Yangzhou fried rice is a smoky, savoury Chinese stir fried dish with two types of meat, usually shrimp, BBQ pork and various vegetables like carrots and peas.
It's an upgrade from regular egg fried rice, and the wok hei gives it a slightly charred taste. Each spoonful will fill your senses with a smoky aroma when it's cooked right.
In our Yangzhou fried rice recipe, we'll show you how to get the same texture and a similar wok hei aroma at home without using a wok. Although shrimp and BBQ pork are generally used, you can easily substitute these with chicken or beef in our recipe.
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Yangzhou Fried Rice Ingredients
You'll need rice, eggs, peas, carrots, scallions, shrimp and Chinese BBQ pork to cook Yangzhou fried rice like Chinese takeouts and restaurants.
These are the typical ingredients used to give your stir fry a multilayered taste and texture. The peas and carrots make it sweet, while the BBQ pork and egg enhance the charred flavour. However, you can change your ingredients as you see fit.
This list of ingredients is the most well know version popularised by Chinese takeaways and restaurants. However, the most authentic Yangzhou fried rice is less well known and uses ingredients like scallops and sea cucumber.
Rice
We love using day-old Jasmine rice because its overall texture is fluffier. Generally, we prefer long grains over short grains because the longer grains turn out soft and chewy when cooked.
Eggs
The eggs in this dish will come out less fluffy than in regular egg fried rice or special fried rice. This is because in Yangzhou fried rice, you fry the egg together with other ingredients in the pan or wok. In our other Chinese style fried recipe, eggs are scrambled and fried separately and added to the grains close to the end of the stir frying process.
You can omit them for an alternative, like soft tofu. Our favourite is to use a combination of firm and soft tofu to give the dish more texture.
Chinese BBQ Pork
Char sui, Chinese barbecued pork, is typically added to this stir fry. However, you can also use Chinese sausage instead, which will still give your dish a mild tart taste. You can also add chicken for more protein or replace it. If you're using chicken, we recommend using chicken breast and cutting this into 1-inch cubes.
An easy replacement for barbecued pork is using bacon. However, if you don't eat pork, you can use corned beef and roasted beef slices. We love that this mix mimics the smoky taste and juicy texture of BBQ meat within the stir fry dish.
Peas, Carrots, Scallions
The peas and carrots are necessary as the veggie textures will best complement the soft texture of the eggs and the chewy meat. Meanwhile, the scallions are perfect for garnishing just before serving.
Yangzhou Fried Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice long grain, cooked
- ½ cup bbq pork or other meat like chicken
- ½ cup shrimp or other meat like beef
- ¼ cup carrots diced
- ¼ cup peas
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 tsps cooking oil
- pepper to taste
- salt to taste
- 2 scallions chopped for garnish, optional
Cooking Instructions
- You must prepare the necessary ingredients first. Beat the eggs in a bowl with salt to taste. Then, break up the leftover rice to separate the grains.
- Heat a wok or large pan over medium-high heat and add ⅓ of the oil. Swirl it around. When the oil is almost smoking, add the carrots and peas. Stir fry for about 1 minute or until cooked. Then, push it to the side of the wok or pan.
- Add another ⅓ of the oil to the pan or wok. Once the oil is hot, add the meat and stir fry for 1 minute to slightly char the meat. Then, push it to the side of the wok or pan. Then, add the rice and stir fry for 1 more minute to mix all the ingredients together.
- Make space in the middle of the wok. Add the remaining oil. Pour the eggs inside and cook for a few seconds while stirring. Mix the eggs and the rest of the ingredients.
- Then, add soy sauce, salt and pepper and stir fry for a few minutes until the seasonings are well incorporated and the long grains start to char slightly. Once ready, turn off the heat and garnish with chopped scallions, if you prefer. Enjoy it while it's hot.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimate.
Yangzhou Fried Rice Cooking Tips
While this is an easy dish, you can make your cooking faster with some of these tips for a smoother and more delicious experience.
Use Leftover Rice
The first tip is to try and use day-old grains that have been in the fridge overnight. The refrigerated grains will be dryer and will not clump together when cooking. Next, you must break up the cold grains so that they will cook evenly and so that they are beautifully separated. If you like, you can add any leftover ingredients from your fridge to create this dish.
