Restaurant Style, Chicken Fried Rice

1-2 lb cubed Chicken (substitute pork, shrimp/scallops, or steak)

4-5 cups cooked rice

6-8 eggs

1 cup diced or roughly chopped mushrooms

¼ onion, diced

1 ½ sticks butter

half cup Sake

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

½ cup soy Sauce

1 tsp MSG

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

¼ cup green onion or chive slices (more mild)

½ tsp minced garlic, bottled or fresh

Before dicing chicken, marinate in chicken broth over night to remove any gaminess

Eggs: Medium heat. Melt half stick of butter in large wok/pan. Break in all eggs. Break yolks. (optional: add pinch of sugar) Gently stir with wooden spatula while scraping bottom of pan. Repeat occasionally, giving time for large curds to form. Stir more frequently when most of the egg is cooked, and removed from heat before fully dry. Set aside. Wipe remaining egg off pan with paper towel to lightly clean.

Medium high heat. Melt half stick of butter. Add diced onion and mushrooms. Add ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp sugar, and ½ tsp of msg. Stir to distribute and heat veges. When mushrooms have released enough liquid to cover bottom of wok, lower the heat to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, let veges simmer for about 15 minutes, or until most the liquid has evaporated and onions are soft. Add 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sake, and 1tsp rice vinegar. Mix.

Increase heat to medium high. Add chicken to pan and mix to coat. Cook off the excess liquid so that the chicken can be browned. Let chicken sit for a bit to brown, and stir occasionally. Add a splash of Sake as needed if pan gets too hot/smokey. Turn off heat when chicken is fully cooked through, remove contents from pan. Set aside. If chicken is not fully cooked through, but is sufficiently browned, you can microwave it to completion.

Medium high heat. Melt half stick of butter to pan. Add minced garlic and stir. Fold in steamed rice. Coat the rice so that it’s all shiny and coated with butter. Add a few pats of butter if necessary. Fold occasionally, allowing some of the rice to brown lightly. If rice becomes too dry, add splash of sake.

Dump in remaining soysauce. Fold rice to distribute. Stir in chicken, eggs, and green onion/chives. Sprinkle ½ tsp of msg across the pan. Fold the entire mixture until the rice has been evenly brown from the sauces. Remove from heat and serve. If refrigerated: Because it’s with butter, this fried rice will become more bland when chilled must be reheated for full flavor.

bon appetit