Wok Fried Rice

My very first job was working as a hostess then later up to a waitress at this tiny restaurant in grand rapids. It was owned by a sweet Chinese couple, Tai and Suzi Hong. They had come over straight from china, wanting a better life and to be free of a communist country. Their tiny A frame restaurant served quite the variety of food, from standard American diner food, to authentic Chinese food that was just as popular. Some of my favorite memories from working there, back when I was only 16, was at the beginning of my shifts, I'd have to walk through the back of the kitchen to get to the Time clock and punch in. Every time, I would be hit with all these tantalizing aromas and sounds of savory eats sizzling on the grill. I would always see Suzi's tiny sister up on a footstool, with a huge wok in front of her, stirring up something delicious. She spoke very little English, but one thing she did understand, was our love for her Ham Fried Rice, and she was happy to prepare it! She'd whip it up so fast, and give us each huge steaming bowls of her golden fried rice and it came with a side of a huge grin on her face.

This recipe I came up is nothing compared to hers, but it definitely is very tasty, and brings back the memories and smells full throttle. I finally figured out the secret is in the rice. Using day old rice that's been refrigerated has much better makings for fried rice, rather than freshly steamed rice transferred over to the wok. It ends up mushy and gritty in texture.

It was fun throwing this together, with leftovers no less, but delicious all the same! I encourage you to try it yourself and get creative with your leftovers! See what favorites really shine in the wok!

you'll need:

2 cups cold cooked fried rice
6 oz frozen corn, green beans, carrots (they all cook at the same rate, but you can sub your fav veggies)
1/2 onion red or white
1-2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup real bacon, crumpled
2 eggs
salt/pepper
canola oil for frying

Heat up a large wok with oil. Throw in onions and garlic. Let sweat and allow fragrance to open up in garlic. Throw in bacon. Continue to toss around and mix. Drop in frozen veggies and drop in a little more oil if need be. Cook until veggies are heated throughout, but still a bit crunchy.
Remove veggie mixture into separate bowl.

Coat wok with more oil, and beat eggs in small bowl. Pour eggs in wok and cook until almost set. (No more runniness!)
Add to veggie mixture.

Lastly, coat wok again, and drop in cold rice. Season with salt and let sit for 2-3 minutes till it gets a bit crispy. Flip and repeat on other side.

Now, you can add all ingredients to wok and gauge how much oil, salt and pepper you need, (I seasoned as I went)
Once everything is coated and seasoned and heat up throughout, you should have a nice hearty serving of Wok Fried Rice!

Enjoy! (I served mine with vegetarian egg rolls to get the whole Takeout effect..)