This salted fish fried rice is an absolute no-brainer for a lazy lunch in any local Singaporean household. If you like the salty flavours of anchovies, I guarantee you'll love this too!
There is almost no chopping or prep time needed - all you need is one-day old rice (which I always have in the fridge), a trusty wok, and some know-how. Over the years, I've tried many variations and am constantly learning the techniques required to master Chinese fried rice. Each morsel of rice should be gently coated with flavour, slightly charred and balanced with the rest of the ingredients.
Here's my recipe with some tips!
Recipe feeds 2 persons.. 10 minutes prep time, total cook time 20 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoon oil
2 cup cooked rice (day old rice preferred)
1/3 cup chopped salted fish
2 chili padi, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
3 garlic, finely chopped or pounded
1 cup chopped vegetables (leafy or beans)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
Salt and white pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
1. In a frying pan or wok over high heat, heat up 3 tablespoon oil and fry 3 chopped garlic until golden brown.
2. Add 1/3 cup chopped salted fish and fry until crispy and brown. Set cooked garlic and fish aside in a bowl for later, leaving the oil in the wok.
3. Break 2 eggs into the wok. Let it cook and scramble until egg pieces are very small.
4. Add 1 cup chopped vegetables, 2 chopped chilli padi and fry quickly until half cooked. Salt to taste.
5. Add 2 cup cooked rice, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil and combine with the rest of the ingredients. Stir quickly and also slowly so all grains of rice is coated with the seasonings and is also allowed some time to get a slight char.
6. Once there is no more grains of plain white rice, and all your rice is light brown from the sauce - add the cooked garlic and salted fish and stir in.
7. Taste and add salt and generous amount of white pepper.
8. Once rice is cooked, turn off heat and stir in 1 chopped red onion. It will cook in the heat of the rice, while still remaining crunchy and tart.
ALY'S COOKING TIPS
1. Chinese cooking uses very little ingredients, however it uses some technique to get the flavours right. For this dish, play with the high heat and stir your rice and sauces quickly to ensure all grains of rice are flavoured. Once there is no more grains of white rice, stir your rice slowly so the rice gets a little charred. This add to the final flavour of the dish!
2. Instead of salted fish, you can use chicken or seafood and the steps remain the same. I'd recommend marinating your meats with some soy sauce and fish sauce before frying.
3. Vegetables are a great addition to the texture of rice. You can use any of these chopped finely - lettuce, green beans, french beans, leafy greens, carrots, peas.