Chicken Fried Rice

Bryan and I were in our PJs all day today. It was lovely. Watched lots of movies and TiVo. It was the laziest of days topped by what else? Chinese food. During one of Bryan's previous jobs many years ago, he used to enjoy "Fried Rice Fridays," where he would go get fried rice after work and have a lazy evening watching movies at home. Well, six years and one Foodie wife later, his craving for Fried Rice Fridays resurfaced. Shortly thereafter, Bryan asked me if we had the right ingredients to make it.

Ummmm. Sorry, honey...not really.

But wait! Instead of copping out and ordering it from some random Chinese joint, I dug through the refrigerator and pantry and yelled out – head deep in the refrigerator, between the leftover mango salsa and chicken stock, no less – the ingredients we DID have.

Rice? Check!

Eggs? Check!

Chicken? Check!

Soy sauce? Check!

Carrots? Onion? Garlic? Frozen peas? Check, check, check and check!

Bryan looked up a recipe on the Food Network and aside from scallions, peanut and sesame oil, we had a 95% of the ingredients. No worries, I assured him; our Canola Oil spray version would be much healthier than the doused-in-oil version. With that in mind, I grabbed a large nonstick skillet and stood there, surveying the scene and ready for the challenge. Fried rice Fridays, here we come!

Here's "my" recipe. For not being 100% authentically Chinese, it was really good! We're definitely going to make it again, maybe even with sesame oil next time. But just a tiny bit. :)

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup carrot, diced
• 1/4 cup asparagus, thinly chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 1 pinch red chile flakes
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (plus more to taste)
• 3 cups cooked white rice
• 1 cup cooked chicken cut in 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted in a strainer at room temperature

Heat a well-seasoned wok or large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with canola oil (or if you've got it, pour 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and swirl to coat the pan). Add the chicken strips and cook through, about 6-8 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. When the chicken is cool, chop into 1/2-inch pieces.

Re-spray the pan with canola oil and pour in the eggs, swirling the pan so the egg forms a large thin pancake. Lift the edge of the egg to allow any uncooked egg to run to the center. As soon as the egg has set, turn it out of the pan onto a cutting board. Cool, then cut into 1 inch pieces. If it falls apart when coming out of the pan, it's okay, you're going to cut it up anyway!

Wipe out the pan with a paper towel and re-spray with canola oil (or again, if you've got it, add 1 more tablespoon of peanut oil) Re-heat the pan over high heat. Add the onions, garlic, asparagus and carrots and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the soy sauce and rice and stir-fry for 2-3 more minutes.

Add the chopped chicken, peas and egg, and cook, stirring until heated through, about 2-3 minutes. Top with a drizzle of soy sauce (I also used a drizzle of Goyza sauce from Trader Joe's) and serve immediately.

There it is! Chicken fried rice, the down and dirty way! Next time I'll get some authentic Asian oils and spices and see how much of a difference it makes, but like I said, our version was great!