A few months ago, I made a post about a healthy shrimp fried rice I had a made a long time ago. While that dish was fantastic, especially for being a healthier version, I had been wanting to try the "regular" version for awhile.I had quite a bit of leftover rice from the Chinese Lemon Chicken dish I made last week, so I reheated that rice for about 30 seconds to prep it for the fried rice. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and followed the highest rated comment rather than the recipe, and it was so good.
If you have leftover, cooked rice, you should use it for this dish. Just make sure it's not too cold when added to the wok or skillet because it may turn out too gummy. I used low-sodium soy sauce, and it tasted just fine.
Lastly, the recipe called for oyster sauce, which I didn't have. Consequently, I made my own quick version based on some advice I found online that didn't require oysters. The recipe for the sauce may be found below. Oyster sauce is more of a sweet/salty thickener, so the adapted recipe is based on that premise.
Enjoy!
Chicken Fried Rice3 cubed chicken breast pieces
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
1 Tbsp oyster sauce (recipe below, if you don't have store-bought)
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 eggs (or egg whites)
8 oz bag of frozen carrots/pea medley
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 eggs (or egg whites)
8 oz bag of frozen carrots/pea medley
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used low sodium)
3-4 cups cooked white rice (I used Jasmine rice; you could also use brown rice)
2-3 green onions
2-3 green onions
Cube 3 uncooked chicken breast into little pieces and seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a tablespoon of oyster sauce. Heat up butter with sesame oil, then add minced garlic with the chicken. In a wok or cast-iron skillet, cook the meat until it is no longer pink (about 5-8 minutes).
Add scrambled eggs to the meat. Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add a 16oz bag of frozen peas/carrots mixture. I mix in about 3.5 cups of cooked Jasmine rice (must be cold but not fresh out of the refrigerator. Microwave the rice for 20 sec.). Add soy sauce and stir fry until light golden brown. Stir in chopped green onions and sprinkle in black pepper to taste.
Homemade "Oyster" Sauce (w/o oysters)
adapted from various sources
adapted from various sources
1/2-1 slice of fresh, grated ginger
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar (or substitute sweetner or 1/4 tsp agave nectar????)
1 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbsp water
Grate the ginger in a 1 or 2-cup measuring cup. Add in all the other ingredients, and stir them well. Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds.
I've never ever thought of making my own oyster sauce - this must be more delicious and devoid of all preservatives unlike commercial sauces - thanks for the idea! And your fried rice looks delicious too!
ReplyDeleteNo oyster in oyster sauce. I didn't know that. I have never thought to make it either. A good way to avoid all that MSG.
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I love chicken fried rice, but never think to make! Great recipe!
ReplyDeleteI love fried rice! I can't do MSG so I always make my own. I'll be using your oyster sauce from now on!
ReplyDeleteOkay, this time I have all of the necessary ingredients; therefore, I can get started on making your Chinese fried rice dish! I am really excited about making my own faux oyster sauce--who knew it was so simple and MSGless! I will let you know how it turns out! Nice pics--I love the bowls, and the photographer ;o)
ReplyDeleteGreat to have a "oyster sauce" without oysters because I'm allergic to seafood. Thanks for posting it! The rice looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI love you oyster sauce version! By the way, your fried rice looks delicious :)
ReplyDeleteYou are making me very very hungry right now!! This looks yummy! -mary
ReplyDeleteHome made oyster sauce wont taste the same.. you are just making a sweet ginger soy, which Oyster tastes nothing like that... to get the rich deep flavor, you need to get a GOOD oyster sauce with oysters as the main ingredient, not sugar or water.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest not using the powdered garlic and all that.. it ruins the taste, use fresh.
Also, I would say use DARK soy sauce in conjunction with the Oyster, then you get a nice dark color to the rice, if you want to season it afterwards, just put some regular soy together with some chopped scallion and sliced red chili peppers to give it a kick.
Use some Shao Xing Wine (its cheap) to cut down on the rawness of the chicken and give it a bit of flavor also.. the fried rice will come out even better, especially if you throw some Chinese Pork Sausage in there also.
Anonymous - Thank you for all the valuable suggestions and tips. I made the homemade "oyster" sauce without oysters because 1) I didn't have any and 2) I don't like oysters, so I would never be able to work with them in my kitchen. They make me squeamish. 3) Lastly, I didn't feel like going to the grocery store that day since that was the only ingredient I was lacking. I looked online and saw recipes for oyster sauce that didn't call for oysters, and since the sauce wasn't a principal ingredient in the fried rice, I knew it would be fine. As I stated in the post, this is a substitute for the real thing, so of course, it is not perfect.
ReplyDeleteI used dark soy sauce, I just didn't pour a lot of it on the dish because I didn't want it to be too salty. I also did use scallions and FRESH ginger.
Anyway, thanks again for your suggestions, I will keep them in mind the next time I make this fantastic dish.
As a vegetarian and a huge fan of ginger/ gralic/ soy sauces (like that yummy dressing at Mother's Cafe in Austin, wish I could drag you there for dinner tonight, Mem), I LOVE the psuedo oyster sauce idea. I'll be putting crispy fried tofu in this dish, but I can't find anything lacking in your stitution for real oyster sauce. I have found that bouillon cubes or pastes (especially the "Better than Boiullon" mushroom and veggie broth pastes in jars) do a lot for rounding out the flavor of sauces that don't have meat in them. Leaving out the meat is never a problem! Thanks for the good ideas. Tam
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ReplyDeleteYummy ! Looking very tasty. I like the way you write and make the recipe easy.
ReplyDelete