a little more comfort

One of the earliest foods I remember from my childhood.

Rice was a given.

A staple.

But fried rice, was always a treat.

The Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage) is pre-cooked when the rice is steamed the day before. I still use the same brand that she did, Wing Wing, which has been made in Canada since the 1900s, when the founder emigrated from China to Vancouver from Canton (now Guangzhou).

This very close to my grandmother’s recipe, as far as I can remember. Instead of sausage, left over BBQ duck or pork also works very well.

Ingredients

2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 links Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage) (3-4 is better)
1 small knob of ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 green onions, whites sliced thin, and greens into 4cm planks
1 small onion, sliced into half-moons
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
3 cups day-old rice (break up the lumps)
Soy sauce
White pepper
Cooking oil, such as peanut or good canola
Sesame oil (optional)

First the basic technique:

The day before, place the sausage on top of your rice/water before steaming. The rice will take a little bit longer to cook, but it will flavour the rice and the sausage will come out plump and juicy.

If you haven’t eaten all your rice and sausage, cool it to room temp, cover and put in the fridge.

The day of, do all your mise en place, take out the rice, slice the sausage on the bias. The amount of ingredients will vary depending on how much rice and sausage you have on hand.

Heat up your wok, add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan when hot. (If you’re using a non-stick wok, first, for shame! Make sure you add oil to pan before heating – never heat up an empty non-stick pan) Quickly soft-scramble your eggs and reserve. (variations of egg, discussed below)

Heat another tablespoon of oil, quickly stir-fry sliced onions, the whites of the green onions, and ginger. Add garlic and stir-fry until fragrant, apx 30 seconds and reserve.

Increase heat, add another tablespoon of oil to your wok. When hot, add rice and break up any remaining lumps and stir fry your rice until it starts to crisp a bit.

Add reserved eggs, onions, lap cheong, and peas. Cook until peas are done and sausage is juicy and hot. Season with white pepper, soy sauce, and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Variations, egg theory

“Golden” Fried Rice:
Beat 3 eggs, mix into the day old rice – ensuring every kernel of rice is coated with egg before stir frying.

“Chunky” Eggy Fried Rice:
Instead of soft scrambling your eggs first, before adding back all the onions back to the wok with the rice, make a well exposing the bottom of the wok, add the eggs to the wok and scramble the eggs