Asian Fried Rice

I have had multiple requests to put this recipe on the blog! (Mom & Adrienne, are you happy now?) I developed this recipe after several (and by several I mean several dozen :-) visits to our favorite Japanese restaurant, Edo Ya. I studied very carefully how our hibachi chef made this rice and took mental notes. For as delicious as this rice is, it seems like it should be more difficult to make but it’s not! And I would put it up against any fried rice from any restaurant. It is THAT GOOD. This “Edo Ya” version calls for bacon but you can turn it into a meal by adding shrimp, chicken, pork or beef too. Now, not many of us have a hibachi grill in our kitchen. In fact, I don’t even have a wok. I actually use a large non-stick, flat bottomed roasting pan over 2 burners to fry the rice. If you don’t have that either, you can use a large saucepan, an electric skillet or a griddle.

- 2 cups plain, medium grain white rice cooked according to package directions (yields 4 cups cooked rice). I have a rice cooker and it really comes in handy here!
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup petite frozen veggie blend (such as peas, carrots, corn and green beans)
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- Soy sauce
- Garlic powder
- Pepper
Over high heat, cook bacon until crispy. Scoot it to one side of the pan. Do not drain off the grease. Add eggs to opposite side of the pan and scramble. Add cooked rice and mix everything together. Spread rice out in bottom of pan and let if fry for a couple of minutes. Next, add the veggies and butter. Now, I have never measured the amount of soy sauce I put in my rice. Because it’s so salty, too much can ruin the rice and not enough can make it bland. So I drizzle it in a little at a time. You want the color to be that nice golden brown. So drizzle, stir and taste, drizzle, stir and taste and so on until it reaches the flavor that you like. Add the garlic powder and pepper to taste. During this time, you should be constantly stirring the rice and spreading out over pan. That is going to give it that great fried rice texture. Enjoy!

-Nicole