If you make Chinese BBQ pork (Char Siu) for various other uses you will find it is also a great ingredient in pork fried rice. It is also the only ingredient that takes much time to make and which needs to be made in advance. All other ingredients can be prepared fairly quickly.

Pork fried rice is made with Chinese BBQ pork, day old steamed rice, diced onion, garlic, ginger, bean sprouts, scrambled eggs and chopped scallions, plus a variety of seasoning ingredients in a sauce. It is often served with other foods (think Chinese takeout) to add variety to a meal, or it can be a fine meal in itself.

The recipe below is one I found and modified considerably as the ratio of seasonings to rice was clearly deficient. Then, a study of various recipes for pork fried rice made me decide to combine the best parts of each worthy recipe to make a great one.

On making the fried rice I later decided you don't stir fry cooked rice. What you do is heat uncooked rice in a hot skillet with stirring until it turns tan (like you would when making red beans and rice), then steam that rice with small amounts of sesame oil and hot sauce in the water, and a day or two later simply add it to the other ingredients of pork fried rice and mix it all together with the sauce as the next to last step. Then add the bean sprouts, chopped scrambled eggs and chopped scallions, mix well, cover the wok and warm the contents on low heat for five minutes.

You will love this dish. So will your guests. So make it.

Ingredients: (makes 4 to 6 servings)

Sauce ingredients:

2 tablespoons of hot water

2 teaspoons of brown sugar

1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine

3 tablespoons of light soy sauce

3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce

2 teaspoons of sea salt

1/2 teaspoon of white pepper

Other ingredients:

3 extra large eggs (whisked with 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine and then scrambled)

1 pound of Chinese BBQ pork (cut into 1/4 inch pieces or ground using a meat grinder with a coarse die)

5 tablespoons of peanut oil (divided)

1 medium size onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of minced ginger

5 cups of day old cooked Basmati or Jasmine rice (add 1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil and 1 teaspoon of hot sauce to the water when steaming the rice)

1 cup of canned bean sprouts (drained)

6 scallions (chopped into 1/4" long pieces, both white and green parts)

Directions:

Combine the hot water, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, salt and white pepper in a small bowl. This is the sauce that you will be adding later to the pork fried rice mixture.

Whisk the eggs with the tablespoon of Shaoxing wine, then heat your wok over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of peanut oil. When the oil begins to smoke, swirl the oil around to coat the wok up about two inches from the bottom, all the way around.

Slowly pour the whisked eggs mixture into the oil at one edge of the perimeter of the pooled hot oil, letting the liquid eggs fry as they spread out across the top of the oil. Cook for about 30 seconds, then flip the eggs over with a flat spatula. Don't worry if they fall apart ... simply flip over the pieces. Cook for another 30 seconds, then put the scrambled eggs into a bowl, roughly chop them, and set the bowl aside.

Mix the day old cooked rice (special instructions/ingredients for making it are described above in the introduction) with two forks, eliminating clumps.

Heat the wok over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of peanut oil. When the oil begins to smoke, stir fry the BBQ pork for two minutes, then add the diced onion, garlic and ginger and stir fry the mixture until the diced onion is translucent.

Reduce the heat to low and gradually add the day old rice to the pork mixture with stirring to create a uniform mixture.

Add the sauce mixture to the wok and mix with a scooping motion using a large spoon until the rice is evenly coated with sauce.

Add the bean sprouts, chopped scrambled eggs, and chopped scallions. Mix thoroughly for another minute or two, then put the lid on the wok and heat it on low heat for five minutes.

Serve the pork fried rice hot.

Provide light and dark soy sauces in small bowls or pitchers for guests who might want additional seasoning.

Enjoy!