Yangzhou Fried Rice

Name: Yangzhou Fried Rice
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 600 g cooked jasmine rice, cold (day-old refrigerated rice is essential); 3 large eggs, lightly beaten; 150 g char siu pork (Chinese BBQ pork) or cooked ham, cut into 1cm dice; 150 g raw prawns (shrimp), peeled, deveined, cut into 1cm pieces; 80 g frozen peas, thawed; 1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into tiny 5mm dice; 4 stalks spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced, white and green parts separated; 3 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable, sunflower or lard); 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp toasted sesame oil; 0.5 tsp white pepper; 1 tsp salt, or to taste

China's canonical fried rice: cold day-old rice tossed in a searingly hot wok with egg, char siu pork, prawns, spring onion and peas: a dish so precisely defined that the city of Yangzhou has registered it as an intangible cultural heritage

Origin: Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

From the journey of Rice.

Yangzhou fried rice (Yángzhōu chǎofàn, 揚州炒飯) is China's most famous fried rice: a dish so standardised that in 2002 the Chinese Cuisine Association published an official recipe. It originated in Yangzhou, a prosperous Sui Dynasty canal city (581–618 CE) that was once one of China's wealthiest trading hubs, and the dish was likely developed in the great private kitchens of Yangzhou's salt merchants. The defining characteristic is specificity: char siu pork (or ham), prawns, scrambled egg, spring onion, peas and carrot: each ingredient cut to a uniform small dice, the egg half-scrambled directly in the wok around the rice. What separates great fried rice from mediocre is the wok hei: the 'breath of the wok', the complex smoky, slightly charred aroma produced only by very high heat and a well-seasoned wok. Day-old refrigerated rice is mandatory: freshly cooked rice is too moist and produces a sticky, clumped result.

Ingredients

Rice

600 g cooked jasmine rice, cold (day-old refrigerated rice is essential)

Egg

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Protein

150 g char siu pork (Chinese BBQ pork) or cooked ham, cut into 1cm dice
150 g raw prawns (shrimp), peeled, deveined, cut into 1cm pieces

Vegetables

80 g frozen peas, thawed
1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into tiny 5mm dice

Aromatics

4 stalks spring onions (scallions), thinly sliced, white and green parts separated

Fat

3 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable, sunflower or lard)

Seasoning

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
0.5 tsp white pepper
1 tsp salt, or to taste

Method

Break up the cold rice with your hands or a fork, separating any clumps. Set aside. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt.
Blanch the carrot dice in boiling salted water for 2 minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside with the peas.
Heat a large wok over the highest possible heat until smoking. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the prawns and stir-fry for 60–90 seconds until pink and just cooked. Remove and set aside.
Add another tablespoon of oil to the hot wok. Add the char siu pork and the white parts of the spring onion. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the carrot and peas, toss for 30 seconds.
Push all ingredients to one side. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the empty side of the wok. Pour in the beaten eggs and let them set for 10 seconds at the base, then scramble them with chopsticks or a spatula; when they are about 80% cooked (still slightly wet), immediately throw all the rice in and toss vigorously to coat every grain in the egg.
Season with soy sauce, white pepper and salt. Toss for another minute over high heat. Add the cooked prawns back in and toss for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, drizzle with sesame oil, scatter over the green parts of the spring onion.
Serve immediately in warmed bowls. Fried rice waits for no one.

Notes

Wok hei, literally 'breath of the wok', is the elusive smoky, slightly caramelised complexity that defines great Chinese wok cooking. It is produced by the Maillard reaction occurring at extreme heat, by the partial combustion of oil volatilised up the wok's sides, and by the rapid evaporation of moisture. Domestic stoves rarely achieve the BTU output of a restaurant wok burner (which burns at 150,000–200,000 BTU versus a domestic hob's 10,000–15,000 BTU), but you can approximate it by: pre-heating the wok until it smokes, cooking in small batches so moisture doesn't build up, and keeping everything moving.

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control