Five Rules for Fluffy, Separate-Grain Fried Rice
Translated from my original Japanese post (2018). 日本語の原文を読む →
Hello!
It's Yoko, and I stake my life on making fried rice with separate, fluffy grains (lol).
Today I'm sharing my tips for making it.
If your fried rice always turns out soggy, this is for you!
If you're short on time, here's my tweet.
To everyone struggling with fried rice...
↓ Operation Fluffy Fried Rice ٩( 'ω' )و↓
The rice gets coated in oil and egg,
so it separates easily!1. Let warm rice cool down
2. Stir-fry everything except the egg first, then mix it into the rice from step 1
3. Heat the pan (iron if possible) over high heat
4. Spread the oil, add beaten egg and the mixture from step 2, and stir-fry
5. When it turns fluffy, it's done ♪ pic.twitter.com/Rz2supvRhS
— Gourmet blogger foodie Yoko♡ (@foodie_yoko) August 23, 2018
If you want a bit more detail, read on ↓
Tip 1: Cool the rice down
The biggest reason fried rice turns soggy is the moisture in the rice!
Are you using freshly cooked rice?
Warm rice that's still steaming is a no-go!
It will absolutely stick to the pan!
Use cold leftover rice, or if you use warm rice, let it cool until you can't see steam anymore.
Tip 2: Prep everything properly
Once the rice is cool, the rest is about efficiency.
Is your oil ready to go into the pan?
Is the rice cool?
Is the egg beaten, and are the roast pork (chashu) and green onion finely chopped?
Have everything on standby so you can use it right away!
Tip 3: Stir-fry the fillings beforehand!
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add all the ingredients except the egg, stir-fry with a little salt and pepper, and take them out. Now you're ready.
There are two reasons to cook the fillings first.
One is to keep the egg fluffy.
Egg cooks right away, but the fillings take a bit longer.
This closes that gap in timing.
I'll explain the second reason in Tip 4.
Tip 4: Sandwich the rice between the egg and the fillings!
Wipe out the pan you used for the fillings, add 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil, heat it over high heat, and pour in the beaten egg.
When the egg puffs up and bubbles, add the rice.
(If the egg doesn't puff up when it goes in, the heat is too low, so turn it up.)
Add the fillings right away!
(From egg to rice to fillings should take about 5 seconds.)
That way the rice is sandwiched between the egg and the oil that clings to the fillings you cooked in Tip 3, right?
This coats the rice, so it doesn't stick directly to the pan!
Tip 5: Stir-fry quickly until fluffy!
Once everything is in the pan after Tip 4, stir-fry it quickly!
The rice will gradually loosen into separate grains!
But if you keep going too long, "fluffy" turns into "dry," so be careful (lol).
Once the fillings are well mixed, season with salt and pepper and you're done!
Hmm, if I do say so myself, that's a lovely, fluffy result...!
This time I used homemade chashu and homemade green onion oil, so the sense of accomplishment is huge (lol).
Making fluffy fried rice is surprisingly easy!
The key is Tip 4: the rice gets coated by being sandwiched between the egg and the oil-coated fillings. Please give it a try!
