Lap Cheong Fried Rice, with the smoky, sweet and salty flavour of the Chinese sausage is probably the best and tastiest fried rice that you will ever have.
No judgment please but I love fried rice! There I said it! Two reasons why and IMHO, two very good reasons. One is its heavenly of course! It is my heaven in a bowl. Two – it is a very convenient meal in a bowl. I mean it could be short term challenging with all the ingredients that you have to prep. But when you are scooping them into your lunch bowl or container, ah the ease. Scoop, pack, done! I mean there is a reason why many Asian restaurants offer Fried Rice especially as take-out option! Scoop, pack, done!
Yea yea I know that some are probably cringing now thinking about all the calories overflowing from that “bowl”. But I’d happily do the extra gym time or walk 8 kilometers more just to have a bowl of Fried Rice.
And because I love love love Fried Rice, I have several of them and thus call them my Fried Rice Recipes Collection. I will post and update the links as I go so stay tuned for that. For now, we are doing Lap Cheong Fried Rice, which for me is probably the best and tastiest fried rice in the whole wide world :)! That smoked, sweet and salty Chinese Sausage just beckons you to dig in and have more.
How to make Fried Rice
Chinese Sausage or Lap Cheong Fried Rice Ingredients
The beauty of fried rice is the same as stir fry’s. You can literally dump the ingredients one after another in a wok (or pan), add the sauce and voila! Done in no time at all. Of course that excludes the prep part. But then again there are smarter ways of doing the prep. And once you have done it a few times, you will understand the ease and that will make your life so much easier!
Just like Stir Fry also, there is a sort of formula with Fried Rice. You need rice, preferably one day old. Then you need a protein or a protein-sub (if you want a vegan alternative). Adding vegetable is not really required but is always a good balance (makes it a bit healthier hey?). And finally, a fried rice sauce or seasoning.
Rice – Medium to long grain rice is the best for Fried rice. Short grain rice such as sushi or glutinous rice are too soft and they stick together so you could end up with mushy fried rice. Jasmine rice is my go-to as it is fluffier and sturdier so they hold their shape when fried. Plus they don’t clump together. When they do, it is easy to “de-clump” them by pressing them down with a spatula. You can also use Basmati. The same with Jasmine, they have long grains and are not sticky.
Chinese Sausage – For this lap cheong fried rice recipe, I am using what I found in our local grocery store or Asian store. There are different kinds of lap cheong but I don’t have the luxury of choice. Chinese Sausage, compared to the other (Western) sausages is hard and dried. “Lap Cheong” 臘腸 (or Làcháng) is marinated, salted and smoked sausage from pork and pork fat.
Veggies – Technically you can use any veggies you like although there are some that are “fried rice staples”. Among these (what is in this Lap Cheong Fried Rice recipe) are onions, carrots, (fresh or frozen) peas and scallions . I also put cabbage in other recipes especially in the Indonesian Nasi Goreng. Mushrooms, snow peas, asparagus, broccoli and bell peppers go great too. Just make sure to cut them into smaller pieces to make cooking quick and spooning (them out) easy. These are the two characteristics of fried rice.
Egg – Most fried rice recipes will have egg in them. Most of the time I have egg in my fried rice as it provides another layer of texture and flavour to the dish. It is optional especially if you are doing a vegan version.
Fried Rice Seasoning – Just like with having a go-to Stir Fry sauce in your arsenal, I will recommend having a go-to Fried Rice seasoning as well. I have a few that I am sharing but to be perfectly honest, it is perfectly fine to only have one. I used to just rely on garlic and salt to flavour my fried rice but when I started experimenting with different seasonings, I realized the depth of flavour that I was missing. Options for this include but not limited to the combination of soy sauce, sugar, salt, oyster sauce, fish sauce, Worcestershire, Shaoxing wine and of course ground pepper.
