Use It Up Fried Rice From Vietnamese Food Any Day

VIETNAMESE FRIED RICE (COM CHIEN)

Steps:

• Heat a wok over medium-high heat and add in one tablespoon of oil.
• Add shrimp, stirring one to three minutes or until cooked through. Remove from wok and set aside. Increase heat to high.
• Add onion and cook for one minute.
• Add sausage. Cook and stir for three minutes.
• Add garlic and cook for one minute.
• Add veggies and cook for two minutes (if still frozen, three to four minutes to cook off excess water)
• Add the rice and mix with the veggies. Continue mixing until rice is broken down with no lumps.
• Add shrimp back in and season with salt, sugar, chicken powder, and white pepper. Mix together well.
• Push rice to the side and add in the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the eggs. Stir them until they're half cooked (they should still be mostly liquid with bits of cooked egg), then quickly stir in the rest of the food. Continue to stir for a minute, the egg will continue to cook as it's coating the rice mixture.
• Remove from heat and stir in the fish sauce, if using. Taste and add extra seasoning if necessary.
• Enjoy!

VIETNAMESE-STYLE FRIED RICE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat the peanut oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat.
• Pour in the beaten eggs. Cook, swirling often to form a flat egg pancake, just until set, about 1 1/2 minutes.
• Scoop out egg pancake and transfer to a cutting board.
• Over medium heat, saute the lemongrass, garlic, and shallots until softened and aromatic.
• Turn up the heat, add the chopped carrot and sweet peas, and stir fry for half a minute.
• Add the sliced lap cheong and the barbecued pork. Stir fry for about a minute.
• Add the rice. Drizzle in the fish sauce. Stir fry until the rice is heated through. Turn off the heat.
• Roll up the egg like a cigar and cut into thin slices.
• Add egg slices to the rice. Toss. Add the lime juice and toss a few more times.
• Serve hot, garnished with cilantro, lemon basil, or mint, or all three.

USE-IT-UP FRIED RICE FROM VIETNAMESE FOOD ANY DAY

Steps:

• Stir the rice to prevent lumps. Set with the remaining ingredients near the stove-this recipe comes together quickly.
• In a large nonstick or carbon-steel skillet over high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the fat. When the fat is nearly shimmering, add the garlic and stir-fry for 10 to 15 seconds, until aromatic. Add the leftovers and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes to reheat and refresh. Add the rice and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until warm and slightly revived.
• Push the rice to the skillet's perimeter to create a 4-inch-well in the middle. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon fat to the well, pour in the egg, then pour the fish sauce around the rim of the well (onto the rice). Quickly stir-fry to break up, scramble,.
• and work the golden egg bits into the rice. Add the green onion and cook for 10 to 15 seconds longer, until just wilted. Turn off the heat, taste, and season with salt, if needed.
• Transfer the rice to a plate or shallow bowl. Serve with additional fish sauce, soy sauce, or Maggi Seasoning in case diners want an extra-savory punch.
• NOTES:.
• Instead of cooked leftovers, use chopped raw meat, seafood, or veggies (try mushroom, green beans, or frozen peas or carrots, thawed). Heat 1½ tablespoons oil, add the raw ingredients, and lightly season with salt, fish sauce (or soy sauce, Bragg, or Maggi). When cooked through and hot, add the rice and continue as directed.
• To gild the lily with bacon, chop 2 or 3 slices, fry them up until crisp, and use the rendered fat instead of the oil. Keep the bacon in the pan as you fry the rice or use it at the end as a garnish.
• To make a quick chile garlic vinegar, in a small bowl or jar, combine 1 sliced jalapeño with seeds intact, 1 small smashed garlic clove, 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar, and 1/4 cup water and let sit for 15 minutes. Have diners use a spoon to sprinkle it over their rice. The vinegar will keep for up to 2 weeks at room temperature or for up to 1 month in the refrigerator.

HEAVENLY VIETNAMESE BEEF FRIED RICE

Steps:

• Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Add rice, beef bouillon, and lime leaves. Boil for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice stand for 10 minutes. Spread onto a platter and let cool completely, at least 40 minutes.
• In the meantime, marinate beef with cilantro, mint, green onions, lime juice, chile peppers, and 2 tablespoons soy sauce for up to 1 hour. Marinate tofu in the remaining soy sauce.
• Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add red onion; cook for 1 minute, then add marinated beef. Saute until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Discard lime leaves from the cooled rice and toss rice into the wok. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add tofu, stir gently, and fry for 3 minutes more. Serve hot.

