Vegetable Fried Rice

Step 1

Take your rice out of the refrigerator. Wet your hands, and break up any clumps with your fingers. Set aside on the counter for 1 hour, so the rice can come up to room temperature.

Step 2

Mix sesame oil, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, salt, turmeric (if using) and MSG (if using) in a small bowl and set aside.

Step 3

Wash, rinse, and drain your rice, and prepare it how you would normally either in your rice cooker or using our stovetop rice cooking method.To the rice and water, add the sesame oil, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, salt, turmeric (if using) and MSG (if using). Stir until the rice and seasonings are well-mixed. Cook the rice.

Step 4

After the rice is cooked, leave it out to cool uncovered for 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with chopsticks or a fork, and turn it out onto a large plate or sheet pan to cool further and dry out slightly. If you cooked the rice properly, you should be able to see individual grains of rice that aren’t too wet.

Step 5

Dice and chop all of your vegetables, including the onion, carrots, mushrooms, bell pepper, snow peas, and scallions, ensuring they’re all about the same size. The exception is the mung bean sprouts, which just need to be rinsed, cleaned and trimmed. Set the vegetables aside in neat piles.

Step 6

Combine the eggs with salt, white pepper, and Shaoxing wine. Beat for 30 seconds.

Step 7

Heat your wok until it just begins to smoke, and add 2 tablespoons of neutral oil to coat the wok. Pour in the beaten eggs. Scramble them, and when they’re about halfway done, turn off the heat. Use your wok spatula to break the eggs up into smaller pieces, using the residual heat of the wok to just cook them through. Remove from the wok and set aside.

Step 8

Heat the wok to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil, along with the onion, garlic (if using), and carrots. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the mushroom and bell peppers, and continue to stir-fry for another 30 to 60 seconds.

Step 9

Turn the heat up to high, and add your rice. Immediately begin stir-frying, firmly scraping the contents of the wok from the bottom up to prevent the rice from sticking. After 1 minute, you can pour your sauce evenly over the rice if using leftover day-old rice, and stir it in until the rice is an even color.

Step 10

Add the white pepper, and keep stir-frying the rice for another minute (about 2 minutes total).  You’ll see some steam starting to rise from the rice once it’s heated through. Taste now and add additional seasonings to taste (salt, soy sauce, etc.).

Step 11

Add the snow peas, and stir-for 15-30 seconds. Add the eggs and mix again until the eggs are incorporated. Add the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok, and stir it in. Finally, add the bean sprouts and scallions. Stir-fry until the bean sprouts just begin to wilt, and serve.