Golden Fried Rice

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5 from 1 vote

Golden Fried Rice

Fried rice taken to a new level with the addition of egg yolks to the rice before it is cooked.

Prep Time20

Cook Time7

Course: One dish meals, Rice

Cuisine: Asian, Asian-American

Keyword: eggs, Golden Fried Rice, Lucas Sin

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

4 cups chilled cooked short-grain white rice can use long grain, preferably day-old rice
4 large eggs yolks and whites separated
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil divided, plus more for drizzling

Asian Trinity Plus

½ small yellow or white onion finely chopped
1 inch piece ginger peeled, finely chopped almost minced
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
4 scallions white and pale green parts separated, finely chopped, dark green parts thinly sliced,

Flavor Adds

1 tsp Kosher salt to taste
1 tsp sugar to taste
1/8 tsp tumeric if you want to enhance the golden color of the rice, this is the trick
white pepper to taste

The Options: Sky's the Limit

1 cup Bbq pork, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, shrimp, peas, any diced vegetables-squash. Last night's roast chicken, diced. Any of these should be diced and at least partially cooked. This is your chance to clean out the fridge! Add right before the rice is done and stir fry any adds for a minute to heat and combine distribute evenly in the rice. To preserve the texture of the rice, your additions should not be too wet, which is also why you should use pre-partially cooked items..

Instructions

Separate egg yolks from whites, placing yolks in a medium bowl and whites in a small bowl. Add rice to bowl with yolks and mix to break up any clumps and coat each grain with yolks (take your time with this as any clumps will cook together); set aside.
Stir 2 Tbsp oil into egg whites and season lightly with salt. Heat a dry large nonstick skillet over high. Add egg white mixture and cook, pushing around constantly with chopsticks or a heatproof rubber spatula, until gently set, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Wipe out skillet if needed.
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in skillet over medium-high. Add ginger, stirring, until very fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add yellow onion, season with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until onion is translucent, about 1 minute (remove from heat if onion starts to go past golden brown). Add reserved rice mixture, sprinkle with sugar, and season with salt. Toss to combine, then cook, undisturbed, until rice is beginning to warm and crisp underneath, about 1 minute.
Push some of the rice to the side to clear a few inches in skillet. Drizzle a bit of oil into the clearing. Add scallion white and pale green parts and garlic and cook, stirring, until just softened and fragrant, about 45 seconds. Toss into rice mixture and cook, tossing occasionally, until warmed through and rice is crisp and chewy, about 3 minutes. Return cooked egg whites to pan and cook, tossing and breaking up with spatula until distributed.
Now is when you would add extras...veggies, protein, and then condiments. Stir fry additional minute to combine and heat through.
Special Shout Out to my favorite: catsup or ketchup, add it now. Start with at least 2-3 tablespoons and then add to taste. Fry to heat and incorporate catsup throughout the rice.
Divide among plates and top with scallion greens.

Notes

Note in the video, Lucas mentions a 2:1 ratio of salt to sugar. I started with even amounts or a smidge more salt, taste, and season to your preference.

This fried rice does not use soy sauce at all. Most likely due to the color impact of adding soy sauce. I grew up with fried rice that was coffee with a bit of milk color. My Dad used soy sauce in his rice, a trick he probably picked up from Chinatown chefs. A simple variation of fried rice starts with butter or rendered chicken fat with dark and light soy to color and flavor the rice...so, so yummy.