Fried rice

Fried rice

Fried rice, a popular Asian dish
Alternative names	Bai cha (Cambodia) , Htamin gyaw (Burma), Khao pad (Thailand), Bokkeumbap (Korea), Nasi goreng (Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore), Cha-Han, Yakimeshi (Japan), Cơm chiên, Cơm rang (Vietnam), Chaufa (Peru), Arroz mamposteao (Puerto Rico)
Place of origin	China
Region or state	Worldwide
Creator	Chinese
Main ingredients	steamed rice stir fried in spices and other ingredients
Cookbook: Fried rice  Media: Fried rice

Fried rice (Chinese: 炒飯; pinyin: chǎo fàn) is a Chinese dish of steamed rice that has been stir-fried in a wok and, usually, mixed with other ingredients, such as eggs, vegetables, and meat, and as such, often served as a complete dish. It is sometimes served as the penultimate dish in Chinese banquets,^[1][2] just before dessert. As a homemade dish, fried rice is typically made with leftover ingredients (including vegetables and/or meat) from other dishes, leading to countless variations, being an economic hodgepodge like it is done with fried noodles or pyttipanna.^[3]

Many popular varieties of fried rice have their own specific list of ingredients. In Asia, the more famous varieties include Yangzhou and Fujian fried rice. Elsewhere, most restaurants catering to vegetarian or Muslim clientele have invented their own varieties of fried rice including egg fried rice and the Indonesian spicy nasi goreng (fried rice).

Fried rice is a common staple in American Chinese cuisine, especially in the form sold as fast food. The most common form of American Chinese fried rice consists of some mixture of eggs, scallions, and vegetables, with chopped meat added at the customer's discretion, and usually flavored with soy sauce instead of table salt (more typical for Chinese-style fried rice). Fried rice made in American Chinese restaurants can vary in appearance, from a dark brown appearance often seen in East Coast establishments, to a light brown appearance often seen in Midwestern American Chinese restaurants.^[4] Fried rice is also seen in other American restaurants, even in cuisines with no native tradition of the dish. The dish is also a staple of Chinese restaurants in the United Kingdom (both "sit-in" and "takeaway"), and is very popular in the West African nations of Nigeria, Ghana and Togo, both as restaurant and as street food.

Preparation

Leftover rice is generally used because the moisture in freshly cooked rice will cause it to steam instead of fry.^[5] The oil may be seasoned with aromatics such as garlic before the rice and other ingredients are stir-fried together in a wok. Other ingredients vary: they can include eggs, meat (chicken, beef, or cured pork), char siu pork, seafood (shrimp or lobster), vegetables (carrots, broccoli, bean sprouts, celery, peas, corn), mushrooms, spices and peppers, and soy sauce or sometimes oyster sauce. The base of vegetable fried rice does not contain any meat or seafood; others are named for the primary addition (e.g. "chicken fried rice" or "shrimp fried rice"). Other "house" versions may contain several meats and seafoods. It is often stir-fried in a wok with vegetable oil or pork fat to prevent sticking, as well as for flavor. Onions, scallion and garlic are often added for extra flavor. It is popularly eaten either as an accompaniment to another dish, or as a course by itself.

Popular garnishes include fried shallots, sprigs of parsley or coriander leaves, carrots carved into intricate shapes, pickled vegetables, sliced cucumber, tomato or sliced chili sprinkled on top of the heaped rice.

Fried rice is a popular street food in Asia. In some Asian countries, there are some small restaurants, street vendors and travelling hawkers that specialized on serving fried rice. In Indonesia it is common to find fried rice travelling street hawkers with their cart stationed in busy street or frequenting residential areas in the city. Many food stands found on the streets across Southeast Asia serve fried rice with a selection of garnishes and side dishes that the customer can choose to add.

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  A street vendor cooking nasi goreng in his cart. The travelling night hawkers frequenting Jakarta residential area.

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  Preparation of kimchi bokkeumbap, Korean fried rice

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  A close-up view of fried rice prepared with crab meat and other ingredients

Common varieties

See also

References

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Fried rice

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fried rice.