#ewew cooks Bacon Fried Rice

Every Chinese New Year (CNY) Eve in Ipoh, lunch is always a simple affair...and that's because everyone would be busy preparing the numerous dishes for the reunion dinner later that evening.  Every year, a staff of my (Ipoh) sister-in-law would gift her pots of fish paste-stuffed white tofu and fish balls...and that would be our simple lunch (with plain rice) on the eve of CNY.

This year, I decided to add a wee bit more savouriness into our lunch meal (that I'm sure the younger generation would appreciate) by making Bacon Fried Rice to go with the two types of yong tau foo! ^_~

Now, fried rice is one of my favourite carb-loaded comfort food.  When I'm at wits end of what to cook, I just whip up some sure-to-please fried rice that everyone loves.

When it comes to fried rice, I swear by my 'Holy Trinity' of meat, eggs and vegetables...which, in my case, is a combination of bacon, eggs and onions (ingredients that can be easily stored and found in any pantry).  I would cook all three ingredients separately to get a good caramelisation on them.

Bacon (yum!)...but you can substitute with "lap cheong" (Chinese dried sausage) or "char siew" (BBQ pork), of course.  These would be the other two 'approved' proteins (I would say) that can be used to add loads of flavour to the fried rice.

Eggs (double yum!!)....I like to crack the eggs whole into hot oil (instead of beaten eggs) as the egg whites can get really crispy when fried in oil.

Onions (triple yum!!!).....I like to cook them until they're well browned to bring out the sweetness.  Sometimes I would add some sliced shallots to the mix if I have them at hand (just remember to caramelise the onions first and add the shallots later as they brown faster than the onions).

It's more convenient to prep these ingredients separately especially if you're cooking a big batch of fried rice. You can then add the prepared ingredients in when you fry each plate of fried rice separately (maybe max two portions at once).  The worse thing you can do is to cook a big batch of fried rice at one go as you won't be able to get that crisp texture and fragrance into the rice grains (or "wok hei" in a professional kitchen).

For a splash of green (both visually and for taste), I prefer to add chopped spring onions into the mix though there are those who don't like spring onions, so french or long beans would be the other option.  As long as it's not a trio of frozen vegetables like carrot, corn and peas that I detest....I'm good.

Fried rice is a very 'forgiving' dish to cook where you can throw in a bit of this...and a bit of that (without bothering with specific amounts)....and it'll still come out pretty much a success.

And the same goes for the seasoning as well....you can add a splash of this...and a splash of that (no exact measurements needed as it depends on the portion size you're cooking).  Just start with less...and keep adding and tasting until you're happy with the result.  Use a combo of one or more seasonings that include salt, pepper, light & dark soya sauce, fish sauce, kicap manis, seasoning powders, sesame oil, etc. but I like to add one more seasoning that's not so common...and that's chilli sauce, McD's chilli sauce to be exact (that's where the extra packets come in handy...hehe)! ;)

You can go 'white' by not using soy sauce for seasoning (use chicken powder or salt instead)....I like 'white'.....

....or you can go light with just a tiny dash of soy.....

.....or you can go 'dark' (my son's preferred choice)...it really depends on what appeals to you!

But one thing that's a must is to add beaten eggs to the fried rice to lusciously coat each grain of rice for more flavour (besides the separately fried egg bits).

If adding chopped spring onions, add them to the fried rice right at the end.  Just toss them with the rice to warm through and it's ready to be plated up.

And that's done....my simple Bacon Fried Rice :)

I cooked up a few more portions (another four to be exact)...for takeaway to Ipoh.  For this recipe, I used 4 cups of rice, 8 slices of bacon, 4 red onions, 9 eggs (6 for the fried egg bits and 3 beaten eggs for the rice) and lots of spring onions + seasoning of chicken powder, soya sauce, chilli sauce, white pepper and salt.

Fried rice is one of those dishes that everyone is capable of whipping up their own version....and you don't need a recipe for that.  It's such a comforting dish that you'd want a second helping of! :=)