Fry Using A Wok
A wok is the best equipment for our recipe. Stirring and tossing in the wok helps separate the grains and cook them quickly. By the way, the art of wok hei, which is Cantonese to describe excellent wok handling skills, is what makes your favourite takeout place stand out. The art of cooking in a wok gives this dish a smoky aftertaste. When you try it, it is the taste that leaves you craving for more.
Using a Pan
If you don't have a wok, you can mimic this with a pan at home. Heat up the oil until it's almost smoking. Only then can the ingredients for stir frying be added. Continue stir frying until you get a slight char on the long grains and other ingredients to incorporate that smoky 'wok hei' flavour and aroma to the fried rice.
Make Sure Your Wok or Pan Is Hot
Whether you're using a wok or pan, you want to make sure it's hot before adding your ingredients. When your oil is smoking, start tossing your ingredients into the wok. Because the temperature will drop quickly once you've got the ingredients in, you must ensure that you toss fast so each grain is hot and coated with oil.
Use Neutral Flavoured Oil
The best oils for cooking Chinese stir fry, are sunflower, palm and coconut oil as these smoke quickly in a wok. In addition, you must choose an oil type that is neutral in taste or complementary to your dish.
Variations
If you want to make a vegan version of this meal, you will need to swap the eggs, barbecued pork and any other protein you add for more vegetables. You can use extra-firm tofu to replace the barbecued pork for a firm bite to complement the chewy base.
While a vegan version has no egg, one tip is to use a sauce made from peanut butter, soy sauce, a pinch of brown sugar, and garlic for the stir fry. It will substitute the mild flavour and creamy consistency that eggs give the dish. See our recipe on how to make vegan fried rice for more tips.
If you have halal or kosher dietary restrictions, you can substitute the pork with chicken or shrimp.
Yangzhou Fried Rice History
Yangzhou fried rice is a favourite among many Chinese restaurants globally. This wok dish also has its fans in the US and the UK.
The dish originated in the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. A magistrate invented it during the Qing Dynasty, and it was originally served with fish soup. Since then, the dish has appeared worldwide, with variations in several Asian cities.
We don't know much about how this delectable dish came to the UK. Still, since Malaya and Singapore were British colonies before the 19th century, the Chinese community who worked for the British in these places may have influenced the Europeans to start cooking these iconic grains in this manner.
For Americans, you may hear many stories about how the dish made its way to the country. These stories mostly revolve around American troops who may have brought back the recipe after the Vietnam War.
You could compare the history of this iconic Chinese stir fry dish with the Mexican version found in the South of the United States. We found that this Mexican rendition was supposedly discovered when the soldiers were in Thailand. The cooking technique of stir fry is similar, but eggs, chicken and bacon are its main ingredients instead.
While many theories exist, it's interesting to note that this humble dish has many versions depending on how people have adapted its recipe across many cultures.
Yangzhou Fried Rice vs Egg Fried Rice
The main difference between egg fried rice is that in Yangzhou Chinese fried rice cooks stir-fry all ingredients together in a wok, including the eggs.
In the regular version, the eggs are scrambled separately from the lightly sauteed grains before combining them in a wok. The other difference is the regional dish usually has peas, carrots, eggs and two types of meats as staple ingredients.
Chicken
Chicken fried rice adds chicken as protein to the overall meal. Before frying, you marinate chunky chicken slices in soy sauce and cornstarch. Afterwards, you add a lightly scrambled egg to the mix.
Hokkien Chow Fan
You would recognise Hokkien chow fan from the rich serving of chicken broth gravy atop the dish. Otherwise, its preparation is generally the same as the Yangzhou variation, which involves tossing and frying the ingredients in the wok. This Fujian rendition is cooked the same way, except for an added gravy made of oyster sauce and cornstarch.
Special Fried Rice
Special fried rice is also a popular variation of this dish. This adaption breaks the rules of the usual ingredients because it is incredibly versatile. You can basically add any ingredients. For example, you might add ham, spam, bacon, shrimp, and pork pieces to the carby base.
Another variation of this adaptation that you must try is Singapore fried rice.
While this is a simple dish, we love that it's so convenient to use up leftover ingredients. We hope you will enjoy cooking our tasty recipe. Tag and follow us at @honestfoodtalks on Instagram so you can learn to cook even more Asian food dishes with us.
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