What Makes A Good Fried Rice

Wasabi — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 15:27:29 +0000

There is a saying: ‘When in doubt, fried rice.’

It is a dish that everyone could have at any given time. Most of the time, when you don’t know what to order, the answer is fried rice. Fried rice is simple, yet sophisticated. It takes good skills and techniques to create a mouth-watering plate of fried rice.

Must-Have Characteristics of a Quality Fried Rice

1) 'Individuality':

The rice grains are separated enough from each other and do not stick together, yet sticky enough to pick up a small clump with a spoon or a pair of chopsticks. You could feel and taste each distinct grain of rice and appreciate its texture.

2) Coating:

To achieve the above effect, each distinct grain of rice should be coated with the oil, egg, or various condiments. The coatings should be balanced and just enough to ‘protect’ the grains and give them its flavor.

3) Texture:

The grain should have slightly chewy texture on the outside, while maintaining a certain degree of fluffiness, and have a tender bite to it.

4) ‘Wok Hei’:

The final most important factor. Read more about ‘Wok Hei‘

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The post What Makes A Good Fried Rice appeared first on FoodSpy.

What is ‘Wok Hei’?

Wasabi — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 10:20:27 +0000

The term ‘wok hei’ is well used by most Chinese when it comes to food, it often dictates and determines the quality of food and also the skill of the chef. But what is Wok Hei exactly, and what makes a dish to be infused with it?

‘Wok hei’ is a complex charred flavor that comes from the ‘breath of the wok’. In other words, it is a combination of polymers and oil breaking down within the wok, and tiny droplets of vaporizing fat/carb in the air. Also, the smokiness results from smoking of oil and caramelization of sugars. Thus, in order to achieve these, intense heat is required and the wok or skillet needs to be hot enough before the cold oil and ingredients are added in.

Other than that, the skillful act of tossing the cooking ingredients up and over the edge of a wok is also very important. It allows individual pieces of food to ‘travel’ in the intensely hot air. The hot air is infused with the microscopic smoky-flavored molecules, which attach to the ‘flying’ food. At the same time, the extreme heat blasts away excess moisture and caramelizes the surface of the food.

In conclusion, a skillful and experienced chef can achieve maximum ‘wok hei’ without charring or burning the food. ‘Wok hei’ is different from the smokiness flavor of grilling or barbecuing, as those take a longer time to cook in less intense heat, and have a more charred or burned surface.

What’s your take on ‘Wok Hei’? Leave a comment below and let us know!