Ginger Fried Rice
This recipe comes from Mark Bittman’s Minimalist column in the New York Times. I love just about everything that I’ve ever made of his. This recipe didn’t look that impressive when I saw him make it in his video podcast, but I had some rice to use up, so I tried it. My pictures all suck, but the food was incredible.
First off, I used Momofuku’s slow poached eggs in my dish. This involves getting some water to 145°, adding some eggs, and keeping it just barely above 140° for 40-45 minutes. I quick fried them in some of the oil for this dish just before serving. Skip this if you just want to use regular fried eggs.
I prepped all these things last night while I was cooking other things: 1 leek, julienned, 2 Tbs each ginger and garlic, chopped into small bits. You don’t want the garlic and ginger to be too fine, but they need to be small. 2 cups of rice or other grains, cooked. I used wild rice mix that I had in the cupboard. I simmered it in a big pot of salted water, then strained it, like pasta.
Get a good layer of peanut or other oil in the bottom of a large frying pan and put it on medium heat. When the oil is warm put in the garlic and ginger bits. Toss them around until they get fairly brown. Be careful not to burn these. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Toss a little salt with them. Add the leeks and a little salt to the oil and cook them until softened, just a couple minutes. If you think you have a bit too much oil, pour a little off, reserving it for later. Toss in your rice and turn the heat on high. Stir-fry the rice with the leeks until the rice is warmed through and it’s good and, um, fried. If you want to use the same pan, reserve the rice and leek mixture and use this pan to fry your eggs. They should be sunny-side up, and use some of the reserved oil if you need it. Like I said, I used the Slow-Poached eggs, I fried them in a little bit of this oil.
To serve: Put some rice/leeks in a dinner bowl, egg on top, sprinkle garlic/ginger bits over the whole thing. Season with soy sauce and sesame oil. Amazing.
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s post on nytimes.com: Ginger Fried Rice