Yang Zhou Fried Rice

What sets it apart from other fried rice preparations is the barbecued pork that lends a lovely sweetish taste to the rice. However, since I did not have the required ingredient while preparing this rice, you may say that its a cheat’s version of the authentic way of making it. I did use pork though – a small portion set aside from the Pork Chilli I had also prepared that day.

Yang Zhou Fried Rice
Prep time: 25-30mins | Cook time: 10-15mins | Serves 4

You Need:

• 650-700gm (approx) leftover cooked rice *see notes
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 150gm barbeque pork/ fried chicken *see notes
• 100gm prawns de veined
• 100 gm mixed veggies (carrots & peas go best) * see notes
• 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 3-4 spring onions cut into rings
• 2 green chillies sliced
• oil for frying

Seasoning 1

• 1 dtsp light soya sauce
• 2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tbsp sesame oil (the oriental variety and not the Indian til oil used for pickles) * see notes

Seasoning 2

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chicken stock cube crumbled (I used Maggi)
• 1 tsp fish sauce

Method:
1. Marinate the cooked rice with seasoning 1 and keep aside for an hour.
2. In a large wide, heavy bottomed wok/kadhai heat 2 tbsp oil and stir fry the garlic lightly on a medium high flame. Add the pepper powder and the prawns and fry till tender. Add the pork/chicken and fry till done.
3. Part the cooked meats/prawn to a side and pour the egg mixture in the centre of the wok and scramble until the eggs are cooked/firm up. Add the marinated rice and mix well.
4. Add the mixed vegetables and seasoning 2 and mix on a full flame till the rice is steaming hot.
5. Garnish with spring onions, sliced chillies and serve

Notes:
1. Ideally stale rice/leftover rice is used in the preparation of fried rice, however, if you are making it fresh then you can cool it thoroughly and refrigerate it till it is required for the final preparation. I cooked 1 cup of long grained Lal Quila Basmati rice that yielded approx 750gm cooked rice. These measures are just approximate. The quantity (yield) of cooked rice may vary depending on the type (variety) of rice used.
2. You can use a combination of meats instead of pork/prawns or even sausage bits. Ensure that raw meats are fried well and are actually cooked before the rice is added.
3. In this recipe I have used frozen carrots and peas that are pre cooked. If you are using fresh carrots you can lightly fry them after frying the meats or blanch them separately in water.
4. After mixing seasoning 2 and the rice, check salt as the stock cube contains salt in it and so does the fish sauce.
5. You can find sesame oil in the Chinese/oriental foods section of your supermarket. If you can’t find it, use regular sunflower/vegetable oil. Do not use the sesame/til oil that we use in India while making pickles!