The best fried rice I ever tasted was made by Chinese cookbook author Grace Young, in a cooking class she taught. Up to that time I had only eaten restaurant takeout fried rice and I didn't like it very much. It was very salty, mushy, and packed with rubbery chicken.
Her fried rice was a different story. It was light, elegant, lightly seasoned and filled with fluffy eggs and fresh ingredients.
Fried rice is a one-pan marvel that can be adapted to include vegetables, seafood, poultry, meat or whatever you have in your refrigerator. It can be served on its own or as part of a Chinese meal.
It's a perfect dish to make when you have leftover rice, but the rice can be made in the morning or day ahead. Warm rice is too moist and soft, resulting in gummy fried rice.
To prevent clumping, Young recommends spreading the cooked rice on a baking sheet, fluffing it with a fork, and refrigerating it until ready to stir-fry.
Young also advises her students to rinse whatever rice is chosen (long grain, jasmine, brown, or glutinous) in cold water several times before cooking.
Fried rice comes together in 15 minutes or so if all ingredients are measured and prepped before you heat the wok.
