The "I cannot fail" method to cooking fried rice.
Ingredients (Useful substitutes are included in brackets)
Rice
Vegetables. Your choice: onions, peas, carrots and corn is the most common combination. (Green beans, peppers are also good). About one and a half large bowls of diced vegetables is enough to serve four.
Egg. 1 egg per person
3-4 rashers of bacon.(Sausages or ham are good too!)
Soy sauce (Add 1 beefstock cube per 4 cups of rice while it is cooking if you are short on soy sauce.)
Black Pepper
Oil (any type)
Instructions.
Cook the rice according to the "no fail" rice cooking guide.
As the water reaches the boil for the rice according to the guide, begin preparations...
Dice the vegetables, and cut up the onions. Leave the onions aside separately from the vegetables.
Cut up the bacon or meat into thin slices. Leave aside.
Heat up a large frying pan with oil in it and add the onions and bacon. Cook until golden brown.
By now the rice should be ready. Add 1 more tablespoon of oil and add soy sauce & pepper to taste. Heat & stir the rice through for 3-5 minutes.*
*If you have already added beefstock to the rice there is no need to add soy sauce.
Add the remaining vegetables and another tablespoon of oil and more soy sauce & pepper to taste. Heat through & stir for another 3-5 minutes.
Add the eggs and stir through until the eggs are cooked. The fried rice is ready to serve.
The I cannot fail guide to making steamed rice aboard Black Arrow
-Martin Duong
Note: The rice will be ready during Black Arrow's scheduled dinner time of 1800hrs if the process is commenced at 1630hrs.
Instructions:
Place one half to one cup of rice per person in a large saucepan. The amount of rice will depend on how much each person eats.
Rinse the rice thoroughly in salt water to remove the starch (the stuff that makes the water white & opaque in colour).
Remove the water from the pan and repeat the process two more times.
Add 1.5 cups of fresh water for every cup of rice previously added. Leave the rice to soak in the water for 20 minutes.
Place the lid on the saucepan and on the stove's high setting, heat the rice until it reaches boiling point.
Once the rice reaches the boil, immediately place the stove on its low heat setting. Leave the rice for 30-40 minutes. The rice will steam during this period.
DO NOT remove the saucepan lid while steaming to check on the rice. This will cause the loss of steam from the saucepan and increase the amount of time it takes for the rice to cook.
At the end of the steaming process, remove the lid and give the rice a quick stir. Voila! There will be fluffy, cloud-like rice ready to serve a hungry crew.
