fridge go into the pan and come out as a dream dish. As long as you follow these rules, at least.
Old rice
Have you ever tried frying freshly cooked rice? You probably didn’t do it more than once, because the result is disastrous: a soggy mess. Freshly cooked rice is moist. The longer you leave the rice, the drier and firmer it becomes, and that’s exactly what you want when you’re going to fry it.
Do you absolutely want to eat it tonight but don’t have any leftover cooked rice? Spread your freshly cooked rice out on a large plate or in an oven dish and let it dry for half an hour before frying it.
Mise en place
Good preparation is half the battle, and that certainly applies to fried rice. Make sure you cut all the ingredients into roughly equal-sized pieces (not too large), so everything is ready to go into the pan at the same time. During preparation, don’t forget to loosen the rice with a fork. Nothing is more annoying than a large clump of rice that won’t come apart in the pan.
Keep it simple
We understand your urge to throw that half a cabbage, bag of green beans and chicken from the night before into the pan. But remember: the rice is the star. Choose flavorings such as onion, garlic, red chili and ginger, but keep the rest limited. Some peas or finely chopped lettuce from yesterday? Definitely stir them through the rice, but not too much. If you really want to get your veggie fix, serve the vegetables alongside your rice.
The same goes for sauce: soy sauce, ketjap, all delicious, but the rice shouldn’t be swimming in sauce. One tablespoon per two people is enough. We do think an egg always belongs on or in a good fried rice. Make an omelet beforehand and stir it through in pieces, or push the rice to one side and fry your egg next to the rest of the ingredients.
One at a time
Speaking of those ingredients: they all have different cooking times. That’s why you should never put them all in the pan at once. Want to add chicken or vegetables that still need to be cooked? Fry them first and set them aside. Then fry the onion, ginger and chili, followed by the garlic. Be careful not to burn them. After about 1 minute, add the rice and stir everything together well. If desired, stir finely chopped spring onion through at the very end.
Stir-frying
You can also make the rice in a frying pan or cast-iron skillet, but if you have a wok, this is absolutely the moment to use it. You can control the heat well by pushing things to one side (and fry that aforementioned egg this way), and you have enough space to toss everything around.
Hot hot hot
Make sure your pan is extremely hot. You really want to fry the rice, not boil it. That won’t work at a low temperature, because everything will start steaming. The same thing happens if you put too much rice in the pan at once. Making a really large amount of rice? Fry the rice in small batches, one after another, and combine everything in the pan at the end.
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