Fried rice is one of those things that taste good at any time of the day. Put a fried egg on it and it is breakfast. Add some steak on top and it is dinner. Have it after a long night of drinking and it is heaven. No matter when you eat it, fried rice is always going to be the epitome of Asian comfort food.
If you have never had Chinese sausage, you need to drop what you’re doing and drive to your nearest Asian food mart and pick up a pack. Chinese sausage is firm like a salami, but savory and sweet. When sliced, slightly charred, and caramelized, it is a burst of flavor you would not expect to get from this skinny sausage. Hence it is the star of my Chinese Sausage fried rice. Below I’ll show you how to make Chinese sausage fried rice the way I like it.
The golden rule of fried rice
Making fried rice has very few rules, but one very important one: use cold rice. It seems like in Asian households we always have an abundance of prepared rice sitting somewhere. Rice cookers just don’t make even servings sometimes. Case in point, I made some Filipino longonisa and rice for my wife’s breakfast, so we had plenty of cold rice to use! If you’re planning ahead, make a batch of rice and stick it in the fridge, covered, for an hour.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of cooked, cold rice
- 2 links of Chinese Sausage sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
- 2 cloves of chopped garlic
- 1/8 cup of frozen corn
- 1/8 cup of frozen peas
- Chopped scallions (green onions)
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tbs cooking oil (vegetable or canola)
- 1/2 tsp Monosodium Glutamate (optional)
- Wok or large pan
Steps
- Take your cold rice and place in a large bowl. If your rice is clumped together, use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the rice down into smaller grains. The heat will normally separate your rice but this saves some time and mess instead of doing it in your pan.
- Heat your wok or pan over a medium flame and add your choice of cooking oil (e.g. vegetable or canola). Swirl the oil to coat the bottom and sides of your pot. Then add the Chinese sausage and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Note: Chinese sausage can burn/caramelize quickly so keep a close eye on it.
- After the sausage has some color add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Note: Garlic also burns quickly, so keep an eye on it too!
- Add the rice to the sausage and garlic and mix until the rice is warm and begins to separate into individual grains. Make sure you start off using cold rice so it doesn’t stick to the pan!
- To veg or not to veg is your choice, but I like to add frozen corn kernels and peas to my rice to add some sweetness to each bite. Mix them into the rice until incorporated. Corn and peas are small so the heat from the fried rice should be enough to defrost and warm them quickly.
- While the vegetables cook at this point I like to add the soy sauce and sesame oil. Pour over the rice and mix it well so nearly all your rice is coated. This process is easiest to do in a wok or an extra large pan. I like to keep the rice periodically moving in the pan too until I’m ready to plate so that nothing has a chance to stick to the sides.
For anyone who likes some heat, this is also a great spot to add some Siracha or Sambal to spice things up! - In terms of seasoning, I don’t call for any extra salt in this dish because we are using soy sauce to season it. However, I do like a little bit of umami so I add a touch of MSG to my dish. I’m not going to get into the “MSG gives me headaches” debate because it infuriates me. So whether you choose to use or not, just remember: keep it to yourself.
- Once everything is incorporated into your fried rice, I like to cook it until a good amount of moisture has evaporated from the rice. Immediately after the soy sauce is added the rice gets a bit wet again. You’re looking for a texture that is “dry but steamy” but definitely not wet and mushy. When you hit that point, take it off the heat and plate it. Garnish with green onions and enjoy!
To me fried rice isn’t really a side dish. Honestly, with all the good stuff packed in it, it is an entree on its own. I might say the most economical and efficient entree at that. However, like some main dishes there can be toppings or garnishes that give it some extra personality.
When I made this dish today, I added a few finishing touches to accompany my rice: seared baby bok choy and a fried egg over easy.
The bok choy is simple. Slice it in half and wash out any dirt that might have fallen between the leaves. Place it halved-side down on a searing hot cast iron skillet or pan and drizzle some sesame oil on top. After 2-3 minutes, flip it and do it again on the other side, then serve and enjoy. Trust me this was delicious and a great way to get pack more vegetables into your meal. My 4 year old son even enjoyed it so much he ate more than half my bowl.
