Fried rice, like in many Asian-Pacific Islander household, is a staple. I, along with many others like me, grew up with rice, eggs, frozen veggies, and soy sauce as a meal. Now, I see it as a total comfort easy-lazy one pot dish. But back then, it wasn’t always that way. One, my parents were busy providing for me and this was the fastest, most convenient meal they could prepare. And two, on occasions when we did not have enough to spend on premium groceries, rice and eggs were the go-to meal as they were the cheapest. But, whatever it the reason was, my parents had always prepared it in a way that was special. Fried rice with eggs, every weekend morning when we ate together as a family.

And as simple, and common, as this dish is – I’m sure it rings many fond memories living in an Asian household.

MAKING FRIED RICE

In Tagalog, we call fried rice sinangag (see-nah-nga-g), which is traditionally stir fried rice rolled around crispy garlic. Garlic fried rice, in simple terms. I grew up on two versions of fried rice. Primarily, the Filipino garlic fried rice, being Filipino (first and foremost). My second influence came from the Chinese-style fried rice, also known as Yang Chow fried rice stir fried in a wok. Both styles became a fusion in my household.

Fried rice is nothing new. So I won’t dabble too much about it as it’s been quite known all over the world, and where I reside. But if there is a general rule of thumb to remember, and one thing everyone swears by, MAKE SURE YOUR RICE IS AT LEAST A DAY OLD. Why? So that excess moisture have been drawn out out of the rice and it does not get soggy when cooking.

USING A WOK

For the longest time, I have always known my family to own a wok at home. My parents would go as far as boiling spaghetti noodles on a wok and cooking stews. I’m going to admit, I actually never owned one when I moved out until recently; swearing by that my cast iron skillet will be all that I needed. And, now, I can totally see why they used it on anything. Using a wok, in a sense, gives the authentic fried rice flavor you will taste in many small-owned Asian restaurants. It’s hard to explain but it has a comforting, rustic mouthfeel to it. It also tastes cleaner as I barely taste the oiliness compared to using a sauté pan; perhaps it is due to the fact that woks generate more heat and enables you to cook food faster. So if I were you, prepare your fried rice on a wok.

KEY INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED

Here are a few ingredients you will need to make this dish:

Day old rice – I used Jasmine white rice and cooked it the night before and chilled in the fridge. Use any rice you have.
Vegan “Egg” – I used the Just Egg folded slices which did not require much cooking. You can also use the liquid form and pre-cook it before making your fried rice. Any egg substitutes will work just fine, even crumbled tofu scrambles.
White pepper – not to be mistaken by the common black pepper. White pepper is a distinct pepper taste found in many Asian dishes. You can get this at any grocery supermarket.
Sesame oil – for a finishing toasted nutty flavor.
Frozen mixed vegetables – frozen peas and carrots will work. I had a mix-vegetable medley lying around so that is what I used.
Onions & garlic – as the base of flavors.
Low sodium soy sauce – for the enhanced savoriness of the fried rice.

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