Japanese Fried Rice Recipe – Asian Recipes and Cooking Guide

Called Yakimeshi or Chahan in Japan, where it is particularly popular among the younger generations, fried rice is an enticing way to use up leftover rice and whatever else might be on hand in the refrigerator and pantry.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

300 g (10 oz/1¼ cups) Japanese short-grain rice
2 eggs
2 tablespoons dashi II
2 teaspoons sake
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch ground white pepper
1 tablespoon shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
Vegetable oil, for pan-frying
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 spring onions (scallions), 2 chopped, 1 sliced on the diagonal
4 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps sliced
60 g (2 oz) bamboo shoots, thinly sliced
60 g (2 oz) sliced ham, cut into strips
40 g (1½ oz/¼ cup) frozen green peas, thawed
1 teaspoon pickled ginger, finely chopped

Method:

Rinse the rice several times in cold water until the water runs clear, then drain in a colander for 1 hour. Put in a saucepan with 375 ml (13 fl oz/1½ cups) water. Bring to the boil, then cover with a tight-fitting lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat but leave the pan on the hotplate. Working quickly, remove the lid, lay a clean tea towel (dish towel) over the top, then put the lid on and set aside for 15 minutes. Cool completely, then rinse well.

Put the eggs, dashi, sake, sugar, white pepper and 2 teaspoons of the shoyu in a bowl and mix well.

Heat a little of the vegetable oil in a small nonstick frying pan over medium heat, then pour in the egg mixture. Drag the egg mixture into the center of the pan with a wooden spoon a couple of times, and allow the mixture to flow back to the edges. Cook for 1 minute, or until almost set, then flip over and cook for a further 30 seconds. Remove and allow to cool. Roll the omelet up, then slice thinly.

Pour a little more vegetable oil and half the sesame oil into a wok or large frying pan and heat over medium heat. Add the chopped spring onion, shiitake and bamboo shoots. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add ham and peas and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the wok.

Add a little more vegetable oil and the remaining sesame oil to the wok and add the rice. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then return the mushroom mixture to the wok, along with the remaining shoyu and the pickled ginger and stir to combine and heat through. Scoop into a bowl and top with the egg and remaining sliced spring onion and serve.