Fried rice is one of my family’s favorite Monday night meals, a way we use up leftover rice from the cooker and vegetables from the fridge, adding fresh vegetables from the garden. It’s how my daughters learned to use chopsticks, racing to see who could shovel in every last grain of rice first. It’s also a good way to get them to eat vegetables. It’s not yes or no to broccoli or to cauliflower; it’s whatever vegetables they want, which gives them the power to choose. We use twenty vegetables at China Poblano, but even just a handful can be incredible. The key is to cut the raw vegetables small so that they cook quickly and evenly and blend harmoniously with the grains of rice.
SERVES 4
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon peanut, canola, or other neutral oil
4 large eggs, beaten
4 cups finely chopped (¼-inch pieces) mixed vegetables (beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, frozen peas—anything!)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced ginger
4 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced, white and green parts kept separate
4 cups cold cooked long-grain rice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Kosher salt
Pea shoots or bean sprouts (optional)
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large wok or sauté pan over high heat until shimmering. Add the eggs and scramble them, using a spatula, until the curds are just set. Transfer to a plate.
Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the pan. Add the firmer, denser vegetables (such as beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and/or broccoli) and stir-fry over medium-high heat until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the quicker-cooking vegetables (cabbage, corn, green beans, snap peas, peas, and/or mushrooms) and stir-fry until all of the vegetables are softened and lightly browned. Transfer to a large bowl.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan, then add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and stir-fry until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the rice and the cooked vegetables, using the spatula to break up the rice, and stir-fry until the rice is heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the scrambled eggs, breaking them up, then drizzle on the soy sauce and season with salt.
Give the fried rice a few more tosses to make sure everything is evenly distributed, then transfer to plates and serve, garnished with the scallion greens and pea shoots (or any other leaves or herbs you like; seriously, this recipe is about freestyling).
One of my favorite tricks is to let the rice sit untouched for a minute before serving it, creating a crispy bottom that reminds me of the socarrat of a good paella.