Fried Rice - Chinese comfort food

Ingredients

½ kg rice, cooked earlier and cooled. You can cook the rice the day before and leave it in the fridge overnight to make things simple.

1 large onion, diced

1/2 bunch spring onions, washed and diced

3 eggs, beaten, mixed with a dash of milk

6 rashers bacon, diced

½ large bag mixed diced vegetables (peas, carrots, corn) from the freezer

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

White pepper

Preparation

Heat a large fry pan or work and add oil. Slide in the beaten egg mixture and cook for a minute or two until partly set. Turn over carefully and cook the other side. Once it’s cooked through, remove from pan, slice into small squares and set aside.

Add a dash more vegetable oil in wok and fry onion over low heat until soft. Add bacon and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring. Once bacon is browning, turn heat up to high and add frozen vegetables. Cook, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes.

Add cooked rice, breaking it up with wooden spoon as you go. Continue stirring for a few minutes until the rice starts to form a brown crust in places. Season with light soy sauce and a dash of dark soy sauce. Add a little soy sauce to start with and taste before you add more. Sprinkle with white pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly so rice is evenly coated and coloured.

Add reserved omelette pieces and chopped spring onion. Stir through and let warm through for one minute. Turn off heat then add a few shakes of sesame oil. Stir to combine.

Serve in deep, generous bowls.

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About

Good food doesn’t have to be complicated. This recipe is a case in point. Fried rice couldn’t be easier or quicker to make yet it tastes simply wonderful. And it makes you feel warm and loved in the way that only the best comfort food does.

I like serving fried rice with roasted soy sauce chicken and a plate of steamed Chinese greens but I’ve also cooked it solo for a quick after work supper. And it still hits the spot, especially as I serve it with Indian brinjal (eggplant chutney) on the side. This may sound odd but once you’ve tried it, you’ll never look back; my German husband is now addicted to the combination.

This recipe is my version of my mother’s dish. I cooked this once when my friend Adrian came over for dinner. He took one bite and said, “this is your mum’s fried rice.” He would have last eaten her rice at least 15 years so it must have made quite an impression on him. That’s how powerful a legacy the food we cook is.