SERVES 4 TO 6
This is an invention in the ineffable spirit of old Shanghai, an elaboration of a favorite dish from my first cookbook. It is an almost creamy, savory dish studded with bits of color.
It is unfashionable these days to dwell on the flavor of fat, but the bacon fat used here gives the rice an inimitable richness. Fat, in China, was a nutritionally important feature on the mostly rice and vegetable landscape; this dish is a great example of its traditional use.
Buy smoked bacon cut from the slab at a quality butcher shop. It should smell clean and fresh, not overwhelmingly smoked. Slab bacon stores beautifully in the freezer. I like to keep a small amount on hand, to give a fine bit of lushness to an otherwise Spartan meal.
2 cups uncooked short- or medium-grain white rice
⅓ cup diced smoked bacon
2 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
3 cups water
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1¼ cups cubed butternut squash
½ to 1 teaspoon Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt (page 5)
3 tablespoons thinly sliced green and white scallion rings
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
1 small red pasilla pepper or red Anaheim chili, finely diced (optional)
Diagonally cut green and white scallion rings, for garnish
1. Rinse the rice, following step 1 on page 410.
2. Heat a small heavy casserole over high heat until a bead of water evaporates on contact. Reduce the heat to moderate and add the bacon. Stir until most of the fat renders and the bacon turns golden and crispy, 2 to 2½ minutes. Adjust the heat so it renders without scorching. Add the shallots and stir until softened and translucent, 1 to 1½ minutes. Add the rice wine in a necklace around the edge of the pan; stir briskly to mix. Add the rice and stir to combine. Add the water, sprinkle in the salt, and stir to blend. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a lively simmer. Cover the pan tightly, reduce the heat to low, and cook the rice for 30 minutes. (If you are working on an electric stove, transfer the pot to a burner set to low heat.) After 5 minutes, put your ear near the pot and check for fine wisps of steam escaping from the lid to know that all is simmering gently within; do not lift the lid.
3. Remove the pot from the heat, still without disturbing the lid. Let the rice stand for 30 minutes.
4. While the rice is cooking and resting, blanch the squash in rapidly boiling water for 1 minute. Plunge into ice water to chill; drain.
5. At the end of the resting time, uncover the pot and gently stir the rice to loosen it. Add pepper-salt to taste; the amount needed will differ, depending on the bacon. Stir the squash, scallion rings, and the chili and bell peppers into the rice.
6. Serve the rice in heated bowls of contrasting color, garnished with the scallion diags.
The success of Dinner Fried Rice in the first 10 to 15 minutes cooking is mostly a matter of luck. Rice dried to a perfect degree, a perfectly heavy pan, and a perfectly strong pilot light or gradually cooling electric coil are all that is needed! To have each of these elements in ideal harmony is comparatively easy when you’ve made it two or three times, but don’t be discouraged the first time around. A second or even a third reheating will usually repair the rice, if not your ego.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: I love this dish on its own for a simple brunch. In that mood, you might pair it with a fluffy asparagus omelette. It also mates nicely with other light Chinese dishes, like Ma-La Steamed Poussin with Roasted Szechwan Pepper-Salt (page 153) or a simply steamed fish scattered with ginger threads.