Plain egg fried rice
The way to use up yesterday's rice
Doubles easily in a wide pan or wok. Do not fry more than about 500 g of rice at once, or it steams rather than fries.
Fried rice only really works with rice that has already had a day in the fridge, spread out and gone slightly dry, because that is what lets each grain fry separately instead of clumping into a mass. The egg here earns its place as an ingredient rather than the point of the dish: beaten into the hot pan, scrambled quickly, then folded through so it coats the grains rather than sitting in curds on top. Soy sauce is the only seasoning, added at the end and tossed through in seconds. Peas, sweetcorn and spring onion are left out entirely, which some cooks will call plain and this book calls sensible, since their skins are exactly the kind of thing a narrowed gut struggles to break down. Have everything ready by the hob before the pan gets hot.
Ingredients
Contains: Egg, Gluten, Soya
- 250 gcooked white rice, cold, preferably a day old, from about 90 g raw rice
- 1½ tbspvegetable oil
- 2eggs, beaten
- 1 tbspsoy sauce
Method
Break up the cold, day-old rice with your fingers or a fork so there are no clumps left.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over a high heat. Add the rice and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until it is hot through and starting to catch very lightly at the edges.
Push the rice to one side of the pan. Pour the beaten eggs into the cleared space and scramble them for about 30 seconds, until softly set with no wet egg left, then fold them through the rice.
Stir in the soy sauce, toss for another minute to coat everything evenly, and serve hot.
Watch-points
- Use cold, day-old white rice rather than rice straight off the hob. It fries dry rather than turning gluey.
- Cool the rice quickly after you cook it, keep it covered in the fridge and use it within a day. Fry it until it is steaming hot right through. Rice left standing warm is the one real risk here.
- No peas, no sweetcorn and no spring onion go into the pan. Their skins are what a narrowed bowel cannot break down.
- Scramble the egg until it is softly set, with no runny curds left, before you fold it through the rice.
Stoma note: White rice thickens stoma output, which makes this a useful bowl on a loose day. The egg does not change that either way.
Make it more nourishing
- Use three eggs instead of two. It adds about 6 g of protein and makes the rice richer without making it heavier.
- Stir a 15 g knob of butter through at the end, on top of the oil used for frying. It adds about 110 kcal.
- Add a tablespoon of skimmed milk powder to the beaten egg before it goes in. You will not taste it and it lifts the protein.
Swaps
- Instead of vegetable oil, use a 15 g knob of butter
- gives a rounder flavour, though it browns faster so keep the heat medium-high rather than high
- Instead of day-old rice, use freshly cooked rice spread on a tray to cool for 20 minutes
- works almost as well if you have not planned a day ahead