Fried rice bleh help!-mix ins for sauce-updated

[irisblue]

Last edited Mon Jul 2, 2012, 12:41 PM - Edit history (2)

I had cold day old jasmine rice, cubed chicken, sliced green onions ( I don't like peas so there was none). The sauce was the problem, it tasted like plain old soy sauce. How can I make a better sauce?
***so i will try adding in hot sesame oil,& 5 spice powder to the low salt soy sauce to jump up the sauce flavor, and use peanut oil in the frying process. Anymore advice very welcomed and eaten with thanks ***

[Neoma]

1. Peanut oil.

[PoliticAverse]

5. Toasted sesame oil. n/t

[Lucinda]

2. We like adding garlic, ginger, oyster sauce

and maybe a little heat too. Bill makes killer sauce, I'll ask him for one of his recipes.

[cbayer]

4. Oh yeah, hot sesame oil.

Just a little, but just enough.

[cbayer]

3. Well, what else did you add?

Sherry, ginger, garlic, sesame oil should all go in.

Optional is hoisin or oyster sauce, sugar, five spice powder, rice vinegar.

Play with it!

[Warpy]

6. It's going to taste flat without ginger at the very least.

Other good additives are crumbled leftover scrambled egg, cubed ham, sliced pea pods, and a tablespoon or so of sherry or rice wine.

[grasswire]

7. I don't make a sauce as such

I make a tweaked version adding a pkg of chicken ramen (noodles boiled very al dente first) and its seasoning packet, and add bean sprouts at the very end, and some cashew nuts. To fry, I add grated fresh ginger and minced garlic to the oil. A bit of sesame oil toward the end.

I know it's not classic. Classic would be (IMO) green onion, diced cha siu (BBQ pork), egg, soy.

[pinto]

8. I'll echo sesame oil. Also ginger and garlic.

An FYI re: Five Spice powder - a little bit goes a long way. Have fun!

[HopeHoops]

9. Cook it in sesame oil instead of peanut and try flavorings like dulse and cashews.

Dulse tastes really salty, but it is very low in sodium. It's packed full of trace minerals and that's why it tastes salty. Instead of soy sauce, use tamari, shoyu, or miso. If you can't handle wheat products, stay away from tamari. The three I listed have strong flavors but not as much sodium. I usually throw in mushrooms, carrots peelings, even apple chunks. Get creative. Also, try using chunk-cut firm tofu or tempeh instead of chicken. They add body, soak up the sauce, and give the rice more body. Chicken needs to be soaked out the wazoo to get it to taste like anything. A marinade of soy sauce, olive oil, and spices of your choice will help any of the chunks. It only takes an hour to be effective. The remaining liquid can be added to the rice if it needs more fluids. Also, use brown rice, not jasmine. Pre-cook it (15 minutes covered, stir once, 10 minutes covered). It will crisp up nicely in the oil. I also like to drop an egg into the mixture as it approaches completion. Old habit.

[surrealAmerican]

10. Definitely ginger and garlic ...

... (fresh, if you have them), and also a bit of lemon juice - not so much that it will taste "lemony", but just enough to round out the flavor.