Perfect Egg Fried Rice | 玉子チャーハン [tamago châhan]

”Egg Fried Rice” which is just stir-fried rice with eggs, scallions, and seasonings, is a simple comfort dish. However, making it ”perfect” at home is very difficult due to the firepower of stove…

Mayonnaise-012🇯🇵｜マヨネーズ [mayonēzu]

In the first place, what is “perfect” egg fried rice? In Japan, we say the rice is “para-para” (light and fluffy, and you can feel individual grains of rice) and the egg is ”fuwa-fuwa” (fluffy). In fact, we use onomatopoeia (ideophone, mimetic words) frequently!

I guess you are wondering if there is any relationship between the product of this topic “mayonnaise” and perfect egg fried rice… YES!

How to make PERFECT FRIED RICE:

Mayonnaise is no longer only a seasoning or sauce. It is a magical ingredient to give the texture of separated rice, and make eggs fluffy. I bet you can't resist trying to cook fried rice with mayonnaise now!  

There are 3 steps;

I. Preparing warm steamed rice - cook rice and cool or defrost frozen rice

II. Preparing ingredients

III. Finishing: stir-frying ingredients and seasoning

Then, let’s start cooking!

Ingredients (🥢🥢)

I. Preparing Warm Steamed Rice

Use warm rice, not hot rice as moisture makes rice sticky. If you use fresh-cooked rice, cool it by spreading the rice out into a thin layer on a plate or a rimmed baking sheet (about 10-15 minutes). If you use frozen rice, defrost.

Cold rice is fine, but warm rice is easier to mix with mayonnaise and also has a better texture after cooking.

If you are curious, check these out:

📍 “How to cook/prepare Japanese rice a little better…” (🇯🇵3: Scattered Sushi) 

📍“How to freeze leftover Japanese rice a bit better...” (🇯🇵6: T.K.G. - TamagoKake Gohan)

II. Preparing Ingredients

1. Add mayonnaise (T2 1/2) to warm rice (I) and mix well (but try not to smash grains). 

2. Cut scallions thinly crosswise.

3. Add mayonnaise (T1/2) to eggs and beat thoroughly. Lumps are no problem!

III. Finishing: Stir-fries Ingredients and Seasonings

4. Preheat a non-stick pan (medium) without oil and add the rice (1), and stir-fry until the rice separates into individual grains (About 6 or 7 minutes).

5. Move the rice to a side of the pan and pour the egg (3) into the space, mix it until the eggs harden with a wide stirring motion. Then, mix eggs and rice together, and add salt (t1/4).

6. Once the rice is getting dry, make a small space to the center of the pan, and pour soy sauce (T1/2) into the space. Once it has an aromatic smoky smell, mix it with the rice.

7. Soon after, add scallions and season with pepper, and turn off the heat after 15-30 seconds.

📌 Kokomi's Point

1. If you want to enjoy more aromatic smoky soy sauce flavor, add t3 soy sauce and no salt instead.

2. Don’t mix soy sauce soon after pouring into the pan.

This may make more sense when you watch the video.

Fried rice is characterized by using various ingredients. After  your cooking this basic fried rice, try to check your fridge and pantry, and cook your favorite fried rice. 

📌Mayonnaise is not just seasoning any more…

I introduced 2 mayo-tricks this time.

1. By adding mayo to rice…

When you fry with mayonnaise instead of oil, the egg yolk in the mayonnaise and the emulsified vegetable oil will coat each grain of rice. It makes rice “para-para”. Furthermore, it improves “koku” (Very important word for Japanese cooking and foods! check out 🇯🇵) and makes it delicious.

2.By adding mayo to eggs…

The emulsified vegetable oil and vinegar contained in mayonnaise slows down the coagulation of proteins in eggs.  As a result, the egg does not harden immediately due to heat and becomes fluffy.  Also, the effect of vinegar makes the egg yellow brighter.

If you have a chance, add some mayonnaise to eggs and seasoning salt and pepper, and compare with a normal omelette. (Ratio: t1-T1/2 mayonnaise/1 egg)

📌 Kokomi‘s Favorite

There are a few different kinds of mayonnaise in my fridge, and I choose the mayo depending  on the dish. For fried rice, I prefer to use the mayo which uses only egg yolk such as Japanese KEWPIE mayo due to its rich taste and umami flavor.

📍DC Area: Can be found in Japanese and some Asian markets