Flavorless Fried rice?? Please help.

[KrakenFan69]

The rice was not sticky. I question if I needed to fry it longer however. My rice was still slightly moist but not overly so. I may have had too much oil by the end of it and not enough of the other flavors and spices. If I had to pick a particular style of fried rice I'd have to say my favorite is Vietnamese fried rice.

 

[Timothy]

Pork fat? No way. I gurantee you nobody in any of Chineese restaurants uses any pork fat. So unhealthy.

In my post, I was referring to pork meat, not the fat. Really just slightly more healthy, but more palatable and "Pork Fried Rice" is on almost every Chinese menu that I've ever seen.

 

[CharlieD]

In my post, I was referring to pork meat, not the fat. Really just slightly more healthy, but more palatable and "Pork Fried Rice" is on almost every Chinese menu that I've ever seen.

I don't know what you were refering to, but I responded to somebody who recomended to use pork fat. Ofcourse pork meat is a staple in Chinese restaurants.

 

[CharlieD]

Have not been in Vietnamese restaurant for ages, cannot remember their fried rice. But When I fry rice I put about a tea spoon of oil and probably a table spoon of soy sauce. You really do not need to much oil. Just make sure the pan is very hot and the bottom of it is well covered with oil. If your rice was moist from soy sauce it is good. If it was mmoist from leftover water from cooking then it is not good. How did you drain rice? Did you keep it in regrigerator? I mention before you might want to slightly under cook rice.

 

[Kayelle]

I don't think anyone has stressed that your cooked rice MUST be COLD and DRY before you start frying it. Cooked rice refrigerated overnight is best. I fry my bacon pieces first to render the fat......(Horror )......and fry the rice in it. I add some chopped celery also. Then I whisk up an egg or two, add some sesame oil, with sesame seeds and pour it into a a non stick skillet to form a very thin "egg pancake".
Remove it from the skillet and roll it up. Slice, and add the egg ribbons to the rice mixture. Now I flavor the mixture with a little soy sauce and a pinch of hot pepper flakes. Add some sliced green onions and defrosted peas at the end.

Like most everyone has said.......keep the tomato sauce for Italian cooking.

 

[CharlieD]

He did mentioned that the rice was day old.

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

The rice was not sticky. I question if I needed to fry it longer however. My rice was still slightly moist but not overly so. I may have had too much oil by the end of it and not enough of the other flavors and spices. If I had to pick a particular style of fried rice I'd have to say my favorite is Vietnamese fried rice.

I looked up recipes specifically for vietnamese fried rice and the most common ingredients seem to be (besides rice) onion or shallots, garlic, carrots, soy sauce, fish sauce or oyster sauce, egg, peas and cilantro either added at the end or chopped and sprinkled on top as garnish. Some also called for a little sugar and rice wine vinegar. I don't know how authentic they are, just did a google search and looked at the first ten or so recipes that came up.

 

[Timothy]

I don't know what you were refering to, but I responded to somebody who recomended to use pork fat. Ofcourse pork meat is a staple in Chinese restaurants.

In post #17, I suggested shredded pork, diced.

In post #18, KrakenFan69 said "I'll try some pork fat. That sounds good."

In post #20, you said "Pork fat? No way. I gurantee you nobody in any of Chineese restaurants uses any pork fat."

The Chinese don't throw away pork fat. It's either used in recipes for flavoring or rendered and used in some other manner. The health aspect of pork fat isn't even a consideration in Chinese restaurant cooking. I have several friends who cook for Chinese restaurants. Nothing edible is thrown away in any Chinese restaurant I've ever known of. Their dishes are designed to use every scrap of possible food and byproducts of that food. It's simply how they do things. Waste is almost a crime in their culture.

 

[CharlieD]

Whatever. Just as long as nobody uses pork fat for frying rice. You kill the taste of soy sauce. Pork fat is too strong of a flavor. You need something with less flavor than the main flavor you want to have in the end. And as far as I know (I could be wrong) it is soy sauce and not pork fat that you want rice to taste like.

 

[Timothy]

Whatever. Just as long as nobody uses pork fat for frying rice. You kill the taste of soy sauce. Pork fat is too strong of a flavor. You need something with less flavor than the main flavor you want to have in the end. And as far as I know (I could be wrong) it is soy sauce and not pork fat that you want rice to taste like.

Whatever?

What does that mean? When I've heard that expression before, it's generally meant to convey a total lack of interest in what the person being responded to has said. Hardly an appropriate sentiment for a discussion forum.

I'm very sorry, but pork fat is used in fried rice in many, many restaurants. It adds to the flavor and doesn't overpower anything. Fried rice flavors depend on what meal the rice is eaten with. When preparing it for a pork meal, bits of pork and/or pork fat are used as a common ingredient.

Beef or beef fat is added to that which is eaten with beef meals. Chicken or chicken fat are used when the fried rice is eaten with chicken meals.

