Mama Sui’s Beef & Onion Fried Rice

My plan was to post a recipe every Sunday, but of course all good intentions went out the window when I realised it was Father’s Day. Owning a restaurant comes with a lot of challenges, preparing for a national day of celebration is just the tip of the iceberg. But, can’t complain it was a good weekend. Of course this mean’t that my own Father didn’t get to celebrate his Father’s Day until the Monday (don’t worry though, he still got his present). So with that said, I want to take this opportunity to wish the wisest, chattiest man I know the best Father’s Day.

Now, lets get on with this weeks recipe. As with probably most Chefs, I learnt how to cook standing next to my mum Sui. I’m biased, but my mum is the best cook in the world and she’s so proud of her cooking. Nothing makes her happier than feeding people who clearly enjoy her food, she practically glows with it. Mum has an uncanny ability to read a recipe once, or watch a youtube video once and not only remembers the recipe but also knows how to improve on it. Definitely a natural feeder!

Fried rice will always be a great comfort food and the best thing about it? You can add whatever you want to it. It’s great for everyone even vegans and vegetarians. The trick to cooking Chinese food, that I’ve found, is cooking everything in a certain order. For example, if you are making chicken and veg soup say, first thing you put in is the raw chicken, then the raw vegetables like potato’s, carrots, then thinner vegetables such as cabbage etc. But that is a recipe for another day. So with egg fried rice, it’s basically the same concept.

If you have any left over rice from the night before, that would be the best to use (see how to cook rice recipe), as it has cooled down and easier to manage, not as sticky with moisture. You can use just cooked rice but it can be very sticky and hard to manage as this is a dish that needs constant motion during the cooking process.

What you need:

1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup minced (ground) beef (100g ish)
Half a chopped Spring onion
Half a small onion (chopped finely)
Light Soya Sauce
Dark Soya Sauce
1 Egg (beaten)
Salt & Pepper

First marinate the minced beef with salt, pepper, a touch of light soya sauce, touch of dark soya sauce, teaspoon of sesame oil. Mix well and set aside for the moment.
Using a non stick pan (I tend to use a wok but I know most people won’t have one available) on medium to high heat put in about a tablespoon of cooking oil and wait for it to heat up. Just as it’s about to smoke place the finely chopped onions in and cook until translucent. Don’t wait for it to turn brown because you’re going to continue to cook with it. When the onions have just turned translucent add the minced beef. Stir constantly.
Cook the minced beef until full browned, should be all separated but don’t worry if it’s not, slightly bigger chunks will add to the flavour and makes for a lovely surprise. Once the beef is cooked, add the rice and turn the heat down to medium low. You’ll then need to add about a teaspoon each of Dark and Light Soya sauce, stir altogether until its all coated.
Try the rice first and if you think it needs it, add a pinch of salt and pepper, then make a well in the middle of the pan and pour in the beaten egg, as your pouring you need to stir the egg around to cook. Once the egg has been scrambled you can mix it in with the rice and beef.
Finally, add the finely chopped spring onion and stir for about a minute. Then turn off the heat and it’s ready to plate up. I prefer a bowl, that way I can veg in front of the TV in my pajama’s and not have to worry about rice getting everywhere, it’s bliss!

That’s it! If you think it needs a bit more salt, pepper or soya sauce, feel free to add a little. It’s all down to personal taste at the end of the day! I like to add in a bit of Korean Kimchi for an extra bite of chilli and sour.

On a final note, if the rice has stuck to the pan leave it to soak overnight in washing up liquid with a bit of hot water. It should come away in the morning.

Hopefully this has helped. If you have any questions please leave it in the comment section below and I’ll get back to you!

If you’re a vegetarian or a vegan you can substitute the beef with Quorn or Tofu and leave out the egg.

Bon Appetit!

How to cook rice

I know this seems like an odd one to start my recipes with but I’m a firm believer in starting with the basics and it can be hard to get right.

Rice is our version of bread. It goes with EVERYTHING, but I can understand why it can cause some confusion since there are so many variations. There’s American Long grain, Indian Basmati, Japanese Sushi, heck even Italian risotto is a form of rice, just to name a few. But for the sake of ease I’ll be using Long grain as my example for this recipe.

