August 3, 2020
Today, I’m revisiting another one of my favorite pantry meals, bacon and egg fried rice. I first tossed together this version of fried rice when I tried to use up some leftover ingredients in my refrigerator. I saw some bacon and eggs and thought to myself why not combine these items together into fried rice. Thus, my bacon and egg fried rice was born. Fried rice holds a special place in my heart. It was a dish my family made almost weekly when I was growing up. We ate fried rice for parties in school. Fried rice brought our family together for celebrations. My family even used fried rice as a way to clear out all of the remaining bits and pieces of meats and veggies lying around in our fridge at the end of each week. Pretty much anything you can think of has played a role in one or another version of fried rice. Eating a bowl of fried rice tossed together by my mom, dad, grandma or grandpa always brought a huge smile to my face. I remember eating around the bits of chopped char siu in my bowl of fried rice and saving those small bits for the very end. The crispy char siu bits infused layers of flavor into the fried rice. Long after I moved to the Midwest, I’ve continued to turn to fried rice as a way to help use up leftover meats and veggies sitting in my fridge. Outside of char siu, my family also loved to toss in lap cheong, the smoked meat of choice for homemade fried rice in our household. Lap cheong releases the most intense sweet, savory, and smoky flavors when heated. I would describe lap cheong as a cross between the western equivalent of bacon and sausage. Even thinking back, I can still taste the aromatic smoky flavors of lap cheong in the homemade versions of fried rice I ate growing up. After moving to Ohio, it became a lot more difficult to access some of the Chinese ingredients my family would use to make many of their dishes. Lap cheong was one of those items. I often had to find other ways to infuse smoky flavor into my fried rice. One way I accomplished this was by cooking up some bacon and infusing the rendered fat from the bacon into cooked, cold jasmine rice. Bacon was such an easy swap. It brought layers of flavor into the rice. One scoop of bacon and egg fried rice was all the confirmation I needed to add this fried rice into my monthly meal rotations. The crispy bacon added a nice layer of salty, smoky flavor. The lightly scrambled eggs added a satisfying and filling element to the fried rice. The scallions, diced onion, and frozen veggies added a few servings of some much-needed veggies. The only step left to help bring the meal together was a refreshing summer drink. I blended together some colorful layered fruit smoothies and served up the fried rice with the smoothies for dinner. This was truly one of the easiest, tastiest dinners to whip up on short notice. My bacon and egg fried rice was the perfect dish for dinner. It could also easily transform into the perfect breakfast or lunch the next day. With a satisfying dinner out of the way, I could get back to planning out other meals for the week.
For the bacon and egg fried rice:
· 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
· 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· ¼ teaspoon white pepper
· ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
· 6 slices of bacon, diced
· ½ small onion, diced
· 1 carrot, diced
· 3 large eggs, lightly whisked
· 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
· 2 cups jasmine rice, cold and overnight
· ½ cup frozen green peas
· 3 stalks scallions, thinly sliced
Directions:
1) Heat a skillet on medium heat. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauces, peppers, and sugar. Set aside.
2) Once the skillet is heated, add the diced bacon. Cook the bacon pieces until crispy, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon onto a plate. Toss the diced onion and carrot into the bacon fat and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove the diced onion and carrot to the plate with the bacon. Slowly pour in the whisked eggs and cook in the bacon fat until lightly scrambled, about 1 minute. Remove the eggs to another plate. Drizzle in the vegetable oil. Add the cold rice and let cook for another 1-2 minutes. Pour in the bowl of sauce. Stir fry until the sauce coats the rice. Add the green peas, scallions, and cook another minute. Return the bacon, eggs, diced onion, and carrot back into the skillet. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Serve while still hot.
Takeaways: The bacon and egg fried rice is a great way to use up any leftover veggies in the refrigerator. Try tossing in chopped cabbage, chopped bok choy, diced peppers, or frozen veggies. For some heat, sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes and/or top with sriracha.