Easy Malaysian Recipes for New Cooks and Overseas Cooks: Fried Rice

3 small bowls of cooked rice (rice cooked the night before is best)

100 grams of chicken meat (curt into small bite sized pieces)

100 grams of prawns (cleaned. If they are too large, cut them into two)

50 grams of carrots (cut into small cubes)

50 grams of long beans (cut into small cubes)

1 onion (diced)

4 pips of garlic (diced)

1 cm of ginger (cut into strips)

2 eggs (beaten with a little salt)

2 tablespoonsful soya sauce

1 tablespoonful oyster sauce

pepper

salt

oil for cooking

scallions (chopped)

red chilies (sliced)

1. Heat up your wok. Add two tablespoonsful of oil. Add the ginger, garlic and onions and fry until it is aromatic.
2. Add the proteins that is the chicken and prawns. Stir-fry until it is slightly golden brown.
3. Add the vegetables, the carrots and beans, and continue to stir-fry. Don’t overcook the vegetables.
4. Add the rice and the seasoning ingredients – soy sauce, oyster sauce, and pepper powder.
5. Finally, make a little ‘hole’ in the center of the rice and add in the egg. Cover with rice and allow the egg to cook for a minute.
6. Continue to stir fry the rice. The egg should be in small pieces and well mixed with the rice. If you like your egg well mixed and sticking with the rice, just pour the beaten egg on the rice and continue frying! Remember no rules.
7. Dish your aromatic fried rice on a serving plate. Garnish with chopped scallions.
8. Place the chopped chilies in a small dish with some soy sauce and serve with the rice.

1. The beauty of this recipe is that there are no rules. There is a lot of room for improvisation and you can tweak the recipe to suit your taste.
2. Overnight rice is best because the moisture from fresh rice will make your fried rice wet and soggy. It will also tend to stick to your pan when frying. If you do not have overnight rice, just make sure your rice is cooled before frying.
3. The amount of rice used depends on the number of people eating. For me a simple rule of thumb would be 1 bowl of rice for 1 person. For small eaters, 2 bowls for 3 people would be more than adequate.
4. You can change the proteins used. You can replace the chicken and prawns with pork, beef, anchovies, bacon or shrimps. Anything goes. As long as the meat can be cut into bite sized pieces it can be used. Fish does not work so well because it will break up when frying but having said that I do know of a student overseas who replaced the chicken with a can of tuna and produced a very tasty dish. That’s innovation for you!
5. You can change the vegetables used. Just make sure that the vegetables are not of the soft or leafy variety. As long as the vegetable is able to hold its shape during cooking, it can be used.
6. I like to keep a bag of frozen vegetables in my refrigerator that I use to make fried rice when I am too tired or lazy to cook anything more elaborate. Frozen cubed carrots, green peas and corn are my favorite though the ones with the broccoli and mushrooms also work as well)
7. Use whatever proteins and vegetables you have at hand or that are seasonal. The above recipe is a basic recipe for Fried Rice. Don’t worry too much if you do not have the exact meats or vegetables, as long as you follow the technique and get your seasonings right, you are good to go!
8. Garnish can be varied too. Some folks like to garnish with fried shallots, sprigs of parsley, chopped coriander, freshly chopped red chilies or even small pieces of fried salted fish. Use your imagination and own this dish!