Fried Rice -- Two Ways

Last week was the second Korean cooking class sponsored by the E. Rhode and Leona B Carpenter Foundation.  It was taught by Candler student Sangduck Kim, with Candler alumnus Junil Kim serving as sous chef.

On the menu -- fried rice, two ways: a curry version, and savory sweet version with oyster sauce.  The beauty of both of these version is the method and manner of measuring how many servings each recipe will make.  So let's get to it!

The key to any fried rice (or stir fry, without rice) is to cut each ingredient into similarly sized pieces so that they cook at the same rate.

 Onion.

Bell peppers.

Carrots.

Potatoes.

Mushrooms.

Chicken.

 You'll just have to trust me that chicken was cut up into similarly sized pieces.

As I already mentioned, beauty number one is the method of measuring.  Here's what Sangduck did to measure one portion:

Little handfuls of each ingredient (maybe a bit less than 1/4 cup) to fill the plate.  Notice that the overwhelming majority of the plate is plant-based.  Beauty number two is that you can use whatever vegetables and proteins you prefer or happen to have on hand, as long as your plate is balanced.

To cook, heat a large pan and add oil to just film the pan.  Add onion, chicken and bacon (2 strips per serving).

 Realize that the borrowed kitchen does not have kitchen scissors to cut the bacon (Korean-style), and remove bacon to cutting board to slice.

Add bacon back to pan, season with salt, pepper and a big pinch of dried basil.  Cook, stirring occasionally.  When chicken is cooked through, add other vegetables.

 If going the curry route, add curry powder -- about 1 teaspoon per serving -- and stir through.

 If going the oyster sauce route, add oyster sauce -- about 1 tablespoon per serving -- and stir through.

If you have cold leftover rice, add the rice to the pan and stir to combine.  Drizzle over about 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and let cook a few minutes to crisp the rice.

If you have fresh rice, either mix together or serve the stir fry on top of the rice.

For me there is a clear favorite.  But I'm not telling which it is.  Try both and let us know here in the comments which one you like.  And let us know your favorite mix of vegetables!

Still to come... the soup recipes that accompanied both of these Korean cooking classes.  Stay tuned.