Seafood Fried Rice

[zhemao]

What do when you have leftover dashi ingredients and white rice? Make fried rice of course! For this dish, we'll also use reconstituted dried shrimp, which will add a nice salty crunchiness.

Ingredients:

• Dried shrimp


• Parboiled sardines


• Steeped bonito flakes


• Egg


• Carrots


• Onion


• Scallions


• Garlic


• White pepper


• Black pepper


• Sugar


• Salt


• Vegetable oil


• Cooked white rice

Directions:

1. Soak the dried shrimp in warm water to reconstitute it.


2. Chop about half a carrot into thin slices using diagonal cuts.


3. Finely chop a quarter of an onion


4. Finely chop a clove of garlic


5. Remove the shrimp from the water and shake off the excess liquid. Reserve the water for later.


6. Add a bit of vegetable oil to a pan and turn the heat to medium.


7. Lightly beat two eggs and add a bit of salt and black pepper.


8. Add the eggs to the pan and gently scramble. Don't stir too much at this point. Remove the eggs once they solidify, but before they get too hard.


9. Add some more oil to the pan and turn the heat to medium high.


10. Add the shrimp, sardines, bonito flakes, and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant. Make sure to break up the bonito if it's in a clump.


11. Add the carrots and onion. Stir fry until the onion browns slightly.


12. Turn the heat to medium and add the shrimp water.


13. Add some sugar and white pepper. You don't need any extra salt, since the shrimp and anchovies are plenty salty.


14. Simmer for about a minute until the carrots are almost cooked. They should no longer be crunchy, but not completely soft.


15. If your rice was refrigerated, it will be in a solid block. Break it up with a spatula or your hands.


16. Turn the heat back to medium high and toss in the rice.


17. Stir and make sure that the rice grains are separated and well mixed with the other ingredients.


18. Add the egg and scallions. Stir to break up the egg and distribute it evenly.


19. Once the water has mostly been absorbed or evaporated, let the rice sit to get a bit of toasting. Turn the rice occasionally.


20. Once you see a bit of charring, turn off the heat and serve.

And there you have it. Fried rice is always a great way to use up leftovers, and this one turned out to be quite delicious. The dried shrimp, sardines, and bonito give the rice a really great fishy flavor.

---