Yangzhou Fried Rice (扬州炒饭)

5 from 23 votes

Yangzhou Fried Rice (扬州炒饭)

An easy version of Yangzhou fried rice, a classic stir-fry dish combining a wide range of flavors and textures. Make it in under 15 minutes!

Prep Time8

Cook Time5

Total Time13

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 755kcal

Author: Wei Guo

Ingredients

3 cups cooked rice cooled (see notes 1 & 2)
3 tablespoon neutral cooking oil divided
2 clove garlic minced
⅓ cup carrots diced
⅓ cup peas
¼ cup dried shiitake mushrooms rehydrated and finely chopped (see note 3)
¼ cup water or chicken stock
½ teaspoon salt divided
⅓ cup shrimp peeled (cooked or raw)
⅓ cup SPAM or ham, char siu, diced (see note 4)
2 eggs lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 stalk scallions finely chopped

Instructions

Use a fork to loosen up the grains of the cooked and cooled rice. Set aside. Cut and chop other ingredients to the preferred size suggested in the list above.
Heat an empty wok over high heat until smoking hot (see note 5 if using cookware with non-stick coating). Pour in 1 tablespoon of oil then add minced garlic.
Once the garlic turns lightly golden (do not burn), put in carrots, peas, and shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry for 30 seconds or so then pour in the water (or stock) along with half of the salt. Leave to steam over high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Stir in SPAM (or other substitutes) and shrimp. Toss and fry for about 30 seconds (or until the shrimp turns pink if they are raw). Transfer everything to a plate and set aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the same wok. Swirl to coat a larger area. Pour in the batten eggs once the oil just starts to smoke. Swirl the eggs with a spatula to cook them quickly and break them into small pieces.
Put in the cooked rice. Toss constantly to heat the grains evenly. Loosen any lumps with the spatula.
When the rice is piping hot, return the fried vegetables and proteins back to the wok. Add the remaining salt, white pepper, and chopped scallions. Stir and toss for 20 seconds then dish out. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. 3 cups of cooked rice is roughly made with 1 cup of raw rice.

2. Ideally, the cooked rice should not be too sticky and has been refrigerated before frying. To achieve the best result, follow the strainer/steamer method introduced in my post on Cooking Rice On the Stove.

3. If unfamiliar, learn how to rehydrate dried shiitake mushrooms. You may use fresh shiitake (or other mushrooms). In this case, halve the water/stock needed for frying the vegetables.

4. Traditional recipes call for Chinese dried cured ham. If you’re lucky to find it, remember to fry it with the garlic instead of adding it at the end.

5. If using non-stick cookware, I suggest you add the oil first then heat it up, instead of heating it empty.

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