First, I want to blame Battlesquid for prompting me to do this first on IRC with the wooden spoon of doom. While the handle looks like it would snap at the barest hint of serious use, it's the kind of thing you really want when frying rice, and that's what set me off.
He has also officially classified this activity, which is clearly some form of chemistry, as a topic suitable for programming. I disagreed and posted to the General Open Topic subforum instead.
Anyhoo. Here we go.
Fried rice. I've been working on a way to make fried rice with some of the qualities of Chinese takeout fried rice because I love fried rice. Can't get enough of it but also don't want to have to spend tons of money each day to get that fix. What I have isn't quite there. It's still a work in progress, but I've done my best to identify what does and doesn't work, what might work, and what each part does to the recipe as a whole.
Things you'll need and need to know
* A wok or large pan. Pick one that does NOT have a nonstick coating if you have a stove or range that can achieve the super high temperatures we want. If you don't have such a stove, anything will do as long as it's large enough to freely stir the rice. If you've chosen a pan without a nonstick coating, the oil will do the job for you as it reaches temp.
* Oil. Lots of Chinese rice recipes want peanut oil for its flavor and high smoke point. I don't have that so I'm limited to olive or coconut oil. Not sure I want to try butter but if you want to experiment, tell us how that works out. The oil is to both give the rice that distinctiveness and a good nonstick coating on your pan. If you've seasoned your pan then you won't have to use as much oil.
* A wooden spoon. If you're using a nonstick pan, you don't want to damage the coating with a metal spoon, and a plastic spoon might melt on you. Plus, wooden spoons feel great to use.
* Rice (leftover/day-old preferred). The partial dryness of the rice is very important for the texture.
* Vegetables and meat, leftover preferred. Traditionally, Chinese fried rice was a way to get rid of scraps and leftovers efficiently and deliciously. It's a good tradition; let's stick to it if we can. If you don't have either, don't worry about it. The rice can stand alone if you need it to.
* Chicken broth. Not exactly necessary but the MSG and chicken flavor does wonders.
* Eggs, two large. If you don't have this ingredient, stop. Go buy some. This ingredient is critical for the texture and flavor as you use it to coat each individual grain and reduce the overall stickiness of the fried rice, getting it much closer to the ideal.
* Sauce. Soy sauce is an absolute must. It's just not Chinese-style without it. You can add other sauce if you want. Teriyaki or hoisin sauces are optional but will improve the flavor greatly. They are a must if you lack the soy sauce since these two sauces tend to have this ingredient. If you want to make your own sweet and sour sauce, you can use 1 part vinegar with 1 part sugar (shaken well) and add spices such as onion salt, garlic powder and ground ginger.
* Salt. If your sauces don't have very much salt, you may have to add some yourself. Adding it with the chicken broth may be the best thing but don't add too much; it's hard to fix over-salted food.
* Patience. If you try to fry this too fast, you get soggy deliciousness. Also, don't add too many wet ingredients at once or the rice will get too soggy and refuse to fry properly. This is the reason why most fried rice recipes call for day-old rice.
* Attentiveness. If you let it sit too long, you may get crispy deliciousness. Or charcoal. Also, you can tell your progress by how your rice is stirring. Remember that feel; it's quite distinctive.
Procedure. Because deliciousness
1. Make your pan hot. Add oil and coat as much of the pan/wok's surface as you can. If you haven't seasoned your pan, this is the step which gives it a temporary nonstick coat.
2. Add rice, vegs, meats. Maybe not all at once. But stir well and get it frying.
3. Add broth and salt (to taste). Fry until integrated.
4. Move rice to sides of pan to make a well in the center, add eggs to center. Stir liquid part of egg into the rice, coating all the rice well. Scrape egg residue from bottom of pan to integrate with rice. Stir well until no more residue forms and egg appears to have bonded well with the rice.
5. Add sauces. Stir well.
6. Stop fire, serve.
I hope this helps people in their quest for good home-made fried rice.
EDIT: Modified for clarity and to erase sleep deprivation-induced mistakes.
