Here is one simple, but luxurious recipe for fried rice, one that is just one step (and one ingredient) from my master recipe for Egg Fried Rice.
The special ingredient in this dish is the “conpoy”, or dried scallop. As the name implies, its the dried adductor muscle of scallops. It comes as little discs, hard as wood. For this recipe, I get the rather large ones, and save some cost by asking for the broken ones.
The dried scallop in its original state is on right.
And on the left is the scallop after it has been steamed and mashed into threads. These threads are going to go into the rice, which is why you need to large ones.
Ingredients (for two)
- Steamed jasmine (or other long grain) rice, ideally cooked the day before and chilled in fridge
- 3 regular eggs (65 g), or 2 jumbo ones
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced.
- About 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- About 250 ml of cooking oil
For me, rice for two is cooked from one rice cup (180ml) of raw rice
Equipment
- A large wok and ladle
- A metal sieve, set over matching metal bowl
Mise
You will need to first steam the dried scallop to soften and break them up. Give them a quick rinse, then place them in a small saucer, Steam them for about 15 minutes (it could take longer) till they yield to the touch.
Mash them up. Reserve any liquid you find in the saucer. Its good stuff!
Crack and beat eggs up, adding a dash of fish sauce.
Heat about one cup (yes, one cup) of oil in a wok.
Set a metal sieve over a metal, or other heat-proof bowl
Cook
This recipe is based on the master recipe for Egg Fried Rice, I strongly suggest visiting the page for a step by step version of the base recipe (with pictures). This recipe is just the base recipe with the addition of conpoy at the end.
Get everything ready
- Allow oil in wok to heat till shimmering, about 140 deg C, or slightly more.
- Swirl about half the egg into the hot oil, stirring gently to get swirls of egg. The egg must bubble up at once.
- Pour the entire contents of the wok over a metal sieve, so that the egg is retained by the sieve, and the oil drains to the bowl below.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the oil back into the wok. Lower the heat slightly
- Fry garlic till fragrant.
- Pour rice in, and toss quickly, do not allow the garlic to burn.
- With a spatula, press the rice, breaking up any lumps completely, till rice is entirely loose, individual grains.
- Turn up the heat, and toss.
- Pile rice up, and pour reminder of egg of rice. Toss to coat every grain of rice with egg.
- Add the shredded dried scallop into the rice.
- Add the fried egg you had done earlier to the dish,
- Toss… adjust seasoning with the fish sauce, and you are done!
Note : the scallop is inherently rather salty, so you need to add that first, then adjust the amount of fish sauce to add.
Plate, and enjoy!
