One-Bowl Meal: Chinese-Style Fried Rice

Rather than let rice and assorted meats and vegetables spoil in the refrigerator, one tasty solution is to make a panful of fried rice. I need to allot about 40 minutes for the preparation, which is why in our household it’s a dish mainly served on weekends.

You’ll need at least three cups of leftover rice, so if you don’t have enough, start making up a new batch now. Use the “quick cook” setting; don’t worry if it comes out a little chewy because the rice will cook further later in the pan. After slicing the meats and the vegetables—for food safety use a separate cutting board and knife for uncooked meat—scramble 3 to 5 eggs in a wok or large frying pan, remove, dice, and set aside.

Thoroughly cook the raw chicken, beef, pork, and/or sausage (if you don’t use raw meat you can shorten the prep time by 10 minutes), remove and set aside with the eggs. You can use one big bowl to store all the cooked ingredients.

Sautee the onions and other vegetables until nearly soft, then throw in cooked sausage, spam, and other cooked meats for a couple of minutes until heated. Empty the pan into the big bowl.

Coat the wok with a little oil or Pam so that the rice doesn’t stick. Heat the pan to medium high and stir-fry the rice. I like to make the rice a little crispy but it needs to be turned about once a minute to prevent blackening. For white fried rice just heat the rice enough to make it hot.

Mix in soy sauce, oyster sauce, and/or ham ha (preserved shrimp sauce) to enhance the taste, but if you’re concerned about sodium, go light on these ingredients or skip this step altogether. Empty the bowl of meats and vegetables into the pan, and you’re done. Serves 4-6, and the leftovers can easily be reheated in the microwave for a quick one-bowl meal. © 2009 Stephen Yuen