Preparation
I believe that many (both Asian and non-Asian peeps) feel overwhelmed with the prep that goes into cooking fried rice. I know it could be but you can be kitchen smart about it and run your kitchen like a boss (or a chef). I also get lazy sometimes when I think about dicing onion and carrots etc etc. Ohhh especially the carrot part. I hate dicing (or slicing) carrots. So unless I am doing it for food shoot – like this, I don’t dice my carrots (and onions) with a knife. I put them in a chopper and boom, done. Okay, next. 🙂
One very important thing. Prepare ALL your ingredients before you start cooking. I have read this in many cooking tips so many times and this is more important with this dish. Fried rice is cooked quicker than most and you won’t have the time to dice your carrots or slice whatever else when your garlic and onions are already cooking in the pan. Chances are, they will end up burnt.
Cooking Lap Cheong Fried Rice
- Prep all the ingredients. Cooking fried rice is quick so everything must be ready.
- Break up large clumps of rice and separate the grains with wet fingers. If needed, put a tablespoon or two of water just to help out in breaking them up. Don’t worry, they will not make your rice soggy as they will evaporate in the pan
- Mince the garlic, dice the onions and carrots and slice the spring onions.
- Slice the Chinese Sausage about 1/4 inch in thickness. (Or you can also do dice if you prefer. I just want them bigger so I slice them, sometimes even diagonally).
- Combine the liquid sauce/seasoning in a small bowl and stir to mix well. This way the flavours are already well blended when you mix it with the rice. This is more important if I am adding sugar in the recipe – I make sure that it is well-dissolved in the other liquid.
2. Preheat a 14-inch wok or 12-inch skillet for about a minute in high heat. (Non-stick is preferable as the rice COULD stick and it could be frustrating). A bit of a sidebar – I grew up in a family that likes having that hardened rice at the bottom of the pan. They intentionally make the rice stick and then fight over the hardened rice. Weird family IKR). Put in the lap cheong and stir-fry until it renders oil. Take them out of the pan/wok and set aside in a bowl.
3. Add the oil and heat until it starts to shimmer. Reduce heat to medium or medium low and add the minced garlic. Stir fry until garlic gets becomes fragrant and gets to a yellow golden color. Add the onion and stir fry again until diced onion becomes translucent and limp. Then add the carrots and the frozen peas. Stir occasionally and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. If peas are fresh, add them after adding the rice.
4. Move all the ingredients around to create a space in the center. (No need to remove them from the pan – see pictures below). Add a little bit of oil and break the eggs into the wok/pan. Stir to scramble until they are almost cooked through but still a little soggy, about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Mix them with the vegetables.
5. Put back the chinese sausage and give everything a quick stir and then add the rice. Break up any remaining clumps by pressing the spatula on them. If it starts to scorch, reduce the heat to medium low. Pour the sauce mixture and add ground pepper.
6. Stir and toss everything quickly around the wok/pan until the rice is well-coated and heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes. If mixed properly and completely, all the rice grains should be “coloured” as well, because of the soy sauce-oyster sauce mixture.
7. Make final adjustments: Add more oil if the rice begins to stick to the wok. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately.
Fried Rice Recipes Expert Tips
Now, don’t you want your lap cheong fried rice or any fried rice for that matter taste as good as the take-out version? Actually scratch that as I believe homemade should ALWAYS be better. So it should be, do you want your fried rice to be authentic and better than take-out? There are some tips and techniques that we need to remember to achieve that.
Prep the Rice
Make sure to prepare your rice to get the right consistency. Always use cold, leftover cooked rice. So a day or two before, cook enough for the fried rice. Leave it in the fridge overnight. This will allow the grains to dry out and firm up, making it easier to separate. This is a secret to not having mushy fried rice.
If you find yourself with not enough time, fluff your freshly cooked rice and air them out to remove the moisture. Then pop in the fridge for a few hours before cooking.
Choice of Oil
The choice of oil for fried rice is important to recreate the authentic Asian flavor. Restaurants cook fried rice (and stir fry) using high heat. Thus it need oil that has a high smoking point (will not burn in hotter temp) such as grapeseed, vegetable, peanut and palm oil. They also have a neutral taste that does not affect the flavor of the fried rice.
Cooking Garlic Correctly
Many people including chefs will probably burn me at the stake for saying this but I will say it anyway. I saute with garlic first before onions. But I never burn my garlic! (You don’t believe me? Watch the video below). Fried rice needs that garlic flavour and aroma, no matter what kind of fried rice you are making.
