WW: Chinese Cuban Fried Rice

Wok Wednesdays wokking through Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge
by Grace Young

This one was  l o v e d  by all!

Andy & I had it as a side to our grilled chicken, and thought it was delicious! Yes, there was even some leftover. Unbelievable, but one must pace themselves.

Our daughter was coming over the next morning for breakfast, some shopping, and an afternoon bike ride. We had a fun, fun, day! My plan was to send the leftovers home for her and her boyfriend. However, after a bike ride, we are usually pretty hungry. I mentioned she could have some of the rice. Well, she liked it so much, and the fact she was famished, she ate it all in one sitting. Sorry, Jake - she did ask for the recipe. :)

My sister, who recently bought a wok and SFTSE, made this as well (with regular soy sauce), and thought it was fabulous! Her son, whom is a somewhat finicky, OK, is a finicky eater, enjoyed it as well.

For fried rice, you need to plan a little bit ahead. The secret to successful fried rice is using day old cold rice; also, when you make your rice, you want to rinse it (before cooking) until the water runs clear (three to four rinses) to remove the starch.

If you are like me, and want to make this on the spot, and do not have any leftover rice in the refrigerator, you can do as I did. I made my rice, spread the cooked rice out onto a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment (makes it easy to pick up and funnel it into a bowl), and placed it in the freezer for about ten minutes. I then placed it in a bowl, and into the fridge until I was ready to start my stir-fry. Worked like a charm!

 You want to fluff the rice after cooling, using a fork, to separate the grains of rice.

While I was waiting for my husband to get home to start cooking, I placed the bean sprouts and shrimp in the refrigerator until needed. I did not realize until I tossed them into the wok, that the shrimp had released a lot of water (they were partially frozen). So-not-good for stir-frying! I removed the wok from the flame, and as quick as I could, took a large wad of paper towels, and using tongs to hold the towels, soaked up the liquid. This seemed to do the trick - all was well in the end.

You can't get much simpler than this recipe; just a few ingredients, with minimum of prep, and maybe, five minutes cook-time. 

Mise in place.

Bowl 1: Onion

Bowl 2: Bean sprouts, bay shrimp

Bowl 3: Cold rice

Bowl 4: Dark soy sauce

Bowl 5: Scallions

Bowl 6: Salt

Amazing that so few ingredients, can taste so good.

It was a good meal..

We are asked not to post the recipes here on our blog. If you would like the recipe, you will find it on page 264 of  Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge, which you can purchase at your local bookstore or find it at your local library. I highly recommend purchasing the book - you won't be disappointed. 

 

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