He has also officially classified this activity, which is clearly some form of chemistry, as a topic suitable for programming. I disagreed and posted to the General Open Topic subforum instead.
Anyhoo. Here we go.
Fried rice. I've been working on a way to make fried rice with some of the qualities of Chinese takeout fried rice because I love fried rice. Can't get enough of it but also don't want to have to spend tons of money each day to get that fix. What I have isn't quite there. It's still a work in progress, but I've done my best to identify what does and doesn't work, what might work, and what each part does to the recipe as a whole.
Things you'll need and need to know
* A wok or large pan. Pick one that does NOT have a nonstick coating if you have a stove or range that can achieve the super high temperatures we want. If you don't have such a stove, anything will do as long as it's large enough to freely stir the rice. If you've chosen a pan without a nonstick coating, the oil will do the job for you as it reaches temp.
* Oil. Lots of Chinese rice recipes want peanut oil for its flavor and high smoke point. I don't have that so I'm limited to olive or coconut oil. Not sure I want to try butter but if you want to experiment, tell us how that works out. The oil is to both give the rice that distinctiveness and a good nonstick coating on your pan. If you've seasoned your pan then you won't have to use as much oil.
* A wooden spoon. If you're using a nonstick pan, you don't want to damage the coating with a metal spoon, and a plastic spoon might melt on you. Plus, wooden spoons feel great to use.
* Rice (leftover/day-old preferred). The partial dryness of the rice is very important for the texture.
* Vegetables and meat, leftover preferred. Traditionally, Chinese fried rice was a way to get rid of scraps and leftovers efficiently and deliciously. It's a good tradition; let's stick to it if we can. If you don't have either, don't worry about it. The rice can stand alone if you need it to.
* Chicken broth. Not exactly necessary but the MSG and chicken flavor does wonders.
* Eggs, two large. If you don't have this ingredient, stop. Go buy some. This ingredient is critical for the texture and flavor as you use it to coat each individual grain and reduce the overall stickiness of the fried rice, getting it much closer to the ideal.
* Sauce. Soy sauce is an absolute must. It's just not Chinese-style without it. You can add other sauce if you want. Teriyaki or hoisin sauces are optional but will improve the flavor greatly. They are a must if you lack the soy sauce since these two sauces tend to have this ingredient. If you want to make your own sweet and sour sauce, you can use 1 part vinegar with 1 part sugar (shaken well) and add spices such as onion salt, garlic powder and ground ginger.
* Salt. If your sauces don't have very much salt, you may have to add some yourself. Adding it with the chicken broth may be the best thing but don't add too much; it's hard to fix over-salted food.
* Patience. If you try to fry this too fast, you get soggy deliciousness. Also, don't add too many wet ingredients at once or the rice will get too soggy and refuse to fry properly. This is the reason why most fried rice recipes call for day-old rice.
* Attentiveness. If you let it sit too long, you may get crispy deliciousness. Or charcoal. Also, you can tell your progress by how your rice is stirring. Remember that feel; it's quite distinctive.
Procedure. Because deliciousness
1. Make your pan hot. Add oil and coat as much of the pan/wok's surface as you can. If you haven't seasoned your pan, this is the step which gives it a temporary nonstick coat.
2. Add rice, vegs, meats. Maybe not all at once. But stir well and get it frying.
3. Add broth and salt (to taste). Fry until integrated.
4. Move rice to sides of pan to make a well in the center, add eggs to center. Stir liquid part of egg into the rice, coating all the rice well. Scrape egg residue from bottom of pan to integrate with rice. Stir well until no more residue forms and egg appears to have bonded well with the rice.
5. Add sauces. Stir well.
6. Stop fire, serve.
I hope this helps people in their quest for good home-made fried rice.
EDIT: Modified for clarity and to erase sleep deprivation-induced mistakes.
. However, I think that Jasmine rice fits the texture of that takeout fried rice, especially when left in the fridge for at least a day. You get a good crispy texture that's really nice if you can get it just right. Might be worth looking into 
