Fried Rice and visits to Teppanyaki restaurants

In Salt Lake City, we're seeing a surge of new teppanyaki-style restaurants.  Sure, Benihana has been around for years, but now it seems that every major shopping center has one.  There's Last Samurai, Tepanyaki, T-Koyo, Katana, and on and on and on.  And most of the ones I've tried are pretty good... but it all depends on the chefs.  Half of a Japanese steak house's success is based on their showmanship.

They've got to do all the standards... light the oil on the grill so the fireball makes you touch your eyebrows, just to make sure they're still there.   They have to spin the spatula and knife around the air like a circus juggler.  They've got to spin the egg on the grill, then bounce it into the air and bring it down  on the edge of the spatula, cracking it open in one fail swoop.  Then there's the Onion Volcano and the Shrimp Flip.  For some reason, most of them think I need more than one shrimp thrown at me.  I guess having a few extra pounds is good for something.  And for some reason, I'm pretty good at catching them.  Maybe it's because I get more practice because I get more shrimp because I have a few extra pounds.  And then by getting more shrimp, I get even a few more pounds and then am forced to catch more shrimp, therefore getting more practice...  It's a vicious circle...

Anyway, the theatrics are great, but at the end of the day, the food has to be prepared well.

And one thing I've noticed about the good ones is that every aspect is good.  The soup is flavorful and not just water with a few onions and mushrooms.  The salad is refreshing.  And the fried rice is great.  Now have you paid attention how long it takes to make it?  And how few ingredients there are?  It's just rice, egg, sometimes a few veggies and some soy sauce.  In 5 minutes, they can create a really great side dish on one open grill.

Now we don't have a 4' x 6' grill in our houses with multiple seats around it (and if you do, please invite me over), so we have to deal with it on our little stovetops.  And we can make fried rice that's just as good.  The prep can take a little time, but the actual cook time is relatively short.  To make it a main dish, you can add a little more protein and be fine.  I like to add some ham.  I'll go to the deli counter at the grocery store and ask them to cut an 1/8 inch slab off of the deli ham, then dice it up to the size I want.  But you can use any ham you have access to.  As for the rice, the rice won't be as sticky if you can cook it a day ahead of time, put it in the fridge and pull it out right before you cook the rest of the ingredients.  If not, no worries, cook it right before you prepare the other ingredients and have it cool in a bowl while you cook everything else. This recipe cooks quickly and over high heat, so make sure you have everything prepped and ready to go before you start.

The best part:  This all cooks in one pan.  So beside the little bowls for each component, there are very few dishes.

Ham Fried Rice

Serves 4-6

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup frozen peas and carrots

1/8 cup water

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 to 1 cup diced ham (your preference)

2 more tablespoons oil
3 cups cooked rice
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Put the ham, veggies, eggs and rice into separate bowls.  Have a bowl or plate for the finished dish ready as well.  Make sure you beat the eggs before you start cooking.  Place a large saute pan or a wok over medium high heat.  Once it's fully heated, spray it with non-stick spray and immediately add the beaten eggs.  Spin the pan around the burner so the eggs come up the side a little bit.  Then start scraping them off the sides and keep them moving until they are cooked, which should only take 30 seconds. Dump them out of the cooking vessel and into the finished meal bowl.  Next pour the water into the pan and add the frozen peas and carrots.  The water will steam, helping the veggies to cook as well.  After about two minutes, the water will steam off and help the veggies warm up.  Dump the carrots and peas onto the finished plate.  Next add the single tablespoon of oil, then the ham to the pan and cook for about a minute an a half.  It's long enough to warm the ham and leave some of that ham juice in the container for the next step.  Move the ham onto the finished plate.  Now add the two tablespoons of oil to the pan and let it warm in for a minute or so.  Add the rice and continually stir it so the rice warms up.  Add the soy sauce after a minute or two of cooking and stir the rice until it is an even color.  Finally, add the egg, veggies and ham back in with the rice.  Combine until it's thoroughly mixed together.  Move everything back to the finished meal dish and serve.

You can use any type of meat for this recipe; shrimp, chicken, beef, pork.  Just make sure that you cut it into small enough pieces and that they are fully cooked during the process.

If you're looking for a main dish to go along with the rice, I have an Orange Chicken or Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe that should be searchable on the site.