My fried rice lacks flavor.

[kricketkris]

So I need some help with my fried rice. No matter how much soy sauce I put in, I don't get a lot in the way of flavor in the finished dish

Comments

[kricketkris]

I do eat meat, and always forget to add it! I'll make a note. We have pork chops quite often so I could cube up an extra one, and a ham is in the fridge. Thank you!

[kamaliitaru]

Yea, this. Onions, or green onions also help. If you have green onions, add toward the end. I also love ginger in mine, but I'm a ginger freak...garlic too, btw.

[heatermcca]

Oyster sauce. I love it for fried rice. I add it nearly last, though, as I find that it tends to explode the rice. I am not as fond of soy sauce as oyster sauce to my ratio of the two is off from the 1:1 of my original recipe, which I got from a website with a story and recipe by Ming Tsai. (He talked about making it as a youngster for some guests who came over when he was 9-ish and his parents were out and delayed a bit.)

EATA: OH! I'd also add an onion. Cook an onion in the pan before adding the rice. That will also add a lot of flavor.

[kricketkris]

I neeever even thought of oyster sauce. I think it would add some lovely gloss to the rice, too. And NICE idea on the onion! Thanks!

[carmy_w]

LOL!
Why am I not surprised that he was cooking at that age? He makes it look sooooo easy!
"Just dice this up, and add some oil to your pan, and get it screaming hot, then throw it in,and add some of this, and this, and stir it around a bit, and there you are!"

[kireic]

Definitely seconding onion! I never knew how much they contibuted to dishes until I first started cooking and making recipes without them - only to discover that I did like onions after all.

[tisiphone]

You could try adding more varied flavor, soy sauce doesn't really have a ton of flavor in and of itself, other than salty (which rice soaks up fast). For example, fry some fresh ginger and scallions in the oil before adding the rice.

[kricketkris]

That sounds very doable. It seems I am off to the grocery store this weekend for oyster sauce, onion, ginger, scallions, etc. I think you're right that the rice soaks up the soy instantly- if I sprinkle some on after the cooking is finished, it stands out more (in all its salty glory). Thanks!

[kajicarter]

I'd start with any meats and veg at first, onions and garlic would be great, ginger is good too. Then when those are cooked, you toss in the rice. The rice just needs to be heated through. Anything you add after the rice really won't have a chance to spread its flavor throughout the dish.

[kricketkris]

My natural instinct is definitely to cook that rice until it's FRIED, dangit, and one time it got so bad that I think I made the soy-flavored equivalent of rice crispies, heh. You're right, I should just be warming it. Thanks!

[puppet_princess]

Actually... traditionally fried rice is FRIED. The grains aren't supposed to stick to each other anymore and they should have some color. (Though, where I am from "sticky" fried rice is common) Generally you cook the ingredients, set them in a bowl to the side, then fry the rice before adding the veggies and stuff back in.

[polarbunny]

I always cook the non-rice ingredients first with sesame oil, like the egg, minced garlic, chopped scallions, carrots, peas, meat, and then add the rice with salt, soy sauce and anything else that I think would taste good. I think this way the rice soaks up all the flavors from the other ingredients.

This also may sound weird but in Japan, we always have ketchup fried rice. It adds a tangy tomato flavor which is sooo yummy.

[kricketkris]

That is so interesting about the ketchup. I recently used some in a soy sauce fish recipe and was surprised by how tasty it was. Thanks for the tips!

[outdoortoys]

My wife adds tomatoes, instead of ketchup. Makes for a great flavor, though.