Chahan with Shiitake Mushrooms, Greens & Chives
Egg Fried Rice, Chow Fun, Chahan; all pretty much the same thing. But not one of the three can in any way categorize the best fried rice dish that my mum makes. It’s too good to really put a name to it and I’m glad enough to simply know its taste. Mum’s tip is to use leftover cooked rice from the night before. This sounds as though it can’t be as fresh but the best thing about leftover cooked rice is that it has more of a bite to it then freshly cooked or steamed rice which has the danger of becoming way too moist and tender for frying.
If you don’t usually have a lot of rice lying around, it’s perfectly fine to prepare the rice right before frying. Just make sure to let it steam out some of its moisture. It’s about a month before I’ll be back home for mum’s cooking, so for now it’s me, myself and I cooking for me, myself and I. And yes, my version of fried rice which I must admit isn’t amazing but good enough for a meal in minutes.
Back in primary school, the stall dishing out fried rice was the most popular. Egg fried rice cooked with garden peas, carrots and dried salted fish — every one’s favourite pick-me-up after a boring maths class or strenous physical education class. The salted fish was key for great flavour and the egg fried to perfection — some bits mashed up into the rice and some left as large bits you could sink your teeth into. The egg was flavoured before cooking with the rice but sometimes came off as a little too greasy and salty.
My version is slightly healthier than my primary school fare. Probably not as good. But the cool thing about chahan is you can pretty much vary the ingredients most of the time and tweak it here and there to suit your tastebuds. As long as you know the basics, you’re sorted. This recipe is so simple and quick. For a more Chinese twist, you can use hwa tiao jiu instead of sake.
This recipe is good for 1.
Chahan with Shiitake Mushrooms, Greens & Chives
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup white rice
1/2 cup water
1 egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbs chives, chopped
1 tbs sake
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
1/3 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
handful of pea shoots/salad leaves
salt & pepper, for seasoning
olive oil, for cooking
Cook the rice in 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan.
As it cooks, heat some oil in a hot frying pan. Add the garlic and fry till golden brown. Add the mushrooms and sesame oil to flavour. Lower heat.
Mix the egg into the cooked rice (this should be warm and not hot as you don’t want the egg to cook just yet). Add to the frying pan. Turn up heat and let the rice mixture start to sputter and cook, making sure to toss them about in the frying pan. Add the salad leaves of choice and half of the chopped chives.
When the egg has more or less started firming up as it fries, add the sake and soy sauce; then season to taste. Fry until the rice has lost most of its liquid. Serve on a plate and garnish with the last of the chives.
May 31st, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I love fried rice. This picture is making my stomach growl. Thanks for the tipe- will have to try.
May 31st, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Interesting method for fried rice. I really like it. LIke the addition of shiitake mushrooms.
May 31st, 2008 at 9:42 pm
This is definitely the most gorgeous fried rice I’ve ever seen. Great pictures!
June 1st, 2008 at 12:09 am
Gorgeous shot of the rice! I love the mushrooms in there, too.
June 1st, 2008 at 12:18 am
Once again, GORGEOUS, Diva! You are so wonderful at plating food – which is so fun. A healthy dish is made to look simply beautiful and elegant. And mushrooms? J’adore them! All kinds. Have you ever made a Mushroom Ragout? Gasp, mouthgasm! Great over fish, polenta, pasta, meat – whatever. If you’re a mushroom girl, I highly recommend it – but I’d bet you’ve already got a ragout up your sleeve.
June 1st, 2008 at 12:36 am
Wonderful pic of the rice…made me head for a bowl of one immediately. Anyways, have a surprise for you on my blog
June 1st, 2008 at 3:37 am
Yum! My hubby and kids would love this!
June 1st, 2008 at 8:09 am
Classiest fried rice I’ve ever seen! And I love that you use Sake in it, one of my favourite ingredients
Your primary school sounds awesome. At mine we could only purchase food on a friday and it was along the lines of greasy mini-pizzas, watery mince pies, that sort of thing…
June 1st, 2008 at 8:41 am
i love your presentation here! i’ve been cooking for me, myself, and i (saying it that way gives me an excuse to eat three portions…) for a good while now, and i kind of enjoy eating exactly what i want when i want it. the serving size for this is perfect, and it sounds delicious!
June 1st, 2008 at 10:09 am
i was just chatting with my husband a while ago, and we were talking about how we definitely missing japan..and now i go and check your new post and what i have..chahan..i love this fried rice specially with shitake mushrooms!! you make me drooooool ..yum yum..your photos are fantastic too!!
June 1st, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Ahhh comfort food at its finest. My mom always used to make chahan with curry powder in it, still one of my favourite foods to this day.
June 1st, 2008 at 8:26 pm
That fried rice looks good. Nice presentation.
June 1st, 2008 at 9:19 pm
love shittake mushrooms
any which way ! this rice is just perfect.
June 1st, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Lovely looking dish! Great combination of flavors. Love shiitake mushrooms with rice!
June 2nd, 2008 at 12:17 am
this looks delish! i never eat fried rice anymore (they kind you get in the fast food chinese places just aren’t that good) but i would love to try making this at home!
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:20 am
Beautiful presentation diva! I think there’s no inappropriate time for chahan (well, of course I’ve lived with rice all my life, haha
June 4th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
I think forming fried rice in a bowl as have here always makes it a bit more special. Sometimes, I like to put a quail eggs (hard-boiled and peeled) in the bottom of the bowl before adding the rice.