Spicy ‘Freestyle' Fried Rice from Guizhou (怪噜炒饭)
Fried Rice! Here we're making a classic spicy Guizhou style of fried rice called Guailu fried rice - sometimes translated as 'freestyle fried rice' (not the best translation, but eh, far from the worst... for what it's worth, "Guailu", in the local dialect, refers to a certain gambling style seen in novices where their bets are basically random because they don't know what to do). But even outside the context of this dish, hopefully we can also teach you some general fried rice techniques in the process as well :)
Before we get into the recipe itself though, quick reminder that you don't *need* to steam your rice. Feel free to also use leftover rice cooker or takeaway rice. Going that route would be far more common.
STEAMED RICE, INGREDIENTS/EQUIPMENT
- Jasmine Rice (泰国香米/寺庙米), 230g. Note that the 230g is exactly the amount that we use in the fried rice. If you want to have extra white rice, cook more rice. Your only limit is what you can squeeze on your steaming tray.
- Steamer. We used a bamboo steamer, but more classic is a steaming bucket called a 'zengzi'... this is what they look like: https://www.amazon.com/Hcooker-Handmade-Cooking-Steamer-Cedarwood/dp/B07S6QV3FM Don't pay $40 for one though, any bamboo steamer works great.
- Colander. Obviously.
- Wet cloth. Muslin, cotton, whatever. Anything food-safe.
STEAMED RICE, PROCESS
- Rinse the rice. ~3 times is good enough.
- Parboil for 2.5 minutes until the rice is no longer translucent.
- Transfer to a steamer lined with a wet cloth.
- Poke some holes in the rice with your fingers. This was not shown in-video and will help the rice steam evenly.
- Steam for 10 minutes.
- Shut off the heat. Let it sit there another five minutes.
- Remove, fluff.
If using it all for fried rice, leave uncovered in the fridge. If making more (recommended), leave ~380g worth of cooked rice in the fridge - that's how much rice we'll be using in the fried rice.
GUAILU FRIED RICE, INGREDIENTS
- Cooked rice, 380g (corresponds to 230g uncooked)
- Hunan Duojiao 'chopped chilis' (剁椒) -or- Guizhou Zaolajiao (糟辣椒), 1 tbsp. ...or maybe sub for Sambal Oelek? Try to find the Hunan Duojiao. Or whatever, it's your fried rice.
- Scallion, one large. White and green parts separated, both sliced.
- Garlic, 3 cloves.
- Ginger, 1 inch.
- Chinese smoked larou (腊肉) -or- American-style smoked country ham -or- some sort of smoked bacon, 20g. Just eyeball the amount if using bacon. I'd fry up ~2-3 slices.
- Suancai fermented cabbage (酸菜) -or- sauerkraut or kimchi, 15g. In the SW suancai's usually made with mustard green. Cabbage version is also ok.
- Zhe'ergen a.k.a. Fish Wort (折耳根/鱼腥草) -or- cilantro root, 20g -or- chopped cilantro, 25g. You will not be able to find Zhe'ergen. Use cilantro root (preferably) or cilantro.
- Canned kidney beans (芸豆), 1/4 cup.
- Cracklins (脆哨), 2 tbsp.
- Dark soy sauce (老抽), 1 tbsp.
- Light soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp.
- Dark Chinese Vinegar (陈醋/香醋), 2 tsp. Both Shanxi mature vinegar (陈醋) and Chinkiang vinegar (香醋) are ok, former is preferable.
- Seasoning: 1/8 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/8 tsp MSG (味精)
- Lard (猪油), 2 tbsp. For frying.
All ingredients are optional except for the rice.
GUAILU FRIED RICE, PROCESS
- Use day old rice.
- Roughly chop the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. Add to a mortar with the duojiao chopped chilis. Pound for ~2 minutes. Alternatively, use a food process... or just figure some other way to mash all this stuff together.
- Slice the scallion greens. Mince the fish wort or cilantro root (if using, otherwise chop the cilantro). Rinse the slime off the kidney beans. Get the larou/country ham into a dice (if using). If using American-style cracklins, try chopping in a couple pieces to get something more bite-sized.
- IF USING BACON: I would first chop the bacon into ~1 inch strips, then fry separately on a pan. Remove once cooked, reserve. Add at the end of the fried rice with the scallions/cilantro. Evaluate your bacon grease. If less than 2 tbsp, supplement with lard (preferably) or oil. Use that to fry.
- Stir fry according to the video. (5:13) Sorry, out of space here.
Thank you to the channel "Louisiana Cajun Recipes" for the footage of cracklins. You can find their video on how to make them here, definitely check out their channel: https://youtu.be/qqJwQjnRuY0
Also, the Turkey bit is from Adam Ragusea's 'how to cook frozen Turkey video' (https://youtu.be/mZCWLVmeq48) and the picture of Cilantro root is via onthegas.org (https://onthegas.org/food/coriander-root).
