Someone have mercy on an old man please. Fried Rice?????

[TNHermit]

I like fried rice

I have boiled the rice
rinsed/not rinsed
added it hot/added it cold
undercooked it/overcooked it
I've sauteed the veggies first and added the rice
i've put the rice with the veggies.
And what about the egg thing??


It ALWAYS turns to rice mush!!

I'm using a cast iron wok, high heat. What am I doing wrong????????

[Summerthyme]

TNHermit... I haven't ever made it. But here's a recipe which may help (not for all the added stuff, unless you want to.. ginger? weird)... but the technique might help..
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/f...pe2/index.html

Summerthyme

[A Simple Pine Box]

Hermit, here is my recipe that we both really like. I would suggest you cook the rice to the texture you prefer. If you leave it underdone the "refried" part of cooking won't cook the rice the rest of the way. I have also determined that the "refried" part works much better with cooked rice that has been refrigerated overnight. I also think that white rice is better than brown or wild rice.

This recipe is for about 1 c. refried rice. Add or delete the rest of the ingrediants as necessary.

Cook the rice and set aside. (2c water to 1 c rice)

Add 3 tbls oil (or butter or sesame oil) to heated saute pan.
Fry onion/garlic/fresh ginger/ whatever flavors you like put together!!! in the hot oil until onion is translucent.

Add 2 beaten eggs and scramble (I like to keep the eggs in bigger chunks) and fry until done, 2-3 minutes.

Add the cooked rice, 3-4 tbls soy sauce, diced smaller pieces of veges (like carrots & peas) /pork /chicken, whatever you like.


Saute and stir until rice is reheated through and everything is mixed in well.

Sometimes I spice it up with a splash of hot Szechaun Sauce when I add the soy sauce.

[TNHermit]

Thanks guys

IT seems like I pretty much do what you guys do. but it never has that :fluffyness" LOL to it. When you eat out fried rice everything is mixed together but still separate. (does that make sense :) ).

Mine you can make wet snow balls out of. I have to keep trying

I like the rice cause you can put left over meat and veggies in it.

[Beaners]

If rice isn't working out maybe pasta would? I break angel hair pasta into short pieces before I boil it, then after I boil it I add in a homemade teriyaki sauce with some vegetables. It's very similar to lo mein, and much faster than fried rice.

Kayleigh

[TNHermit]

If rice isn't working out maybe pasta would? I break angel hair pasta into short pieces before I boil it, then after I boil it I add in a homemade teriyaki sauce with some vegetables. It's very similar to lo mein, and much faster than fried rice.

Kayleigh

I'm not givin up on the fried rice (ya all know I'm a bullhead ) But this sounds good too.

[goatlady]

Basically it sounds to me as if you are "cooking" the dish way too long after you have added the rice. I add the rice last, after the veggies are the right texture for my taste and then dump the cold, at least day-old rice in, quickly break up and stir in the veggies as you add soy sauce and as soon as the rice is heated, remove from the pan. It should still be separate grains and "fluffy". I do a LOT of stirring for this dish.

[Texaslil]

Thanks guys

IT seems like I pretty much do what you guys do. but it never has that :fluffyness" LOL to it. When you eat out fried rice everything is mixed together but still separate. (does that make sense :) ).

Mine you can make wet snow balls out of. I have to keep trying

I like the rice cause you can put left over meat and veggies in it.

Hermit, you can't get really fluffy rice by boiling,,. It has to be STEAMED. That how the chinese restaurants do it. If you can't invest in a rice steamer, try cooking it on such lo;w heat that you don't have to stir it. The stirring breaks it up. Also use long grained rice. short grain, or basmati gets sticky. I hate sticky rice and so I invested in a rice steamer a long itme ago. If you can't, bring 2 cups of water and one cup of rice to a boil, then turn off the heat. and cover. If it's not done in about 30 minutes, put the heat on the lowest to finish and don't stir. Also you can try washing the rice to get rid of any exces starch which has a tendency to make for more sticky. Good luck

[TNHermit]

Hermit, you can't get really fluffy rice by boiling,,. It has to be STEAMED. That how the chinese restaurants do it. If you can't invest in a rice steamer, try cooking it on such lo;w heat that you don't have to stir it. The stirring breaks it up. Also use long grained rice. short grain, or basmati gets sticky. I hate sticky rice and so I invested in a rice steamer a long itme ago. If you can't, bring 2 cups of water and one cup of rice to a boil, then turn off the heat. and cover. If it's not done in about 30 minutes, put the heat on the lowest to finish and don't stir. Also you can try washing the rice to get rid of any exces starch which has a tendency to make for more sticky. Good luck

I've got some kind of crockpot thing for rice with a hole in the lid. Its suppose to be a rice cooker ?? :)
By the way I should add I make a killer rice pudding LOL

[armourbearer]

Hermit, you can't get really fluffy rice by boiling,,. It has to be STEAMED. That how the chinese restaurants do it. If you can't invest in a rice steamer, try cooking it on such lo;w heat that you don't have to stir it. The stirring breaks it up. Also use long grained rice. short grain, or basmati gets sticky. I hate sticky rice and so I invested in a rice steamer a long itme ago. If you can't, bring 2 cups of water and one cup of rice to a boil, then turn off the heat. and cover. If it's not done in about 30 minutes, put the heat on the lowest to finish and don't stir. Also you can try washing the rice to get rid of any exces starch which has a tendency to make for more sticky. Good luck

Oh, yeah I forgot about rinsing the rice before you cook it to remove excess starch. Especially basmati rice. I rinse it in cold water several times till the water is fairly clear. I say 'fairly' for I don't think it will get compeletly clear.

And as to fried rice being yellow I agree it's probably tumeric that is used for flavor.