With a large stockpile of char siu now on hand, we now have one of the most recognizable Chinese dishes - Yangzhou fried rice. This is a far cry from the simple fried rice which was the first recipe on No Free Lunch. Often served as the last savory course of a Chinese banquet, Yangzhou fried rice is characterized by shrimp, egg, and char siu, along with vegetables. As with all my fried rice, this also features the indispensable Worcestershire sauce.
- 5-6 cups cooked, day-old rice
- 8-10 marinated shrimp (see below)
- 6-8 strips Char Siu
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 3 large eggs
- 1 bunch green onions
- 10 splashes Worcestershire
- 5 splashes soy sauce
- 3 splashes sesame oil
- Vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
Shrimp
- 8-10 large, raw shrimp
- Salt, pepper, and garlic powder
- 5 splashes soy sauce
- 1/3 lemon
Instructions
Prepare the shrimp first. If using frozen, defrost with cold running water. Remove shells. Next, de-vein the shrimp. To do this, slice each shrimp down the top, all the way from the head to the tail, then remove the vein. Note that some will have more to get out than others.
Place the shrimp in a bowl. Dust with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Splash the soy sauce over them, and squeeze in a bit of lemon juice. Let sit for 15 minutes. Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a wok on high. Sear the shrimp on both sides, a few minutes each. Set aside.
Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat. Add salt and pepper. Cook the eggs in the wok on medium-high heat. Cook until there is no more liquid, but the eggs are still soft. Set aside with the cooked shrimp.
Slice the whole bunch of green onions crosswise into small discs. Cut the char siu into bite sized pieces. With a little vegetable oil, stir fry both until hot. Add the rice. Sitting in the refrigerator, the rice will likely have formed into chunks. Break these up as you add them into the wok; the looser, the better. Add the peas. You do not have to defrost them ahead of time; the heat from the wok and rice will thaw them. Add Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Toss to mix everything together. Let the whole thing sit on relatively high heat for a few minutes. Cover if you like.
Once this is done, add the shrimp and eggs. Break up the eggs a little and toss the rice. Let sit for a few more minutes, and serve.
Undoubtedly the most luxurious fried rice. Look at the size of those shrimp! Happy dashing the Worcestershire!
ReplyDeleteI'm growing to appreciate the stepwise progression here. Hopefully next dish will use reserves of Yangzhou fried rice. Only the most dedicated followers will make it to the 50th dish that incorporates something from all past blog entries. That would kick ass. There would be badges for that.
ReplyDeleteJason,
ReplyDeleteFor something to be useful for transformation into another recipe, it has to be at least some what primary. Chinese BBQ pork (char siu) is certainly that. It is actually a classic ingredient. I think that makes fried rice with many ingredients the end of the road, I think.
I wouldn't jump to conclusions so easily. Maybe you could turn the fried rice into impromptu Arancini?
DeleteArancini, the iconic Sicilian dish, is made of a rice cooked in the way that risotto is cooked. That means the rice has been cooked with stirring from the start to work the starch out of the outside of the rice grains. That makes the rice creamy and sticky. That makes forming the balls (the arancini) possible. The sticky rice balls are than dipped in egg wash, bread crumbs and deep fried. Therefore, it is a lot easier to transform risotto into arancini than fried rice. It is hard to work the starch out, once the rice has been firmly cooked. I am sure it is possible but probably not worth it. By the way, Tony Nasello has an arancini recipe on the Sarello's Restaurant website.
Delete