Yangzhou Fried Rice with Egg and Peas

Yangzhou fried rice turns out best from cold cooked rice made the day before. Break up the grains with your hands so they do not clump together during stir-frying and stay nicely loose. If you cook the rice fresh, spread it in a thin layer on a tray and let it cool completely in the refrigerator, ideally overnight.

Peel the carrot and cut it into small cubes so it heats through during the short stir-fry. Slice the scallion and separate the white part from the green tops, which you save for the end. Dice the ham and pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a pinch of salt so the yolk blends with the white.

Heat the wok over high heat. Add a spoonful of oil and pour in the beaten eggs. Stirring constantly, cook them into soft, fluffy pieces and set them aside so they do not toughen.

Pour in the remaining oil and warm the chopped garlic with the white part of the scallion until fragrant. Toss in the carrot and peas and stir-fry for two to three minutes, until the vegetables soften slightly but stay crisp.

Add the shrimp and ham. Stir-fry for a minute until they heat through and become fragrant. Stir quickly so nothing burns and the ingredients stay juicy.

Add the loosened rice and toss so every grain is coated in fat and heats evenly. Stir-fry over high heat until the contents of the pan bounce lightly on the bottom of the wok and start to smell pleasantly toasted.

Pour in the soy sauce and season with white pepper. Add salt if needed. Return the fried eggs, add the reserved green scallion tops, and toss everything quickly so the flavors come together.

Take it off the heat, drizzle with sesame oil, and give it a final toss. Serve hot. It tastes great on its own as a main dish or as a side to other Chinese dishes.