Special fried rice with egg, ham and prawns
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
Rice cooked the same day sticks to the wok and ends up mushy. Fried rice is made with yesterday's rice, chilled in the fridge, so the grains have dried on the surface. I always keep a box of cooked jasmine rice for it: the dish is ready in a quarter of an hour.
British takeaways call it special fried rice. In China it's Yangzhou fried rice (yangzhou chaofan), named after a city in Jiangsu province, and Cantonese restaurants took it around the world, hence its other name, Cantonese fried rice. The Chinese version mixes char siu pork, prawns and egg. In France, cooked ham has taken the place of the pork, and that's how I make it. The rest comes down to a hot wok and a light hand with the soy sauce, so the grains stay golden and separate.
Special fried rice (yangzhou chaofan)
Day-old jasmine rice stir-fried over a high heat with scrambled egg, ham, prawns and peas, seasoned with light soy sauce.
For 3 or 4 people, use a 32cm wok: the rice spreads out enough to toast against the metal.
Ingredients
For the rice
To go with the rice
To cook and season
Equipment
- 32cm carbon steel wok
- Wooden or metal spatula
- 1 bowl for the eggs
- 1 baking tray or large dish to cool the rice
Method
Get the rice ready
Rice cooked the day before works best. Otherwise, cook it, spread it out on a tray and leave it in the fridge for 1 hour, uncovered, to cool. When you're ready to cook, break up 750g rice with your fingers: any clump left whole turns into a block in the wok.
Prepare the ham, prawns and peas
Cut the ham into 1cm dice. Put the peas in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes, then drain them well. Slice the spring onions, keeping the white and green parts separate. Cut the prawns in half if they're large.
Scramble the eggs
Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Heat the wok over a high heat, add 1 tbsp oil, then the eggs. Stir for 30 to 40 seconds and take them out when they've set in large pieces but are still a little runny: they'll finish cooking with the rice.
Stir-fry the rice
Put the wok back over a high heat until it's lightly smoking. Add 2 tbsp oil and the white of the spring onions, then the rice. Press the clumps apart with the back of the spatula and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until the grains separate and start to jump in the wok.
Add the ham, prawns and peas
Add the ham, prawns and peas. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, until everything is piping hot.
Season
Pour 2 tbsp soy sauce in a thin stream down the side of the wok, not straight onto the rice: it sizzles, caramelises a little and spreads more evenly. Mix for 30 seconds, until the rice is an even golden colour.
Finish and serve
Return the eggs and break them up with the spatula. Add the green of the spring onions and ¼ tsp white pepper. Taste before adding salt, as the ham and soy sauce are already salty, then serve straight away.
Wok tips
- No leftover rice? Spread freshly cooked rice in a thin layer on a tray and put it in the freezer for 20 minutes. It won't dry out as well as overnight, but it won't stick any more.
- On induction, a flat-bottomed wok stays in contact with the hob. Heat it for 2 minutes on full power before adding the oil, and don't lift it to toss the rice: it cools down as soon as it leaves the hob.
- If the grains stick to the bottom, the oil wasn't hot enough or the wok's patina is still young. A well-seasoned carbon steel wok lets the rice slide around: see how to season a wok.
- The classic version has no sesame oil or oyster sauce. The flavour comes from the egg, the ham and the soy sauce caramelising on the hot metal.
Variations
- Char siu pork instead of the ham: 150g, diced, as in the Yangzhou original.
- Vegetarian: swap the ham and prawns for 150g diced smoked tofu and 100g sliced button mushrooms, seared for 2 minutes before the rice.
- Raw prawns: 150g, peeled, added with the ham and stir-fried for 2 minutes, until pink.
- No light soy sauce: Japanese soy sauce (shoyu) works, in the same amount.
Storage
Two days in the fridge in a sealed container, chilled within an hour of cooking. Reheat once only, for 3 minutes in the wok over a high heat with 1 teaspoon of oil, until piping hot.
The Kumichi Carbon Steel Wok
Carbon steel, Ø 32cm, all hobs including induction
Frequently asked questions
Why do you need rice cooked the day before?
Chilled in the fridge, cooked rice loses some of its surface moisture and the grains firm up. In the wok, they separate and turn golden instead of sticking. Rice cooked the same day turns pasty.
Where does special fried rice come from?
From Yangzhou, a city in Jiangsu province, where it's called yangzhou chaofan. Cantonese restaurants took it outside China, which is why it's also called Cantonese fried rice, and British takeaways sell a close version as special fried rice.
Which rice should you use for special fried rice?
Long-grain rice: jasmine, the most common, or basmati. Avoid short-grain and sticky rice, which clump together once fried.
Can you freeze special fried rice?
Yes, for a month at most, in flat portions in freezer bags. Stir-fry it in the wok straight from frozen, over a medium then high heat, with a little oil.