If you cook garlic correctly, you will never ever burn it. And the difference in flavour when cooking garlic until it turns golden brown and fragrant will change your cooking… and your life forever! There is only one reason why you burn the garlic – very hot oil. So the secret is in maintaining (a lower) heat that you can manage. Don’t put the garlic when the oil is very hot. Lower down the heat and wait for it to cool down a bit before adding garlic. Stir fry it as well, meaning stir continuously especially when the garlic is starting to turn brown. It will promote even cooking and prevent burning.
Fried Rice Sauce or Seasoning
You can level up your fried rice by the sauce or seasoning that you add to it. Salt will provide you a flat saltiness. Why not go for that mythical fifth taste of umami. Use soy sauce instead. Then to create the balance of flavour that lingers, always add a little sugar to it (this also goes the opposite way – if you have a sweet dish, add a dash of salt to balance and deepen the flavour).
This Lap Cheong fried rice already has that smoky, sweet and salty flavour of the Chinese sausage. Then both the dark Soy Sauce and the Oyster Sauce have hints of sweetness to them balancing the saltiness (thus there is no need for sugar). All three sauces burst with umami flavour making this fried rice as I said, the tastiest fried rice in my books!
Lap Cheong Fried Rice – Fried Rice Recipes Collection
Description
The smoked, sweet and salty flavour of the Chinese Sausage makes this Fried Rice probably the best and tastiest that you will ever have.
Ingredients
Fried Rice Sauce
Instructions
Prep all the ingredients beforehand. Cooking fried rice is quick so everything must be ready.
- Break up large clumps of rice and separate the grains with wet fingers.
- Mince the garlic, dice the onions and carrots, slice the spring onions
- Slice the chinese sausage about 1/4 inch in thickness
- Combine the liquid sauce/seasoning in a small bowl and stir to mix well
Preheat a 14-inch wok or 12-inch skillet for about a minute in high heat. Put in the chinese sausage and stir-fry until it renders oil. Take them out of the pan/wok and set aside in a bowl.
Add the oil and heat until it starts to shimmer. Reduce heat to medium or medium low and add the minced garlic. Stir fry until garlic gets becomes fragrant and gets to a yellow golden color.
Add the onion and stir fry again until diced onion becomes translucent and limp.
Add the carrots and the peas. Stir occasionally. Cook until tender, about 2 minutes.
Move all the ingredients around to create a space in the center. Add a little bit of oil and break the eggs into the wok/pan. Stir to scramble until they are almost cooked through but still a little soggy, about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes.
Put back the chinese sausage and give everything a quick stir.
Add the rice. Break up any remaining clumps by pressing the spatula on them. If it starts to scorch, reduce the heat to medium low.
Pour the sauce mixture and add ground pepper.
Stir and toss everything quickly around the wok/pan until the rice is well-coated and heated through, about 3 to 4 minutes. If mixed properly and completely, all the rice grains should be "coloured" as well, because of the soy sauce-oyster sauce mixture.
Make final adjustments: Add more oil if the rice begins to stick to the wok; Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately.
Servings 8
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 261kcal
- Calories from Fat 103kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 12g19%
- Saturated Fat 2g10%
- Cholesterol 69mg23%
- Sodium 424mg18%
- Potassium 123mg4%
- Total Carbohydrate 29g10%
- Dietary Fiber 2g8%
- Sugars 4g
- Protein 10g20%
- Vitamin A 62 IU
- Vitamin C 3 mg
- Calcium 3 mg
- Iron 11 mg
- Vitamin D 1 IU
- Vitamin E 3 IU
- Vitamin K 16 mcg
- Thiamin 13 mg
- Riboflavin 6 mg
- Niacin 8 mg
- Vitamin B6 6 mg
- Folate 16 mcg
- Vitamin B12 3 mcg
- Pantothenic Acid 6 mg
- Phosphorus 8 mg
- Magnesium 5 mmol
- Zinc 5 mcg
- Selenium 15 mg
- Copper 5 mg
- Manganese 23 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption. source: https://nutritiondata.self.com
Notes
- Jasmine is my go-to rice but you can use any long or medium grain rice like Basmati. Just don't use short/sweet sushi or glutinous rice as they are sticky and you'll end up with mushy fried rice.
- If using fresh peas, add after adding the rice.