蛋炒饭 — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

The quintessential Chinese comfort dish featuring day-old rice wok-tossed over blazing heat with beaten eggs, crisp vegetables, and soy sauce until each grain is individually coated and infused with the prized smoky wok hei flavor.

Ingredients

600g day-old cooked jasmine rice
4 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
100g peas
2 carrots, finely diced
4 green onions, sliced
1 teaspoon white pepper
Salt to taste

Instructions

1 Break up day-old rice with your hands to separate all clumps, ensuring every grain is individual for proper wok frying.
2 Heat a wok over the highest possible heat until smoking, add vegetable oil and swirl to coat, then pour in beaten eggs and scramble quickly for thirty seconds until just set but still slightly wet.
3 Push eggs to the side, add diced carrots and peas, stir-frying for one minute until the carrots begin to soften.
4 Add the separated rice all at once and toss vigorously using a scooping and flipping motion, pressing rice against the hot wok surface to develop smoky wok hei flavor.
5 Drizzle soy sauce around the edge of the wok so it sizzles and caramelizes before being tossed through the rice, add sesame oil and white pepper, continuing to toss for another minute.
6 Fold in sliced green onions, toss twice more, and serve immediately on warm plates.

Did You Know?

Professional Chinese chefs consider egg fried rice a test of fundamental wok skills. The ability to achieve wok hei, the smoky breath of the wok, while keeping each rice grain separate and perfectly coated is considered a hallmark of culinary mastery.