Pork Fried Rice

When I was little, I had a bad experience with fried rice. My parents had just bought a wok and were trying to make their own fried rice. I remember that we had family visiting and I ate a LOT of food. I was about 5, and didn't know to stop eating when I felt full. I ending up getting sick later on that night, and it took me a long time to each fried rice again.

What a difference 20 years makes! Now I enjoy fried rice, when it's cooked well. I find that fried rice in Chinese restaurants is too greasy. I've been searching for a good fried rice recipe - one that is easy to fix and I can make on a busy week night. This recipe, sadly, is not it. It is from the March 2011 issue of Everyday Food. While the dish has a lot of good qualities going for it, it isn't the fried rice recipe I've been searching for. I can't really describe what I didn't like about it, but I will list the recipe's good points.

• It's quick. If you have left over, cooked rice (which I did), it's really fast, and easy.
• It has a lot of elements that I wouldn't think would be fried rice, but add a nice flavor - ginger and rice vinegar.

This isn't a bad recipe, not at all, it just needed something more - I don't know what, but it just didn't do it for me.

Pork Fried Rice

from Everyday Food

Serves 4

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons plus 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced

1/2 pound ground pork

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 cup frozen peas

2 cups cooked white rice (about 3/4 cup uncooked rice)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1. In a wok or large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, lightly beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce to combine. Add eggs to wok and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook, without stirring, until almost set, 1 minute, then fold in thirds with a spatula. Transfer cooked eggs to a wok surface and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok and swirl to coat. Add garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add pork and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, peas, and rice and stir to combine. Add cooked egg, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and vinegar and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated about 1 minute. Let cook, undisturbed, until warm, about 1 minute. Top with scallion greens and serve.