Cooking Fried Rice

I’m a huge fan of WokHey’s prawn fried rice. It’s great but slightly overpriced.

There are many videos of WokHey staff preparing fried rice on YouTube. The following is one of them. This blog will serve as my way of learning how to prepare the dish.

I think timing matters a lot here. So I’ll go by the clip’s timing, aligned with significant events to see if there’s a recipe that they are following.

0:45 Oil in, leave it in the wok to heat up the oil. Prepare two eggs at the side. Once done with the eggs, swirl the wok to distribute the oil evenly. Ensure the wok is smoking hot.

1:00 While shaking the wok left and right, pour the eggs in. Let the egg white sit a little before popping the egg yolks. Using the ladle, beat the eggs in the wok to mix the yolk with the whites. Keep shaking the wok. Move the egg such that the more liquid bits touch the wok too.

1:11 Flip the egg, cook the other side. Do not cook until it chars. The egg remains whitish/light yellowish.

1:20 Use the ladle to start breaking up the cooked egg into pieces.

1:30 Toss the ingredients (bottom), and the rice on top. Flatten the rice and ingredients so that the items in the wok is well distributed in a thin layer across the entire wok. This ensures everything gets heated. Stir to mix the items completely.

1:40 Add in MSG. This is believed to be Aji-No-Moto’s MSG.

1:43 Add in vegetables (if any).

What follows is a combination of ladle and wok action that serves to continuously mix and toss the ingredients such that the heat is evenly distributed.

Toss x3

Left hand holding the wok has more of a forward action: push, toss up, pull wok back.

Simultaneously, right hand holding the ladle pushes the tossed rice back to the front for the next toss.

Stir x12

Move the ladle using your right hand in a circular motion over the ingredients while using your left hand to move the wok forward and back very slightly.

Honestly the number of toss/stir is my vibes.

2:20 Add in spring onions.

Do the toss and stir again.

2:33 It’s done!

In retrospect, I believe the timing is largely by vibes. Is the egg almost done? Yes -> Add ingredients and rice. Mix the ingredients a litte, then add in MSG and vegetables (takes longer to cook so this goes in earlier). Toss and stir for about 40 more seconds, add in spring onions (10s before bringing it out), toss and stir for 10 seconds, then you’re done.

Disclaimer: The ideas presented in this post are solely my personal perspective and have not been substantiated by any verifiable evidence. Please form your own opinions on such matters.