Crispy Shallot Fried Rice

This might shock you, but I subscribe to a number of food-related magazines. One that I’ve sort of held off on over the years is Food & Wine. The main reason for this is that I’m not much of a wine dude so I felt like half of each issue would probably be wasted on me.

Don’t get me wrong. I like to drink wine and actually know a decent amount about it, but I don’t care to read lists of the top 47 California Chardonnays or whatever.

I finally did subscribe though because their recipes looked great and they had a solid introductory offer.

I adapted this Shallot Fried Rice recipe from the first issue I received. I made it my own to some degree, but it’s definitely inspired by their original recipe.

Shallot Fried Rice

 The Shallots, Two Ways

I’ve been cooking more with shallots recently which is why this recipe jumped out at me. Lightly frying shallots leaves you with this crispy topping that goes great on something like fried rice.

To prep the shallots, cut them in half and peel them. Then slice them longwise into thin strips.

While most of the shallots will be fried, you’ll want to reserve about 1/3 cup of chopped shallots for making the fried rice later.

For the shallots that you want to fry though, add about 1/2 cup of peanut oil to your wok or large skillet and get it hot over medium-high heat.

Once it’s hot and shimmering, add in your shallots and stir them as they fry.

Keep a really close eye on these. They will fry quickly since they are so thin. Stir them regularly.

After a few minutes, they should start to brown, but be careful not to burn them. The key is to stir them constantly as they fry.

If they burn, they will take on a bitter flavor which doesn’t taste great.

Once your shallots are nice and browned though, about five minutes of frying, scoop them out and let them drain on a paper towel.

Prepping Other Stuff

As I mentioned, you want to save some of your shallots for the actual fried rice. You’ll also want a good amount of fresh chopped ginger and garlic. Ginger and garlic wasn’t in the original recipe, but it seemed like a common sense addition to me.

Obviously, you’ll also need some rice. The rice needs to be cooked and be room temperature or cooler. You don’t want hot rice.

Ideally, you would have some leftover rice to use, but if you have to cook it fresh, be sure to give yourself time to let it cool.

Any long grain rice will work. Don’t use instant rice or short grain rice. It’ll just turn to mush.

The only other ingredient you need to prep (assuming your corn and peas are frozen) is the eggs.

Just whisk them together with some sesame oil and you’re ready to go.

Making the Fried Rice

When you’re ready to make the fried rice, pour the leftover oil from frying out of your pan or wok. Wipe your wok out with a paper towel, but no need to really clean it well.

Then add in about 1/4 cup of fresh oil and heat it over medium high heat. Add the peas, corn, and fresh shallots to the oil.

Cook those ingredients for a few minutes in the oil until the veggies are soft.

Then add the rice and stir to combine. Cook for another few minutes until the rice is hot.

To add in the garlic and ginger, scoop your rice to one side of the pan and add the garlic and ginger to the hot pan.

Let that cook for about 30 seconds just to lightly fry it, then you can stir the garlic and ginger into the rest of the rice.

Now for the fun part.

Pour in those eggs… right in the center!

Once the eggs are in, stir like crazy over high heat as the eggs cook. It’ll only take about a minute to cook them.

Then season the fried rice with a few dashes of soy sauce and you’re all set!

I like to serve my fried rice with some fresh cilantro, crispy shallots, lime wedges, and kimchi on the side.

Fried rice keeps wonderfully for a few days.

It’s one of my favorite leftover meals actually. I’ll even eat it for breakfast!