Prawn Fried Rice (蝦炒飯)

Once you know the basics, fried rice is easy peasy. The most important thing is that the rice needs to be cooked and left to cool - so cooked one evening and refrigerated until the next day, or cooked in the morning for use in the evening. Try and get as much moisture out of the rice as possible, so don't cover it whilst it's cooling, and stick it by a window if you can. Also - break it up before you add it to the wok, so that it stir-fries more easily.

My Mum and Dad bought me a stone pan, which needs very little oil and is non-stick too. I've taken to using it as a replacement for my wok, but this recipe is originally intended for wok cooking. I have trouble with the rice sticking in the bottom of my wok - you need to make sure the oil is really hot before you add it.

The essential ingredients, apart from the rice, are spring onions, peas (petits pois are nicer) and egg. Anything else is optional really. Cooked chicken, ham, bacon, prawns or 叉燒 (char siu) pork are tasty additions, as well as cooked salmon. I used some fine beans in this recipe, which went down like a lead balloon with the older two. Fortunately the toddler was hungry, so leaned across the table at dinner time to grab his siblings' leftovers.

Ingredients

• 4 bowls of cooked rice, cooled and refrigerated for at least 1/2 a day
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 150g prawns, peeled and deveined
• A handful of fine beans, topped, tailed and chopped into 1cm lengths
• 1 handful of frozen petits pois
• 3 spring onions, chopped finely
• Seasoned soy sauce for seafood (or light soy)
• Ground white pepper
• Sunflower oil for frying
• Few drops of sesame oil
• (Optional) 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
• (Optional) 1/2 teaspoon of Knorr chicken powder or salt to taste

Serves 4

Instructions

• Heat some sunflower oil in a wok and add the beaten egg. Swirl around the wok and scramble into small pieces. Put to one side and wipe the wok clean
• Put a small amount of sunflower oil into the wok and add the prawns. Stir-fry quickly until sealed, but don't cook through. Put to one side and wipe the wok clean
• Boil some water in a pan and put the fine beans in. Boil for about 30 seconds, drain and cool under the tap. Shake off as much water as you can and put to one side
• Heat a few tablespoons of sunflower oil in the wok until very hot. Add the rice and let it sit in the wok for a few moments, before beginning to stir fry
• When the rice is nice and hot, add the prawns, fine beans, petits pois and spring onion (and optional sesame seeds) and continue to stir-fry for 2-3 minutes
• Add 2-3 splashes of soy sauce, a shake of ground white pepper (and optional chicken powder) to the pan and stir-fry until well mixed
• Add the egg and heat through. Add a few drops of sesame oil, remove from the heat, stir and serve in warmed bowls

Prawn Fried Rice