And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project!
http://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystified
Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg
Before we get into the recipe itself though, quick reminder that you don't *need* to steam your rice. Feel free to also use leftover rice cooker or takeaway rice. Going that route would be far more common.
STEAMED RICE, INGREDIENTS/EQUIPMENT
- Jasmine Rice (泰国香米/寺庙米), 230g. Note that the 230g is exactly the amount that we use in the fried rice. If you want to have extra white rice, cook more rice. Your only limit is what you can squeeze on your steaming tray.
- Steamer. We used a bamboo steamer, but more classic is a steaming bucket called a 'zengzi'... this is what they look like: https://www.amazon.com/Hcooker-Handmade-Cooking-Steamer-Cedarwood/dp/B07S6QV3FM Don't pay $40 for one though, any bamboo steamer works great.
- Colander. Obviously.
- Wet cloth. Muslin, cotton, whatever. Anything food-safe.
STEAMED RICE, PROCESS
- Rinse the rice. ~3 times is good enough.
- Parboil for 2.5 minutes until the rice is no longer translucent.
- Transfer to a steamer lined with a wet cloth.
- Poke some holes in the rice with your fingers. This was not shown in-video and will help the rice steam evenly.
- Steam for 10 minutes.
- Shut off the heat. Let it sit there another five minutes.
- Remove, fluff.
If using it all for fried rice, leave uncovered in the fridge. If making more (recommended), leave ~380g worth of cooked rice in the fridge - that's how much rice we'll be using in the fried rice.
GUAILU FRIED RICE, INGREDIENTS
- Cooked rice, 380g (corresponds to 230g uncooked)
- Hunan Duojiao 'chopped chilis' (剁椒) -or- Guizhou Zaolajiao (糟辣椒), 1 tbsp. ...or maybe sub for Sambal Oelek? Try to find the Hunan Duojiao. Or whatever, it's your fried rice.
- Scallion, one large. White and green parts separated, both sliced.
- Garlic, 3 cloves.
- Ginger, 1 inch.
- Chinese smoked larou (腊肉) -or- American-style smoked country ham -or- some sort of smoked bacon, 20g. Just eyeball the amount if using bacon. I'd fry up ~2-3 slices.
- Suancai fermented cabbage (酸菜) -or- sauerkraut or kimchi, 15g. In the SW suancai's usually made with mustard green. Cabbage version is also ok.
- Zhe'ergen a.k.a. Fish Wort (折耳根/鱼腥草) -or- cilantro root, 20g -or- chopped cilantro, 25g. You will not be able to find Zhe'ergen. Use cilantro root (preferably) or cilantro.
- Canned kidney beans (芸豆), 1/4 cup.
- Cracklins (脆哨), 2 tbsp.
- Dark soy sauce (老抽), 1 tbsp.
- Light soy sauce (生抽), 1 tsp.
- Dark Chinese Vinegar (陈醋/香醋), 2 tsp. Both Shanxi mature vinegar (陈醋) and Chinkiang vinegar (香醋) are ok, former is preferable.
- Seasoning: 1/8 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/8 tsp MSG (味精)
- Lard (猪油), 2 tbsp. For frying.
All ingredients are optional except for the rice.
GUAILU FRIED RICE, PROCESS
- Use day old rice.
- Roughly chop the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. Add to a mortar with the duojiao chopped chilis. Pound for ~2 minutes. Alternatively, use a food process... or just figure some other way to mash all this stuff together.
- Slice the scallion greens. Mince the fish wort or cilantro root (if using, otherwise chop the cilantro). Rinse the slime off the kidney beans. Get the larou/country ham into a dice (if using). If using American-style cracklins, try chopping in a couple pieces to get something more bite-sized.
- IF USING BACON: I would first chop the bacon into ~1 inch strips, then fry separately on a pan. Remove once cooked, reserve. Add at the end of the fried rice with the scallions/cilantro. Evaluate your bacon grease. If less than 2 tbsp, supplement with lard (preferably) or oil. Use that to fry.
- Stir fry according to the video. (5:13) Sorry, out of space here.
Thank you to the channel "Louisiana Cajun Recipes" for the footage of cracklins. You can find their video on how to make them here, definitely check out their channel: https://youtu.be/qqJwQjnRuY0
Also, the Turkey bit is from Adam Ragusea's 'how to cook frozen Turkey video' (https://youtu.be/mZCWLVmeq48) and the picture of Cilantro root is via onthegas.org (https://onthegas.org/food/coriander-root).
And check out our Patreon if you'd like to support the project!
http://www.patreon.com/ChineseCookingDemystified
Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel): https://youtu.be/GHaL5H-VYRg
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