Everyone says the best thing about fried rice is that you can just throw whatever you have into it. This recipe is my bare-bones base recipe,  made only with things that I always have on hand because they have a long shelf life. You can add all kinds of extra things if you have them, including most green vegetables, left over chicken, prawns, bacon or corn. Last time I made this, I also had chicken and bok choi, which was excellent.

If you’re making two versions, keep the lup chong and any other high-fat ingredients aside and add them after serving. You can also drizzle the CF person’s meal with sesame oil.

One more thing – fried rice is better if you use rice that was cooked the night before. If you haven’t done that, just try to get it cooked as soon as possible (the morning of, or as soon as you get home in the evening).

Ingredients

• 2 cups of brown rice, cooked and left to cool
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 100g dried shittake mushrooms, re-hydrated and sliced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sriracha (2 if you like food spicy)
• 3 lup chong sausages, steamed and finely sliced*

1. Heat 1 tbsp of peanut oil in a wok on high heat. Pour the eggs into the pan, and stir until about half the egg has cooked. Allow the omelette to set, then flip to cook the other side. Remove from the wok and finely slice.
2. Heat the remaining oil in the wok. Add the mushrooms, carrot and ginger and fry for three minutes, or until carrot starts to brown.
3. Add the rice, peas and sauces and stir to combine well. Add the omelette, lup chong, and any other ingredients you are using.
4. Stir everything together, and cook for 10 minutes or until all ingredients are heated through.

*Lup chong is a sweet Chinese sausage which can be found in the ‘Asian food’ section of most supermarkets. To prepare the sausage, place in a bowl with a small amount of boiling water and microwave for 90 seconds.