This week is all about cooking quick and easy meals in our house. I made Mapo Tofu recently where I used only half a pound of pork. I had another half pound to play around with. I thought of many things to make but settled for pork fried rice. It’s simple to make and easy to clean up the dishes. No one likes washing dishes, right? In our house, we always have some amount of cooked white rice sitting in our refrigerator. I grew up in Bangladesh where rice is eaten twice or even three times a day. I’m so accustomed to eating it that it feels wrong not to have it each day. Fried rice is an easy way to make cooked white rice very interesting.

Fried rice is made by stir frying cooked rice in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Fried rice is typically made with ingredients left over from other dishes, leading to countless variations. The wonderful thing about fried rice is the customization. You can add almost any of your favorite ingredients and make it delicious. You can make it with eggs, seafood, meat, or vegetables.

According to Wikipedia, fried rice was first developed during the Sui Dynasty in China and as such most fried rice dishes can trace their origins to Chinese fried rice. Nowadays fried rice is common as a street food throughout Asia.

Cold rice — either white or brown — is ideal for making fried rice because it’s had time to dry out as sits in the refrigerator. This means less is likely to stick together or get gummy when stir frying. If the rice is clumped together, make sure to break it up before adding it to the wok or pan.

Fried rice is one of the most fuss-free and satisfying ways to use leftover rice, meat, or vegetables. This recipe below is a lot better than you’ll find at Panda Express! Try it.

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1/2 lbs. ground pork
• 4 cup cooked white rice
• 1 cup mixed frozen veggies, thawed and drained
• 1/2 tbsp. each minced garlic and ginger
• 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 green onion thinly sliced

Instructions

In a small bowl, beat the eggs with soy sauce and sesame oil. Set aside. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add a tbsp. oil to the skillet. Swirl the pan so the oil coats the bottom and side of the skillet. Scramble the eggs, breaking them into medium chunks. When the eggs are cooked, scrape them into a clean bowl and set aside.

Increase the heat to medium high and add another tbsp. of oil to the skillet. Add garlic and ginger, cook for 30 seconds, and make sure not to let them burn. Add pork, cook until done about 3-5 minutes, add frozen veggies, then stir-fry for couple of minutes.

Add rice, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and salt to the skillet, then stir. Cook until everything is warmed thoroughly. Stir in the eggs and green onion. Taste to see if more salt is needed.

Serves 4

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram.