When I was studying at FIT New York, the student activity office offered many cooking classes to the faculty and students. I took a couple of classes and asked the gentleman in charge why there were no Chinese classes. He said, “I can not find a Chinese chef.”  That was how my first cooking class happened. I explained and cooked fried rice and wonton egg drop soup. Everyone loved it. What I learned from teaching was that the simplest techniques were the largest a-ha surprise to people.

In American/Chinese food, fried rice is a major category. But in my years growing up in China, fried rice was simply a way to reheat the leftover rice by adding scallions and eggs.

I adopted this American fried rice concept very quickly. Why not? One fried rice dish includes protein, vegetables and carbs.  Still, I like to use fewer ingredients. The key technique is to prepare each element separately for the best taste and texture.

Rice: 1-2 cups cooked rice, warm

Eggs: 2 large, beaten

Meat: 1 piece organic chicken breast, diced

Seasoning for chicken:

1 scallion chopped (could sub with half onion or shallot)

2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 tbsp minced ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp cornstarch to keep the meat moist

3 tbsp grapeseed oil for stir-frying eggs and 4 tbsp for cooking the meat.

Vegetable: 1 small bundle of organic asparagus, cut to ¼” size

1.  Heat the oil to a high temperature, and stir-fry the eggs. Then remove it from the wok.

2.  Chicken cubes, marinate with soy sauce and corn starch for 5-10 minutes.

Ginger, garlic and scallion combination, I call it Chinese Sofrito.  Heat up 4 tbsp of oil, add all three at once and stir until smell the aroma, add in chicken cubes, and salt, and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from the wok.

The key is to flavor the oil with the Sofrito before adding the meat.

3.  Shrimp (as an option) 4 oz.

Marinate with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp minced fresh ginger

Use 2-3 tbsp heated oil, and saute for about 1 minute.

 

4.  Add asparagus to the hot wok, stir a few times, then quickly add back cooked chicken, and eggs, then add the rice. Mix well and serve.

 

The flavor of all elements compliments each other.

Bon appetit!