Rice – How to make Chinese Fried Rice like they do on the East Coast

chinese-cuisinerice

I've been living in California for about 14 years and really miss the Chinese fried rice I would get at Chinese restaurants on the East Coast (Boston in specific).

The fried rice I get at Chinese restaurants in California is much lighter in color and flavor. I thought adding more soy sauce would do the trick. There's definitely something else in the mix. The rice that I'm trying to emulate has more of a malty, savory taste to it.

Best Answer

My fried rice started getting closer to east coast restaurant style when I started doing a couple of new things:

  • Use Chinese 5 Spice Powder - Like Indian Garam Masala, this is a spice mixture that is so common in Chinese cooking that it's sold pre-mixed. I've started using it in a lot of my chinese cooking. It makes a big difference.
  • Add a bit more soy sauce - This seems to be where most of your coloring comes from, so judge by look.
  • Use some sesame oil - I find sesame oil provides a nice flavor element in asian dishes.
  • Use more oil while frying the rice - I use a mix of sesame and vegetable or canola. This makes it quite a lot greasier than I was making it, but it's closer to restaurant style.
  • Let the rice sit while frying - Once the rice is in the wok, I don't stir it too much. This lets some of the rice on the bottom get a bit more fried than if you stir frequently.

Hope one of those helps.

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