Egg fried rice

This basic fried rice is a good choice for your first attempt at wok-frying. No meat or delicate vegetables to worry about – just a simple dish that will work well with good wok technique.

• serves

  2

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (see Note)
• 3 spring onions, white and light green parts finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 4 cups leftover cooked jasmine rice, cold (see Note)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ¼ tsp white pepper

Instructions

Beat the eggs with the sesame oil and ¼ tsp of salt and set aside. Heat the wok over medium–high heat and add the vegetable oil. Add half the spring onions, garlic and the remaining salt and fry until fragrant. Add the rice and soy sauce and toss to coat in the oil, pressing the rice against the side of the wok to break up any clumps.

When the rice softens and begins to toast, move all the rice to one side of the wok and add the egg mixture to the open side. Stir the eggs until they are nearly set, then combine with the rice. Add the remaining spring onions and white pepper and toss through.

Notes

• Oil is very important to wok cooking. To carry flavour around any wok-fried dish, you must flavour the oil first. Adding half the spring onions with the garlic will flavour the oil to form the base of the dish. The remainder added at the end provide a fresh flavour and texture.

• Fried rice is easiest when made with leftover rice that has been cooked and refrigerated. The refrigerated rice is firmer and will soften as it reheats in the wok. You can use freshly cooked rice but you need to use a lighter touch in the wok to keep from mashing it. The rice needs to lightly toast to give the dish a good wok hei taste.

• Once you’ve mastered the technique of making basic fried rice, you can start adding other ingredients. Add meat and vegetables, or use up leftovers. 

Watch Adam demonstrate how easy it is to make great fried rice in the video, top.

Recipe and image from Adam Liaw's Asian Cookery School (Hachette Australia, $49.99 hbk, $17.99 ebook). Video courtesy Adam Liaw/Hachette.

View our Readable feasts review and more recipes from the book here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.