Fried Rice

Fried rice is best made in a wok but if  you don't have one, a frying pan will work - go for the biggest one you have and the highest heat your stove will give you.

You must have your "mis en place" for Fried Rice. That means, make sure that all of your ingredients are chopped, measured and ready to go before you start because this goes quickly.

Heat the pan until it is quite hot before adding the 1T of oil. Add the oil and swirl it around to coat the pan/wok. Then add the shallots or onions, optional dried shrimp and mushrooms and use a spatula to toss them in the oil and keep them moving so they don't burn.

After about a minute, when the shallots are semi-translucent and the mushrooms looks mostly cooked, push everything in the pan off to one side to make room for cooking the egg (ignore this bit if you aren't using the egg). Add the 1t of oil to the empty side of the pan and crack the egg into it. Scramble the egg in the oil until just cooked and then incorporate with the shallot/shrimp/mushroom mix in the rest of the pan. Next add the rice, the peas, the scallions and the white pepper. Keep mixing and stirring over high heat and breaking up and rice clumps for about 2 minutes. 

When it looks like everything is cooked and well blended together, move the rice mixture  to the centre of the pan and pour the soy sauce around the outside of the rice - if you pour it in the middle you will get some over-soy-sauced rice in a clump and not enough on the rest of the rice. Pouring it in a circle around the outside circumference of the rice gives a much better blending of the flavours. Drizzle with sesame oil and take off the heat. Top with whatever toppings you like and serve.