Fried rice is one of the best-known, consumed and appreciated dishes of Asian cuisine, not only in the East, but also in the Western hemisphere. Its basic ingredient is easy to obtain and prepare, and the other ingredients are diverse, according to the customs of the different national cuisines and the whims of personal tastes.
Apparently,
the oldest version of fried rice was first prepared in China some five
millennia ago, and despite its venerable antiquity, its origins are actually
very humble. People in those times —when the possible loss of a single crop
could mean starvation for the whole population of a region or country—, could
not afford to waste even one grain of rice, whether raw or cooked.
Then,
someone came up with the idea of taking steam-cooked rice that had not been
eaten in the last meal, and mixing it with other leftovers —pieces of beef, pork or poultry, some fish
or seafood, leftovers from salads and other vegetables... All this was cooked
again in a frying pan, and the result was the first fried rice in
history.
Over
the centuries, and especially in modern times, fried rice has ceased to be a
mere emergency solution for re-cooking leftovers from the previous day, and has
become a “fresh” dish on its own.
A
thousand and one varieties of fried rice
Since
rice cultivation originated in southeastern Asia, where it is the basis of the
daily diet, it is not surprising that so many nations of that continent have their
own version of fried rice:
China —of course—, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines,
India, Sri Lanka... Thus, there are recipes for fried rice in the Chinese,
Korean, Japanese, Indian, etc., style.
It
is not surprising either that in other parts of the world where the rice plant
has acclimatized well and is also grown in large quantities, there are other
versions of fried rice, too. Indeed, we will find some form of fried rice as
part of the national cuisine in several nations in Africa, the Pacific and even
the Americas.
Fried
rice in the Caribbean and South America
Rice
cultivation arrived in the Caribbean and South America in the 19th century, and
spread widely and successfully throughout the 20th century. Today, rice is part
of the daily diet of several Latin American nations.
In
that part of the world, we find new versions of fried rice —arroz frito is the literal translation into Spanish—,
which were possibly inspired by Chinese fried rice, especially where Chinese immigration was
numerous. In any case, most probably these recipes originated from the same
need already mentioned above—to take advantage of the leftover rice by mixing
it with other leftovers from the previous meal.
Today,
we find fried rice as part of the national cuisine in Cuba, Puerto Rico,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. Peruvian versions, known by the
general local name arroz
chaufa—‘rice
in Chinese style’ would be an acceptable translation—, have become internationally known. Although
the ingredients used in the different versions of arroz chaufa are too diverse, there is one ingredient they all have
in common—green onion.
This vegetable gives both flavor and color to the dish. A typical arroz
chaufa recipe
can be found at https://carolinarice.com/recipes/arroz-chaufa/.
Fundamentals
of cooking fried rice
The
essential ingredient of all fried rice recipes is, of course, steam-cooked
plain rice.
Do
not you know yet how to cook plain rice? We give you this basic recipe, for
four servings:
1.
Put
a saucepan on the stove and pour in one cup of white rice and two cups of water.
2.
Add
one tablespoon of oil —to prevent grains from sticking to the saucepan while cooking—,
and some pinches of salt to taste.
3.
Stir
the mixture.
4.
Turn
on a high heat and stir occasionally until it comes to a boil.
5.
Soon
after the water has begun to boil, reduce heat.
6.
Let
simmer for about 20 minutes.
Since
this rice will be seasoned with other ingredients, it is not necessary to add
any seasoning yet.
Once
the rice is ready, set it aside and cook the other ingredients.
What
you should make now is a sort of stew with the other ingredients.
Just
do the following:
1.
In
a frying pan, put one tablespoon of oil.
2.
Add
vegetables for seasoning—two tablespoons of finely chopped green onion and one tablespoon of chopped
chili or bell pepper.
3.
Add
one cup of your preferred meat, previously cut into small pieces. Mix and fry for five to eight
minutes. You will see that the meat reduces a little as it loses some of the
water contained in it.
4.
Pour
a generous dash of soy sauce over the meat and stir-fry for another five minutes. It is not
necessary to add salt if the soy sauce is salted.
1.
In
the same pan where you have fried the meat, pour the rice you have previously
cooked.
2.
If
the fat from the stew does not soak all the rice, add one more tablespoon of
oil.
3.
Add
half a cup of pre-cooked canned vegetables.
4.
Fry
the mixture over high heat for five to eight minutes, stirring occasionally.
5.
Turn
off the heat.
Congratulations!
Now the fried rice is ready.
As
you become more adept at preparing this basic recipe, you can improve and add
variety to the dish by adding more ingredients, such as sweet and sour sauce,
scrambled eggs or seafood.
