Party Fried Rice yay or nay? By Bosslady Cookist

I attended an event a while back with my friends and after the event, I remember asking my friends if they enjoyed the meal, they said yes, but the fried rice was a big no 😣😣. To be very honest, party fried rice isn’t as much a delight to look forward to as its cousin rice dish; Jollof rice. Fried rice served in parties has either a problem with the colour, taste or vegetables.

It could be too green which means curry and fried rice spice (mostly actually colouring instead of spice 😪) was massively pumped into it while cooking. The only Fried rice spice I trust is Supreme Fried rice spice.

There are many spices out there that are actually not spices but salt and colourings 🙄.
For the taste; the vegetables could be bland and not blend well with the rice; the curry and thyme could be too much, hence a spice war; the rice could be overcooked and soggy or undercooked and hard; the most disastrous is spoilt rice, Fried rice comes with a really bad attitude, it doesn’t last long if not properly handled and I have been served spoilt rice in parties.

For the vegetables; ehh Christ, where do I start from? Either too rancid, over cooked, under cooked, cut too tiny or too big you’d be wondering if you are eating two separate meals on a plate.

All these party fried rice errors are simply because Fried rice shouldn’t be mass produced. To properly cook fried rice, it should be cooked in batches e.g 10-15 servings per batch.

I’ll give a quick run down on the history of Fried rice.
Originally, Fried rice started as a means of reusing leftover rice. The earliest record of Fried rice is in the Sui dynasty (589-618 CE).
The original recipe for Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. Fried rice is a popular component of East Asian, Southeast Asian and certain South Asian cuisines.

As a homemade dish, fried rice is typically made with ingredients left over from other dishes, leading to countless
variations. It has a number of alternative names.

In cooking Fried rice, cooked rice is the primary ingredient, with myriad additional ingredients, such as vegetables, eggs, meat (beef, pork, mutton, chicken, lamb), preserved meat (ham, bacon, sausage, minced meat), seafood (crab, fish, shrimp), mushrooms, among others.
Aromatics such as shallots, scallions, garlic and onions, are often added for extra flavor. Various cooking oils, such as vegetable oil, soya oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, clarified butter, or lard can be used to grease the wok or frying pan to prevent sticking, as well as for flavour. Fried rice dishes can be seasoned with salt, different types of soy sauce, oyster sauce and many other sauces and spices.

Popular garnish used in Nigeria include chopped carrots, green bell pepper,
spring onions, runner beans, sweet corn, peas. Beyond the basic technique and usual seasonings, there is no strict formula for fried rice.
Certainly there is no fixed list of ingredients, so it is a great way to make use of what you have available whether fresh or not. Restaurants, we have to hope, are utilising fresh ingredients most of the time.😅

I’d be teaching you how to cook mouth watering Fried rice. Unlike Jollof rice, there is no ultimate one way traffic to cook it. You could use leftover rice as the original recipe suggests, you could boil the rice in meat stock filled with curry and add the ingredients you have pre-fried (this method is a big no to me, because no rice is fried here 😒😒) or you could fry your uncooked rice add water and/or meat stock to cook it after frying (this method is the best in my
opinion my five star recipe😂💃).

Ingredients

Long grain rice (you could also use Basmati rice or Thai Jasmine rice); 3 cups
Vegetable oil; 40 cl, (you won’t use all of it😅)

Carrot; ½ cup, (already chopped)
Runner beans alternatively known as Green beans; ¼ cup, (already chopped)
Green bell peppers; ¼ cup, (already chopped)
Liver/sausages/shredded chicken; 1 cup
Curry masala; 2 Tablespoons (Tbs)
Salt; use to your taste and discretion
Knorr seasoning cubes; use to your taste and discretion
Fresh ginger and garlic; 3 Tbs mashed
Spring onions; 1 cup
Cabbage; 1 cup
Onions; 2 cups
Ata rodo (scotch bonnets); 1 cup
Yaji or dry pepper; 1 Tbs
Nutmeg; 1 Tbs
Meat stock

N.B : The vegetables vary, just use whatever suits your taste, for example, I didn’t include peas because I dislike them.

My younger sister, O, helped with chopping the vegetables, she was playing around with them and came up with this pretty concept.

Here, we have, carrot, spring onions, cabbage and runner beans.

Directions

1. Wash the rice well and drain off water, put a clean pot on fire, pour in about 4 cooking spoons of oil, you have to be really careful, I’m sure you don’t want your Fried rice dripping of oil. Add 1 cup of onions and 2 Tbs mashed ginger and garlic, allow it fry for about 3 minutes then add the rice and stir with a wooden spatula.

At this stage, add your spices; seasoning cubes, salt, nutmeg, ½ table spoon yaji/dry pepper, 1½ Tbs of curry masala. Keep stirring for about 5 minutes. It will look this, then add meat stock and water or just water if you don’t have meat stock.

2. In another clean pot, add a cooking spoon of oil, the remaining onions, mashed ginger & garlic, shredded chicken/liver/sausage, bell peppers, scoth bonnets, cabbage and theremaining vegetables, yaji/dried pepper, seasoning and curry. Stir continuously for about 3 minutes and put it down.

3. If the rice is soft and spicy enough, add the fried ingredients to the rice, stir together and wait for about 2 minutes before turning the heat off.

Voila!
Food is ready, Bon appetite!

Tips:
To preserve the Fried rice, immediately you are through serving, reheat the remaining, leave sligtly open and ensure the heat escapes before you cover it, it should last overnight. Bottom pot Fried rice is your friend too!

This was my second serving🙊😅😂 the bottom of the pot😋😋 I enjoyed it with Blessed pure water; the best in Ibadan, yes ke, argue with your keypad and a fork; my best cutlery 💃Sorry about the picture quality 😪😪 this was taken after hours of cooking it is still Fried rice, not Jollof rice😂😂

I hope you are keeping safe and staying positive.
Thank you for reading this!
I’m grateful!
I’d be glad if you follow me on Instagram @bosslady_cookist I’d follow right back!
You can also send me a WhatsApp DM on 09065122503.

Remember that, THERE IS MORE FOOD THAN EATING!

God be with you, always and forever🎶🎶
❤×💡×💓
Yours in the Kitchen,
IyanuOluwa,
Bosslady Cookist.