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The dish: Fried rice, China
Plate up
What is the world’s true “global” dish? What can you reliably find in pretty much any city or country town on the planet? Pizza is a good shout. Pasta is very widespread. Burgers are universally popular. But how about fried rice? We put it to you that you can dine on a version of fried rice basically anywhere in the world. It’s rice, it’s vegetables, it’s meat (maybe), and it’s tossed together in a hot pan.
It’s also China’s best-known dish, the nation’s culinary gift to the world, and one we have gratefully accepted. In China, the real deal is a fairly simple way to use leftovers: day-old rice is fried on high heat in a wok, usually with oil, before the addition of some or all of: fresh meat, preserved meat, vegetables, egg, aromatics and seasoning in the form of soy sauce, salt or oyster sauce. The combinations are endless and often defined by location.
First serve
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There’s an established story to the invention of fried rice, an agreed upon timeline but this is a simple, classic dish using widely available ingredients, so it’s reasonable to suspect that it emerged organically in multiple areas. Still, the official prize goes to Yangzhou, a city north-west of Shanghai, where legend has it cooks in the Sui dynasty (589-618 AD) threw their leftover rice in a piping hot wok and added a few other handy ingredients. The popularity of the dish quickly spread throughout China and then South-East Asia, and then the world.
Order there
Fuchun Teahouse, in Yangzhou, was established in 1885 and continues to turn out some of the finest fried rice in the city (no website).
Order here
In Sydney, the crab fried rice at Boon Cafe is seriously good (booncafe.com). In Melbourne, try the decadent seafood fried rice with black truffle at Flower Drum (flowerdrum.melbourne). In Adelaide, go old-school at BBQ City (no website).
Cook it
Fried rice is easy to make at home. Follow Nagi Maehashi’s loaded recipe for special fried rice on Good Food here.
One more thing
You don’t have to look far, especially in Asia, to see the influence of fried rice. Check out khao pad in Thailand, chahan in Japan, nasi goreng in Indonesia, com chien in Vietnam and bokkeum-bap in Korea.
