Billionaire Fried Rice

This recipe was originally published in the award-winning cookbook Chinese-ish: Home Cooking Not Quite Authentic 100% Delicious by Rosheen Kaul & Joanna Hu (Interlink Books, 2023). Reprinted here with permission.

You can purchase Chinese-ish here

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
• 5-6 conpoy (dried scallops)
• 2 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 egg whites
• Generous 3 cups (500 g) day-old cooked rice
• 5 gai lan (Chinese broccoli) or broccolini stems, sliced into rounds
• ½ cup (60 g) cooked crab meat (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon flying fishing roe (optional)

Method:

1. The night before, combine 2 cups (500 ml) water with the Shaoxing wine in a small bowl and submerge the dried scallops in the mixture. Cover and allow to stand overnight in the fridge to rehydrate, or on your countertop if your kitchen is cool.
2. The next day, drain the rehydrated scallops and pat dry. Shred into small pieces and set aside.
3. Heat 4 teaspoons of the vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan over medium heat and fry the shredded scallops until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4. Heat the remaining oil in the pan over medium-high heat, until smoking. Add the egg whites and stir quickly to scramble. Add the rice and toss to combine, distributing the eggs through the rice. Continue to stir-fry the rice and eggs, until the rice begins to soften.
5. Add the gai Ian or broccolini stems and fried scallops and continue to cook over medium-high heat until the rice grains are hot and fluffy. If you’re using crab meat, add it now.
6. Once the rice is fluffy and starting to sizzle, and the gai Ian or broccolini stems are bright jade-green, add the salt and toss to combine. Transfer to a plate and top with flying fish roe if using. Serve immediately.

NOTE: If you forget to rehydrate the dried scallops overnight, you can submerge them in the same volume of water and Shaoxing wine and nuke them in the microwave on high for 1 minute. Allow them to stand for 10-15 minutes, then drain, pat dry, and shred.