Rice is an incredibly versatile grain to cook with and once you’ve got the initial reintroduction of water down (because really that’s all your doing when your cooking rice), you can use it as a meal accompaniment, you can fry it, you can make Onigiri (Japanese rice balls, great for snacking) and even my personal favourite Korean Bimbimbap ( a rice bowl with a mix of vegetables, sauce and protein). Since it has no flavour by itself, like tofu, it goes amazing with any sauces (I personally like to add a bit of Italian Ragu and meatballs sometimes to my bowl of rice when I’m feeling lazy). Another great thing about rice is that once it has cooled down completely you can pop the rest in a Tupperware box and it will keep for a couple of days in the fridge. But do make sure it has cooled down completely, preferably overnight before putting it in a fridge.

I understand that it may sound patronising to start with telling people how to cook rice, but in my experience, unless you’ve been brought up with the grain, those who aren’t used to it tend to get it very wrong. For instance, a friend was telling me one day that her mum would just put the rice and the water into the pan and would let it boil until there was no water left. The consequence of that is, the rice then becomes very gluey and it’s like mush. Another friend admitted that he never washed his rice before cooking it and was complaining that it left a very weird feeling in his mouth. With perhaps the exception of Bas1matic rice and maybe Pilau (to some extent), rice should be soft and fluffy when cooked properly. I have been to many a restaurant where the rice is cooked “al dente” like pasta. Which is fine if that is what suits you (in which case, use less water), but if you want to eat rice like we do in the East, then soft and fluffy (like a baby rabbit) is the way to go.

So without further ado, here is my step by step guide to cooking rice:

The general rule of thumb is that you use one cup of rice per person (this can be a generous portion but as I said, you can put the left overs away once it has cooled down). Place the uncooked rice into a round pan or if you have a rice cooker, into the bowl provided.
Wash the rice. This is very important as it not only cleans the rice of any debris but it also gets rid of the extra starch that is in it. To wash the rice, once the water is in the pan (just enough water to cover the rice), using your hand, just swish the rice together and rub between your fingers. When the water turns white, rinse and repeat. You need to do this about 2/3 times or until the water is clear.
Once water is clear, you need to put water in. While empty of water, place your index finger in the bowl until it is touching the top of the rice, then pour water in until it hits the first crease/joint of your finger. My Mum taught me this, and the rice comes out perfect every time. Score one for old wives tales!
Now if you happen to have a rice cooker then all you need to do is put the rice bowl back in the machine and turn it on (it will automatically either turn itself off or turn itself to warm, I would check the instructions manual to be sure). But for those of you who don’t; place lid onto the pan and place on to the stove on high and bring to boil. As soon as it starts to boil, turn the heat down to its lowest setting, with the lid back on, and simmer (usually about 20 mins). As a rule of thumb, when you see the steam coming out, for the most part the rice is pretty much ready. If in doubt you can leave for a further minute or so.

That’s it! Turn of the heat and using a fork or spoon, loosen the rice and serve. If you have any questions just ask in the comment section and I will try to answer to the best of my abilities.

Hi Everyone!

Thank you and welcome to my blog!

Bare with me, I’m still quite new to this but I will get there… Eventually…

So, a little about myself. I’m a British born Chinese and the eldest of three, I own and run a little restaurant that my Father first opened in the 1980’s in partnership with my little brother and we’re third generation restaurateurs.

Our style of cooking has a distinct Northern Chinese element to it, this is because my Grandparents are from Northern China. A port town called Yantai to be exact, as a result our food tends to lean towards a more spicier and savoury palate with strong hints of spices (such as aniseed and cumin) and Lamb dishes.

The Chinese food that is more prevalent here in England is the Cantonese variety where foods tend to lean closer to a much sweeter palate (puddings, sweet & sour sauces etc).

The aim of this blog, at least for me, is to show that there is so much more to Chinese food than meets the eye. Given the vastness of China and its population of over a billion people, what we have over here in the West is only a drop in the ocean in terms of what China has to offer the world.

In China, the food is often influenced by other countries in South East Asia, opening up a world of potential to educate and explore. My goal for this blog is to do exactly that, I will be posting recipes that I grew up with, that have been passed down from my Mother and Grandmother.

I look forward to sharing my journey with you all!