When I was a little girl, Dad grew very interested in Chinese cooking, one could even say he became obsessed. His mission was always to make the perfect fried rice.  His fried rice never tastes like the rice you get in the Chinese restaurants,  it tastes better! Over the years I watched dad make fried rice and learned how to make my own. So here’s my take on my Dad’s fried rice!

Fried Rice

1 cup of cooked jasmine rice. I do mine in the rice cooker and let it dry out a bit. If it’s too wet pop it in a low oven or the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients.

2 rashers of bacon, chopped

1 chicken breast, cubed

2 spring onions, chopped

3 eggs beaten with a tablespoon of water and a good dash of pepper

sesame oil

peanut oil

soy sauce

Rice wine vinegar

Garlic from a jar, roughly half a teaspoon

1. Heat wok with a little peanut oil and cook the egg. Break it up as it cooks so you have lots of egg pieces, remove and put aside.

2. Add spring onion to the wok and stir until cooked. Remove and put aside.

3. Add more peanut oil to the wok if necessary and cook the chicken and bacon right through with the garlic. Add a dash of soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Remove and put aside.

4. Make sure the wok is really hot and add a little more peanut oil- a hot wok is the key to stopping the rice from sticking.  Add rice to the wok and stir rapidly, once rice is heated through and coated with the oil add the egg, bacon, chicken and onion back to the wok. Stir until hot.

5. Drizzle a small amount (about two teaspoons) of sesame oil and a good shake of soy sauce over the rice and stir through. The soy is really your preference so taste as you go.

6. Enjoy!

Variations:

Sometimes I add bean shoots at the end, sometimes I don’t.

You could add anything you like to this foundation – I often omit the chicken or use pork instead.

If you want a lighter version, don’t add as much oil throughout cooking!