Of course, the quantity added is proportionate to the end taste desired. Too much of anything would create a lack of balance in the dish. The balance of tastes is what most Oriental cooks strive for.

 

[powerplantop]

Here is my take on fried rice.

1. Rice: I always use short grain rice (sushi rice) cooked in a rice cooker. After it has cooked it needs to sit in the cooker long enough that there is no moister left on the outside of the rice (yes it is sticky). Then I put it in a plastic bag over night. 2 days if fine but after that it get to dry. I never use jasmine rice, I have tried but did not like the results.

2. Soy Sauce: I like Pearl River Bridge, use the one that you like. But don’t use dark
soy.

3. I always use sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onion, ginger and garlic.

4. Pork fat: I may or may not use it. In shrimp fried rice, never. Pork or garlic fried rice yes.

5. Other ingredients: In Thai markets look for shrimp paste. It makes a really good shrimp fried rice. Kimchi if you like kimchi make kimchi fried rice. Oyster and Hoisin sauce, I sometimes use them but only a little.

6. Egg: I usually add mine at the end but sometimes I make it first.

 

[Snip 13]

In post #17, I suggested shredded pork, diced.

In post #18, KrakenFan69 said "I'll try some pork fat. That sounds good."

In post #20, you said "Pork fat? No way. I gurantee you nobody in any of Chineese restaurants uses any pork fat."

The Chinese don't throw away pork fat. It's either used in recipes for flavoring or rendered and used in some other manner. The health aspect of pork fat isn't even a consideration in Chinese restaurant cooking. I have several friends who cook for Chinese restaurants. Nothing edible is thrown away in any Chinese restaurant I've ever known of. Their dishes are designed to use every scrap of possible food and byproducts of that food. It's simply how they do things. Waste is almost a crime in their culture.

It's no secret that in Chinese culture all edible parts of the animal are utilized.
They love their fat!
Pork fat is indeed a part of all Pork fried rice. I agree one hundred percent!
There are hundreds of recipes for authentic Chinese pork dishes that almost all contain the fatty bits of pork.
I have eaten in many Chinese restaurants and we probably have more in Botswana than any other type of restaurant. They all use pork fat!

 

[CharlieD]

... The balance of tastes is what most ... cooks strive for.

You see that is all that matters everything else is still "whatever". I was not talking to you, I simply stated my opinion. If you cook differently this is a public forum please state your opinion, by all means. But I am not building a precision instrument here so to make a note in what post number and who said what, is a waste of my time, I am at work you see. If I did I'd make sure to quote that person. That is one, and the second, just like I already said we are "not building a precision instrument here ", we are only frying rice. To each its own, or as my father likes to very rudely say "it is not going to affect having children".

P.S. I remember working in Chinese restaurant as a delivery person; they never used anything but oil. Nobody was standing rendering fat from pork or chicken, nobody was buying lard as it was way more expansive that simple cheapest frying oil in a restaurant supply place, but that is just but one place. Maybe in Florida they render fat.

Have a good day. Back to work.

 

[Timothy]

You see that is...

whatever

crack me up!

 

[Snip 13]

I've added a link with a few fabulous bacon fried rice recipes if you would like to try them

Bacon Fried Rice

Pork Fried Rice

Pork might just pep up your rice and add that missing flavour! Hope you like it

 

[CharlieD]

whatever

crack me up!

 

[Kayelle]

I've added a link with a few fabulous bacon fried rice recipes if you would like to try them

Bacon Fried Rice

Pork Fried Rice

Pork might just pep up your rice and add that missing flavour! Hope you like it

Yep Snip, as I shared before, nothing gives more flavor to my fried rice than bacon. After all, the original question was simply how to get more flavor in fried rice.

 

[callahan9119]

Like many I have become a food network junkie. I've never really been a foodie but lately I have been experimenting in the kitchen more and more. I have always had a couple of basic meals that were |dads" job, but am trying to expand my horizons more . I love asian food in all styles. I want to try to make a bunch of Japanese, Vietnamese, and thai recipes. Here is my problem.
So I made fried rice a couple of times now. I use Onions, peas, carrots, chicken and shrimp, some tomato sauce, soy sauce, garlic, day old rice fried in peanut oil in a wok. It tastes ok but not great. It's still missing something to keep it from being bland. I was hoping someone here may have some suggestions for what I have overlooked that will bring some flavor into my rice.

I appreciate any help you guys can give,

Kraken Fan #69

Tomato sauce? You could try adding a small amount of sugar and ginger. When I first started making fried rice I dealt with the same thing, it's just about figuring it out, and that takes time and lots of either bland or way too salty rice.

Search this guys youtube uploads, he makes a ton of Asian stuff. ltkman's Channel - YouTube

 

[Snip 13]

Yep Snip, as I shared before, nothing gives more flavor to my fried rice than bacon. After all, the original question was simply how to get more flavor in fried rice.

I agree

 

[CharlieD]

In all the trutth we should have asked what flavor was missing to begin with.