Fried Rice

One of my favorite recipes from when I lived in Monterey Park, the China-town of Los Angeles, is homemade fried rice. There isn't really a recipe per se but there are definitely some ingredients you wouldn't normally think of.

First of all you have to use day old rice. There's something about the crunchy hardness of day old rice that stops the fried rice from being soft and mushy. Once you have fried the rice in a little canola oil, add whatever vegetables you have in the fridge or the freezer. I like to make sure there are some peas and carrots but today, for example, I also used onion, zucchini and yellow squash. Once your rice and vegetables are mixed together drizzle with soy sauce and about 1 tablespoon of ketchup for every 2 cups of rice you have used. It's the ketchup that gives it that traditional fried rice flavor. Add some scrambled egg or other shredded meat or diced sausage and you are set.