Fried Rice

My mom is always telling me to make fried rice, and I never bother. I'm on this Chinatown grocery shopping kick though, so I finally decided to make some.

First, I cheated and cooked some rice with preserved salted duck. As the rice cooks, the fat from the preserved ducks melts and coats each grain of rice, making it aromatic and ensures that the grains don't stick together. Technically, you're only supposed to use day-old rice to make fried rice, but I think using the duck is a tastier and faster way to make sure the rice stays separated.

Oh, and of course I didn't use the whole duck! I just took my scary, trusty cleaver and hacked it to pieces and threw a few in with the rice.

Here are the ingredients for the fried rice: diced preserved pork belly (This stuff is so good. One of my favorite things is Chinese broccoli stir fried with ginger and this pork belly.) , diced Chinese sausage, fresh Shiiitake mushrooms, peas, egg (just cook thin crepes of it and chop it up) and the rice.


Fried rice is easy. Just saute each ingredient in a little cooking oil, season it, and set it aside. Then add more oil to the pan, pan fry the rice for a little bit, add some soy sauce to taste, and then throw everything else in. My mom was right, I should make fried rice more often.


Hopefully, later I'll have a post about whatever I manage to do with the fresh salmon head I bought in Chinatown. I have some cilantro, silken tofu, and thousand-year old egg that has a date with that head.