Hokkien Fried Rice
Fried Rice Fridays
Hokkien Fried Rice is a Taiwanese dish with origins in the Hokkien people who originally came from Fujian Province in China. It’s different to other fried rice dishes in that a simple egg fried rice is topped with lightly braised ingredients. In true Hokkien style, the dish often contains a mixture of dried seafood, as well as ingredients from the land and mountains, but you can use any ingredients you like, really.
Serves
4
Ingredients
- 2 chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm pieces
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups hot water for 20 minutes and sliced
- ¼ cup dried scallops, soaked in hot water
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 cups day-old cooked Jasmine rice, preferably cooked in chicken stock
- salt, to season
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 cm ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
- 2 chicken thighs, cut into 3 cm pieces
- 4 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths
- 1 small carrot, cut into 3 cm pieces
- 2 tbsp bamboo shoots, cut into matchsticks
- 2 pieces Taiwanese five spice tofu, cut into 1.5cm pieces
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- a pinch of sugar
- ½ cup raw prawns, peeled and butterflied
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- Chicken marinade
- ½ tsp cornflour
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
Method
- Combine the chicken with the ingredients for the chicken marinade and set aside. Heat your wok over high heat and add half the oil. Add the eggs and stir well. When the egg is nearly set add the rice and toss well to coat with the pieces of egg. Separate the clumps of rice by pressing them against the side of the wok with the back of your wok spatula. Season with salt and remove from the wok to a bowl.
- Return the wok to the heat and add the remaining oil. Add the garlic and ginger and toss for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the chicken and toss to coat in the fragrant oil. Add the onion, carrot, bamboo shoot, mushrooms, scallops and tofu. Toss for a minute or two and then add the reserved liquid from soaking the mushrooms and scallops, oyster sauce, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar and enough chicken stock to make a braising base. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then add the prawns and simmer for a further minute. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Mix the cornflour with some cold chicken stock or water and stir the mixture through the braise to thicken it to a silky consistency
- To serve, pack the egg fried rice into a bowl and invert it onto a plate. Pour the braised ingredients on top and serve.
Tips
- Make sure you season the rice as well as the braised component. You want the rice to be flavourful on its own.
- Always taste the braising mixture and adjust the seasoning if required. A little more salt or soy sauce it it does not have enough depth or saltiness, or a pinch of sugar if it tastes too savoury.
- When thickening the sauce, add the cornflour mixture in three batches. This will stop you from adding too much at one time, which can make the mixture gluggy. Remember, the silky texture you need is a mixture of oil, liquid (stock) and the cornflour so don't skimp on the oil at the beginning.
