MONDAY RECIPE POST - EGG FRIED RICE

This is another YouTube recipe hosted by Sisi Jemima.  The link to this Egg Fried Rice is here.  We did quite a lot of stopping-and-starting while making it, especially as we were doing this for the first time, to get her guideline.  We gave it a ten out of ten by the way.  Our kitchen is relatively small so I usually sit at the kitchen table and Gregg is at the stove top doing the cooking.  I have a cutting board with me and will share in the preparing stage of cutting up veggies, also done at the kitchen table, while giving step-by-step instructions to Gregg as I listen to the video.  I push pause a few times and rewind if I miss anything, so it was a slower process than it normally is.  

Sisi has a recipe blog and this is her website.  I couldn't find this particular recipe but I may have overlooked it.

Some of the ingredients are metric.  I have put what I thought the amount would be for what we used.   For any food I didn’t use I marked in red lettering.  We didn't stick to the exact measurements as we wanted leftovers the next day.  You just use what you think you might want for each serving or if you like leftovers yourself, make extra.

 Sisi Jemima’s Egg Fried Rice Recipe 

Vegetable oil for sautéing (we used avocado spray)

100 gm diced pork 

100 gm diced chicken (we used whatever leftover meat  there was on an already cooked rotisserie chicken from our local supermarket)

1/2 cup diced and cooked prawns (or for us, a 10 oz. packet of firecracker shrimp - Wegmans brand - see below)

3 eggs, slightly whisked

4 cups cooked rice (here we used 2 packets of Trader Joe's already cooked frozen Jasmine Rice.)

1 cup diced carrots 

1 cup green peas

3 cloves garlic, minced (we used 3 Dorot cubes - see below)

1/2 cup chopped onions

Handful of spring green onions

3 tablespoons dark soy sauce

2 tablespoons light soy sauce (low sodium if you have it)

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil (I will use a tablespoon next time as we enjoy the taste)

The nice thing about stir fry is that you can use any of the vegetables in your fridge.  You can also leave out the protein to go vegetarian.

Prepare and measure ingredients so you have them right next to you when you begin cooking. 

In separate bowls add the dark soy sauce to your chicken and marinate for 30 minutes.  Next, do the same with the pork.  Set aside.  (we didn't follow this part as we were using the cooked leftover rotisserie chicken and already cooked shrimp.  We also did not use pork this time).  

Add oil to a wok or frying pan.

When oil is heated add the eggs.  Scramble the eggs.  I like the way Sis Jemima did hers.  She describes them as scrambled but still a bit chunky.  Take them out and set aside.  

Add the marinated pork to the pan and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until pork is brown on all sides.  Transfer into a bowl and set aside.

Put the pan back on the stove top.  Next a tablespoon of vegetable oil goes in and when that is heated, add the chicken.   Season with salt and pepper being careful about how much salt you use.  Cook chicken until brown on all sides.  This should take about 6 minutes. 

Transfer the marinated pork back into the pan and combine with the chicken.  

Add and combine the onion and minced garlic.  Cook for about three to four minutes.

Add and combine the carrots and peas for another two minutes.

Add the rice and scrambled eggs.  Mix in well.

Add the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and sesame oil, black pepper and spring onions.  Combine thoroughly and add more soy sauce if you think it is needed.

Now add the cooked prawns which goes in last.  You just need to cook about a minute, long enough to heat the prawns through.

Sis Jemima's tip about the rice: she doesn't like using Jasmine and substituted Basmati rice.  If you are using Jasmine rice you need to cook it the day before and refrigerate until needed.  If you use Basmati you can cook it as normal before you make your recipe.

I highly recommend watching her video before you start, just in case I have left anything out, and because we made our own version.  She has great tips. You can cut and paste the following address which will take you straight to the video.

https://youtu.be/Ql8h49eP-gA

Our shortcuts on this recipe were:

Pre-cooked rotisserie chicken which we bought from the supermarket the day before for that night’s dinner, and diced and used what was left for this meal.

Firecracker Shrimp from the frozen section at Wegman’s (their own brand).  

These we cooked to the directions on the box, and added to the stir fry at the same time as our cooked chicken. This only takes a few minutes to heat through.  The shrimp were small and we left them whole.  You can also use already cooked steamed shrimp that we occasionally buy from the seafood section of any of our local supermarkets.  It usually comes with a container of cocktail sauce and we eat it as an appetizer.  We have added them to other dishes too.

We will use mushrooms next time.

Instead of fresh minced garlic cloves, we used 3 cubes of Dorot crushed garlic which we store in the freezer.  The cubes are tiny and they thaw quickly in the pan. 

We also used 2 packets of Trader Joe's already cooked Jasmine Frozen Rice.

I realize you might not have these brands in your area, but there will probably be an equivalent if you want to make your own shortcuts.  Sometimes, depending on how you feel, the less fuss the better.

We didn't marinate the pork or chicken as shown in the video (didn't have any pork).  This meal was done on impulse as we wanted something relatively fast to put together.  Next time we will follow everything to the letter after a shopping session.   

Because we didn't need to marinate the meat, the liquids were added to the ingredients in the pan almost to the end of cooking time, and gently mixed so that all was combined.  Then we put in the cooked chicken and firecracker shrimp, again gently mixed to combine. We cooked it a minute or two which seemed long enough to heat through.  It worked out well for us.  My advice though is to add a little liquid at a time and taste test as you go along.

This is Gregg's meal the second night.  He sautéed cubes of steak and added them to the pan of leftovers for two or three minutes.  They were still hot and there was no need to reheat.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comment section and I will be happy to answer them.  I feel like I am all over the place with this recipe but next time it should go more smoothly, and we sure did enjoy it.