Fridge-Cleaning Cantonese Rice, I called it this because it likely won’t fully reflect the original recipe, although it comes very close. It helped me use up already cooked rice and other ingredients that needed to be consumed soon.
The Cantonese rice is one of the most well-known dishes of Chinese cuisine in Italy, based on fried rice sautéed in a pan enriched with various ingredients that can vary from restaurant to restaurant. The basic ingredients surely include scallion, eggs, cooked ham, and peas, with possible additions of chicken, shrimp, bamboo, etc., depending on the chef’s creativity.
My fridge-cleaning Cantonese rice closely mirrors the original recipe and contains the basic ingredients. It’s easy to prepare and is appreciated by the family because it naturally resembles our cuisine. My need arose after preparing the rice cake, and there was still an excess of cooked rice left. Since nothing should go to waste in the kitchen, I prepared this pan-fried rice.
For lovers of quick but flavorful dishes, I also recall
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 253.27 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 31.80 (g) of which sugars 1.24 (g)
- Proteins 10.33 (g)
- Fat 8.10 (g) of which saturated 2.15 (g)of which unsaturated 1.81 (g)
- Fibers 1.00 (g)
- Sodium 1,123.26 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 190 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 cup parboiled rice
- 4.2 cups water (to cook the rice)
- 1 tsp coarse salt (for the water)
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 scallion
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz cooked ham
- to taste salt
- 1/4 cup white wine
- to taste pepper
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Tools
For cooking the rice, I suggest a high-sided pot and for reheating, a good non-stick pan with a 11-12 inch diameter lid.
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
Preparation
The first step is to bring the water to a boil with the coarse salt and cook the rice for the minutes indicated on the box. Consider cooking it al dente as it will be reheated in a pan. A little trick for cooking white rice is to pour it into the boiling water and let it cook over medium heat without stirring it, you’ll see it won’t stick, and during the cooking time, you can prepare the other ingredients.
While the rice is cooking, slice the scallion and fry it in a pan with a tablespoon of oil. When it’s golden, add the peas, lightly salt, and cook for 3/5 minutes with a lid over medium heat. Add the ham in strips or cubes as you prefer and let it brown a bit. Pour in the white wine and let it reduce for a couple of minutes. Add the eggs to the pan and stir them to scramble.
Meanwhile, the rice will be done, so drain it and add it to the other ingredients on the heat. Add the soy sauce, cover with the lid, and let everything combine for a few minutes over medium heat. Turn off the heat, add the last tablespoon of raw oil and a bit of pepper, mix everything, and serve hot.
NOTES
You can add tuna, shrimp, provola, or whatever your imagination suggests to this already very flavorful recipe.
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How to replace the ham to make it vegetarian?
My advice to replace the ham is to add smoked provola cheese.
