This was supposed to be a dessert. It was supposed to be a festive and Easter-y treat… but also unleavened to acknowledge the Jewish half of this household. But as you can clearly see, this Bacon and Egg Fried Rice is not a dessert. I mean, unless you have a fairly loose definition of the term “dessert”. Very loose…and weird.
So why the switcheroo? Well, I did make the dessert I had planned and one portion of it went awry. I’m not going to reveal too much about this particular dessert because I am planning on posting it eventually. Ordinarily, if I made a mistake when making one of my creations, I would simply pop out, grab the necessary supplies and remake it with the utmost focus. But in this COVID-19 world, no one is doing a whole lot of popping out at the moment. So, I froze my mistake to be parceled out as a source of sugary comfort throughout this ordeal and focused instead on making dinner.
Moving Forward Without a Plan
In some ways, I’m glad my content plans fell through. It was a sobering reminder that things aren’t normal. I can’t test recipes as I normally would because I can’t hoard all the eggs to perfect something like my pot de creme. Nor can a two-person household eat their way through the number of pot de cremes it would take for me to get it to perfect. When I bake desserts for this blog, I give most of them away or host a dinner party for the purpose of consuming a backlog of sugary experiments or roast-sized dinners. But for the foreseeable future, I cannot crowdsource appetites to aid me on my creative journey.
I say all this to excuse myself from innovation for a while. This blog, like the videos I’ve been posting on Instagram lately, will host what we’re currently eating. That’s not to say the meals won’t be creative – I have a feeling they’ll have to be. But I won’t be able to give you the sort of variety I once did.
Blogging as if My Dinner Depends on it…Because it Does
The recipes on this blog will be more utilitarian and unfortunately more off the cuff. And I don’t think there will be many desserts, I’m sad to say. Neither Bae nor I have a particularly dominant sweet tooth. So, as much as I love making dessert, I can’t be trusted to eat it. But having said that, there may still be a few simple sweet treats here every now and then. But enough with the disclaimers and the complaining already. Let’s talk about Bacon and Egg Fried Rice.
Bacon and Egg Fried Rice – A Meal Made for Quarantine
Can we all give it up for bacon and eggs? They are seriously saving my life right now. Two delicious sources of protein that can live in the fridge for weeks at a time? That’s what I’m all about these days. Add a dose of extreme nostalgia and you’ve got yourself comfort food that seems tailor-made for that quarantine life. One whiff of bacon and I’m 8-years-old in the kitchen of our summer cottage, dressed to swim at 9:30 in the morning. My happy place.
Do you know what else is extremely quarantine-friendly? Fried rice. Fried rice has always been a favorite of mine from the time I was very small. Whenever my mom made it, she always made a huge batch because I loved eating it for lunch. It was pretty much the only piece of leftovers, aside from pizza because I’m not a monster, that I could be relied upon to eat. But in the midst of this new, uncertain normal, fried rice is more than just a bowl of comfort food, it’s a meal that makes a close-to-empty crisper seem abundant.
No Leftover Rice? Don’t Let that Stop You
When you look into your fridge and find it hard to envision a meal with its contents, fried rice is always the answer. You can throw just about anything in there and the rice will bulk it out enough for it to be dinner. So, when you think you couldn’t possibly squeeze another meal out of your last load of groceries, ask yourself if fried rice is a possibility. And yeah, I know people say you should only use cold, leftover rice to make fried rice. But let me tell you, I’ve broken this rule so many times and I’m still alive. Is the texture of the dish better when you use cold rice? Yes, but I’ve still enjoyed the heck out of fried rice made with fresh rice.
So that’s everything you need to know about this Bacon and Egg Fried Rice. It’s essentially two pieces of delicious nostalgia on top of one another. And you know what? That’s exactly what I need right now.
Enjoy!
Bacon and Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or sherry
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
- 6 eggs
- 3 green onions sliced thin
- 7 strips bacon coarsely chopped
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 carrot peeled, quartered lengthwise and chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 knob ginger minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2½ cups cold, cooked jasmine rice
- 2-3 red chilies sliced thin
- Fresh mint leaves for garnish
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk the soy sauce, wine, oyster sauce, honey, and Chinese five-spice powder together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Crack the eggs into a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Pour a small amount of vegetable oil in a non-stick pan and place over medium heat. Pour the eggs into the pan and sprinkle with a little salt. Scatter a third of the green onions over the surface of the eggs and place a lid on the pan. Let cook until the eggs pull away from the sides of the pan and the surface is nearly set. About 5-7 minutes.
- Slide the egg out of the pan onto a cutting board. Immediately roll the egg into a log and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, slice into ribbons and set aside.
- While the eggs are cooking, add the bacon to a large wok over medium-high heat. Cook until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon using a slotted spoon and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
- Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the wok and fry until the onions are just translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until tender. Add the frozen peas and saute until plump and heated through.
- Add the bacon back in along with the rice, red chilies, and the reserved sauce. Toss until the rice is coated and the ingredients are evenly dispersed.
- Take the rice off of the heat and spoon onto a large platter. Decorate with the egg ribbons and whatever fresh herbs you have, I used cilantro and mint. Serve immediately with a round of cold beer.
