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This may be my favorite time of the year.  Right now is when Georgia is at its most beautiful.    With the Masters looming its time to get excited about longer days, perfect weather and the beginning of grill season.

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For years I struggled to make fried rice at home until I discovered the secret.  Turns out, making fried rice at home is not as hard as I had once thought.

I love fried rice but in the past when I tried to make it at home I was never able to capture the texture that makes fried rice so appealing.  When I tried it the rice came out too moist, almost mushy.  No good.  I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong.  I tried high heat, low heat, cooking the rice in less water.  Nothing worked.  Through some google searching and a youtube marathon I now know he key.

It is to get the rice as dry as possible so that when it hits the oil it will crisp up and the grains will stay separated.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to toss your cooked rice in the fridge and leave it over night.  This will cause the rice to dry out and even clump up.  This is ideal for fried rice.  Ok, now that you know the secret here is what you need for a basic fried rice.

• 1 cup cooked rice (refridgerated overnight)
• 1 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or more to taste
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• small amount of fresh cracked pepper

That’s all for the base rice but you can certainly add any veggies or protein you like.  I put a little broccoli and bean sprouts on mine but whatever suits your fancy.

Here is how you make it

1. Take a wok or large skillet and turn the heat to medium and let it get nice and hot.  
2. Add in your oil then toss in your rice
3. With the back of a laddle or spoon try to flatten the rice against your wok in as thin a layer as possible and let cook untouched for two minutes.  This will ensure that as much rice as possible has direct contact with the pan which will give the rice the texture were after.
4. After two minutes toss in your egg your soy sauce and sesame oil and stir frequently for another minute or two.

Serve immediately

A common mistake to avoid is adding soy sauce to the rice as soon as you toss it in your wok.  This is a particularly costly mistake as it moistens your dry rice which will make it mushy.  Again, be sure to stir fry just the rice in the oil for the initial stage of the cooking process so you get nice grain separation.

RIP Cathy Ho’s