Japanese Steakhouse Fried Rice

By AzWench

The classic Japanese steakhouse features teppanyaki tables, the centerpiece of which are grills on which a knife-wielding chef grills up meats and an addictive fried rice, redolent with the taste of garlic, butter and soy. Fried rice, a superb way to use up leftover cooked rice, is quite easy to make at home. Avoid using short-grain or sushi rice for this dish, which will result in a starch, clumpy dish. A large wok placed over high heat, or a countertop griddle, are also essential in recreating Japanese-style fried rice at home.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2 cups cooked medium-grain rice
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons gomasio (sesame and salt seasoning)
• Black pepper, to taste

Preparation

Step 1

In a large wok or on a griddle, scramble the eggs in 1 tablespoon of the butter over low to medium heat. Remove from the wok and set aside on a plate.

Melt the additional 2 tablespoons of butter in the wok or on the griddle over high heat. Add the garlic and carrots, stirring constantly. After 1 to 2 minutes, stir in the cooked rice and soy sauce. Toss to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients. Add the cooked eggs and onion and mix in the gomasio and black pepper to taste; cook for another 6 to 8 minutes, or until the rice is warmed through and the flavors incorporated. Serve immediately alongside grilled meats or a teriyaki-style main dish.

Tips:
Make your fried rice stand out by varying the ingredients. Yumiko Kanou, chef and owner of the Tokyo restaurant Nakaiseki Sen, leaves out the egg, butter and gomasio and adds pine nuts, sesame oil and chiles de arbol to her brown fried rice.

A splash of sake added along with the soy sauce adds another layer of flavor to fried rice, too.

Cook the rice the day before and refrigerate it overnight. Refrigerated rice is less likely to stick together when fried, so you'll get separated grains, rather than a mushy mass. To give the rice even more flavor, cook it in chicken or vegetable broth.

That Steakhouse Flavor
Although this recipe is a close approximation of Japanese steakhouse fried rice, it can't duplicate it exactly. Teppanyaki-style restaurants usually cook the rice straight on the grill that's used to cook the meat and multiple other dishes. This imparts a flavor into the rice that's unique and almost impossible to replicate without a highly seasoned grill.