SHRIMP IN COCONUT CARAMEL SAUCE FROM VIETNAMESE FOOD ANY DAY

Steps:

• SHRIMP:.
• Pat the shrimp with paper towels to remove excess moisture, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the coconut water, sugar, caramel sauce, and fish sauce and stir to mix; taste and make sure it's pleasantly salty-sweet. It will cook down later and intensify but use this opportunity to check the flavor. If needed, add up to 1½ teaspoons sugar or fish sauce, or both. Set aside.
• In a skillet or sauteuse pan over medium heat, melt the coconut oil. When the oil is barely shimmering, add the shallot and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the garlic is pale blond. Remove from the heat and, once the cooking action subsides, add the coconut water mixture.
• Return the skillet to high heat and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, for 10 to 14 minutes, until reduced to between ⅓ and ½ cup, a bit thickened, and slightly darkened. Add the shrimp and continue cooking at a swift simmer, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp curls up and cooks through and the sauce is slightly syrupy. (Expect the shrimp's natural juices to release, thin out, and flavor the sauce.) If the shrimp cooks too fast, remove it from the pan, let the sauce cook down, and then return the shrimp. Remove from the heat, season with lots of pepper, and stir in the green onion. Let sit for 5 minutes for the flavors to settle and deepen.
• Transfer the shrimp to a shallow bowl or plate and serve.
• About the Caramel Sauce:.
• This key Viet ingredient is simply nearly burnt sugar; it's not at all the caramel sauce for topping ice cream. Vietnamese caramel sauce is stealthily employed in savory dishes to impart a lovely mahogany color and build savory-sweet depth. You've likely had caramel sauce in clay-pot (kho) dishes but didn't know it. Like molasses, it can be added to grilled-meat marinades to enhance the appearance of the final dish.
• Don't fear the caramelization process. It's not overly dramatic, and the vinegar prevents crystallization, which can result in crusty failed batches. Employ cane sugar, such as C&H brand, because it caramelizes consistently better than beet sugar. The result is an inky, bittersweet Vietnamese staple. I keep a jar of caramel sauce to cut down on prep work. If you don't have time to make a batch, use the work-arounds in the recipes to make some on the spot. Select a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan with a long handle and a light interior (such as stainless steel) to observe the caramelization. If you wish, use strained fresh lemon or lime juice in place of vinegar.
• Caramel Sauce Directions:.
• Fill the sink (or a large bowl or pot) with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the saucepan.
• In the saucepan, combine the 2 tablespoons water, vinegar (if using), and sugar. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula or metal spoon; when the sugar has nearly or fully dissolved, stop stirring. Let the sugar syrup bubble vigorously for 5 to 6 minutes, until it takes on the shade of light tea. Turn the heat to medium-low to stabilize the cooking. Turn on the exhaust to vent the inevitable smoke. (Don't worry if sugar crystallizes on the pan wall. But if things get crusty in the bubbling sugar syrup, add another drop of vinegar to correct it.) For even cooking, you may occasionally lift and swirl the saucepan.
• Cook the syrup for about 2 minutes longer, until it is the color of dark tea. The next 1 to 2 minutes are critical because the sugar will darken by the second. Monitor the cooking and, to control the caramelization, frequently pick up the saucepan and slowly swirl the syrup. When a dark reddish cast sets in-think the color of Pinot Noir-let the sugar cook a few seconds longer to a color between Cabernet and black coffee. Remove from the heat and place the pan in the water to stop the cooking. Expect the pan bottom to sizzle upon contact.
• Leaving the pan in the sink, add the remaining ¼ cup water. The sugar will seize up, which is okay. When the dramatic bubbling reaction stops, return the pan to medium-high heat, and cook briefly, stirring to loosen and dissolve the sugar.
• Remove the pan from the heat and return to the water in the sink for about 1 minute, stirring, to stop the cooking process and cool the caramel sauce to room temperature.
• Use the sauce immediately, or transfer to a small heatproof glass jar, let cool completely, and then cap and store in a cool, dark place indefinitely.