Suzie The Foodie

Food Writer, Photographer and Product Reviewer

Follow Suzie the Foodie

Facebooktwitterpinterestinstagramby feather
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Recipes
  • Product Reviews
  • Older Posts
  • Instant Pot
You are here: Home / Asian / My Chicken Fried Rice

My Chicken Fried Rice

February 21, 2010 by Suzie the Foodie 5 Comments


Rice in the Rice Cooker

First, this is in no way an authentic way to make Chinese Chicken Fried Rice. I have tried many recipes and well, this is just the way I prefer to have it. Second, no fancy photos or anything, just sharing the process since how can I do a month of Asian-inspired food and not do fried rice? I make this one a regular basis so I took haphazard pictures one day while I was cooking.
My husband LOVES rice and so we eat it all of the time and when I was learning how to cook, rice was my absolute nemesis. Years ago I asked a woman I worked with who was from Hong Kong for her recipe for rice. She said, “Recipe? Use a rice cooker!” It was like a message straight from foodie heaven! I have learned how to make rice from scratch of the stovetop since then but seriously, a rice cooker is a blessing in the kitchen.
I start off first by making a huge batch of rice in my rice cooker the night before. You do not want to use freshly made rice for fried rice. I use scented rice and for this batch I put in two cups of rice and four cups of water and turned it on. It is that easy.
My Chicken Fried Rice
So I am totally going off the map here by marinated some diced raw chicken in some black bean sauce. If you have not had black bean sauce before, oh what you are missing! I love those flavours and this way when you bite into a nice chunk of chicken you get hit with just a little of that strong flavour which brightens up the rice which I usually find boring. I also add some cornstarch to the chicken. I learned this step from Martin Yan who said that it helps brown the meat and makes it a little crispier.

My Chicken Fried Rice
On to the coking! I always started each phase with sauteing some garlic and ginger for about 20 seconds and then adding the layer of food I am working with. In this case it is the veggies. I did not have a lot in my fridge, just some carrots and celery. I saute over medium high heat until the carrots darken and deepen in colour, then I set it aside.

My Chicken Fried Rice

On to the chicken! I would have cut them into tinier pieces but my knife is super dull and so chopping is a big challenge right now. Thanks to my friends at The Food Network (especially Cory and Ava) I may have found a way to sharpen my knives at home that go beyond using a steel. Will post more once I get the blade sharpening system!

My Chicken Fried Rice

So we are now getting closer to frying the rice. I saute more garlic and ginger in my frying pan (since I do not have a wok) in what looks like too much oil but it will be used for the rice in a second. I add two whisked up eggs and use a chopstick to move around the egg and just before it is completely set:

My Chicken Fried Rice

I add all that rice and work it in to the egg.

My Chicken Fried Rice

With a spatula I try and break down the rice as much as I can and then I season with lots of soy sauce. I do not like that much salt but my husband is always asking for more soy so season away until it is at the salt level you like. Once the rice is heated through I add the vegetables and meat back into the pan.

My Chicken Fried Rice

Stir it up until everything is warmed up and you have my chicken fried rice. Not super fancy but hearty and delicious, we eat this as a meal. It is one of my husband’s favourite dishes in the world. We used to ride to Ho-Lee-Chow on our motorcycle in Ottawa and strap a few large containers of it to the bike and have it when we get home.
Considering Ho-Lee-Chow is now out of business and the Chinese restaurants around here serve bean paste in their egg rolls (what is up with that?) and one place served me chop suey when I asked for chow mein and my husband IS super allergic to MSG… I think it is best that I make even the most mainstream Chinese food in my own kitchen.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share

Filed Under: Asian, chicken, Chinese, cooking

Comments

  1. Olivia says

    February 21, 2010 at 4:59 pm

    Beautiful, Suzie! It looks better than anything I’ve seen in a restaurant. Blessings, O

    Reply
  2. AvaDJ says

    February 21, 2010 at 5:48 pm

    OMG this is my husband’s favourite meal as well. We usually make this with some yummy veggie spring rolls on the side. Yours looks delish. My kids love peas in the rice as well, I just use the President’s Choice frozen peas, add them at the end of cooking just to warm them but still have some crunch to them. We also top with some finely chopped green onions. Confession time, I do use a seasonig packet that I get from the Asian aisle, (Su Wong) it is quite tasty but has MSG, so I know that would not work for you. (I am trying to find a recipe to duplicate this with more authentic and natural ingredients). It really is a tasty and filling meal.

    Reply
  3. Janice says

    February 21, 2010 at 7:54 pm

    That looks like a great dish for filling you up and adapatable to whatever you have in the fridge!

    Reply
  4. Debra She Who Seeks says

    February 21, 2010 at 8:11 pm

    We use the plastic basket in the vegetable steamer to make our rice. Works like a charm! Probably same basic principle as a rice cooker. And your fried rice looks yummy!

    Reply
  5. tamir says

    February 21, 2010 at 9:22 pm

    you know you don’t have to make rice the night before. you can make it while sauteeing your other stuff. just don’t add as much water to the rice and when it’s supposed to be all done, take off the lid and let it cook for like 5 more mins or something. i’m not so into super preparing food ahead of time. so fried rice can be done at the spur of the moment!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Product Review: President’s Choice Ascolana Fried Olives Stuffed with Cheese

Product Review: President’s Choice Ascolana Fried Olives Stuffed with Cheese

Sweet! First 2022 Holiday President's Choice Insider's Report product review is up! Olives and cheese? Yes please!

Search Suzie the Foodie

I Am Alive!

I Am Alive!

It has been over a decade and my time as Suzie The Foodie is over! Thanks for all the love and support and remember, do not NOT feed the trolls. ~ Suzie The Foodie

Save $25 On A Magical Butter Kit!

Save $25 On A Magical Butter Kit!

Not only can you save $25 on a Magical Butter Kit with this coupon you help support me and my site when you purchase one!

Want a big discount on your purchase? Use the coupon code "SUZIE” when you check out!

Instant Pot Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato And Kale

Instant Pot Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato And Kale

Super fast and delicious soup made in the Instant Pot and saved my bacon!

My WordPress Guru

Special thanks to my WordPress Guru and long-time friend Mike D. Without your help, this website would not have been possible.

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in