Fujian Fried Rice with Gravy

I know, I know. You 're thinking, fried rice? Even a six-year old can make fried rice, so why post a recipe for it? Well, there are many versions of fried rice if you think about it, not only the kind you get in chinese restaurants. There's Thai fried rice, pineapple fried rice, nasi goreng (Indonesian), Yangzhou fried rice, salted fish fried rice, Indian-style fried rice with anchovies, Japanese omu rice - the list goes on. Here, I am sharing with you a recipe for Fujian fried rice, which is essentially fried rice served with an oyster sauce gravy. The gravy is thick and gooey, which allows it to perfectly coat each grain of rice with a layer of tasty savoury goodness. You've got to love rice with gravy!

I must have packed in a load of ingredients in my dish. It has char siu (bbq pork), prawns, capsicum, spring onions, peas, corn and lots of egg. I love the sweetness that char siu adds to fried rice, and the prawns are lovely too, with a slightly crunchy bite to them. The gravy is mostly oyster-sauce based, to which I added diced mushrooms for flavour as well as texture when served over the rice. As the gravy is salty, be sure not to overseason the rice with salt or soy sauce. The rice should just be mildly salted with most of the flavours coming from the pork and prawns.

I'm always happy to find leftover rice in the fridge, because that means that fried rice is most probably on the dinner menu, and it's one of the quickest and easiest things to prepare. One of the few things to remember when making fried rice is to make sure your wok is on high heat (I find that my Scanpan wok works quite well, and has a wide and almost flat base that is great for stir-frying large amounts) in order to "sear" the rice properly. Go easy on the soy sauce if you're using it, and supplement with a good pinch of salt instead. You can also add a little chicken stock powder to bring out the flavours in the dish.

Fujian Fried Rice Recipe

Ingredients

Vegetable oil for frying

3 eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic, chopped

100g prawn meat, diced, seasoned with salt, sugar and pepper

100g char siu (roast pork), diced

1/4 cup diced red capsicum (bell peppers)

1/4 cup frozen peas

4 cups cold cooked jasmine rice

1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp chicken stock powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

2 stalks scallions, chopped

Gravy:

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 chinese black mushrooms, stems removed, soaked in 1 cup hot water until softened

3/4 tsp chicken stock powder

1 1/2 tbsp premium oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp pepper

Pinch of salt, to taste

2 tsp tapioca starch mixed with 2 tbsp water

Method

Prepare the gravy first. Squeeze out the water from the mushrooms (reserve the water for the stock) and roughly dice. Heat up a little oil in a small pan/pot and fry the garlic and mushrooms briefly. Add the water that was reserved from soaking the mushrooms, followed by the rest of the ingredients except for the tapioca starch solution. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered for 5 minutes. Add the tapioca starch solution and stir well to mix until it comes to a simmer again. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Heat up a little oil in a wok and fry the egg to make a thin omelette. Break it up with the spatula to form rough shreds. Dish out and set aside.

Heat up 1 tbsp oil in the wok on high heat. Fry the garlic for half a minute, followed by the char siu and prawns. Add the peas and capsicum next and fry briefly. Then, add in the rice (use a fork to break up the grains), wine, soy, sugar, sesame oil, chicken stock powder and pepper. Toss everything together on high heat for 2-3 minutes and add salt to taste. Add the eggs next. Lastly, stir in the chopped scallions. Transfer onto a large serving dish. Ladle the hot gravy (reheat if necessary) over the top of the rice and serve immediately.