I am so excited about today’s post because I get to chat it up with you about two of my childhood favorites — Kikkoman and pork fried rice!
I’ve mentioned on here numerous times before that our family had a tradition of eating lunch together every Saturday at our local neighborhood Chinese restaurant, Lotus Gardens. From the time when my sister and I were little tikes in booster seats, to elementary schoolers racing to complete math problems that my dad wrote on our paper placemats, to too-cool-for-school middle schoolers sporting (not-so-cool) huge glasses, to high schoolers bringing along the occasional teenage friends (and boyfriends), to college students who insisted on eating there within the first 24 hours of every visit home….so many of our family’s best memories were made during those Saturday lunches.
And as is often the case with favorite restaurants, we each had our favorites meals. Dad ordered #7, Mom ordered #13 with no bamboo shoots, my sister Sarah ordered chow mein, and I ordered the same thing every week — a large bowl of egg drop soup and pork fried rice. But the meal was never complete without the “bottle with the red cap”, our Kikkoman soy sauce. Our entire family always passed it around the table, and then it often went around again for seconds. We all love our soy sauce!
What’s more, my mom would probably tell you that I once threw a small tantrum when she brought home the “off brand” soy sauce for us to use with a stir fry. I could tell it tasted different, and turned up my young little nose and complained until she went back to the store later that week to buy “the real deal.” Today, I’m still partial to Kikkoman. But now I keep a host of their products in my pantry and fridge — from soy sauce, to teriyaki, to panko, to rice vinegars, to hoisin/plum/oyster/thai chili/black bean sauce and more. It has been amazing to watch the company grow over the years!
So I was completely excited when I heard that Lucy Walker (Academy Award nominee – look her up!) was going to be directing a new short documentary called “Make Haste Slowly: The Kikkoman Creed.” I just had a chance to watch it, and it is absolutely beautifully done. I was completely unaware of the history of Kikkoman, but it turns out that the brand is over 300 years old, and that it was started by women in a time when women certainly did not start companies. Since the beginning, though, they’ve made a commitment to abide by an inspiring family creed passed down through nineteen generations, which they brought with them when venturing out as the first Japanese company to open in the United States in the 70’s. Truly amazing to hear about the ways they honor their product and tradition, and even more so, how they have such a respectful track record to honoring those who make their products.
Really, whenever you are next sitting down with some Chinese takeout or are whipping up a stir-fry at home, take 24 minutes to watch “Make Haste Slowly”. I guarantee you will never think about that little bottle with the red cap the same way again!
Pork Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 c. cold cooked rice
- 2 spring onions, green and white parts separated then sliced
- 2 cooked Chinese sausages, quartered lengthwise then diced
- 2 carrots, diced and cooked
- 1/2 c. frozen green peas (optional)
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
Instructions
- Beat the eggs with 1 tsp. light sauce and 1/2 tsp. sesame oil. Heat up a non-stick frying pan and add 1 tbsp. of oil. Pour in the eggs and swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan. As the egg cooks, push the edges towards the center and let the uncooked eggs ooze towards the edges. When set, flip over onto a chopping board and cut into small square pieces.
- Heat up a wok and add 2 tbsps. of oil. Add the garlic and fry for 3 minutes. Add the rice and 2 tsps. of light soy sauce. Fry on high heat for about 5 minutes or until the rice is hot and fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Clean the wok and heat again. Add 1 tbsp. of oil and the sausages and the whites of the spring onions. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the carrots (and peas), and oyster sauce. Stir fry for another 2 minutes. Put the rice back in and stir to mix. Stir fry for 3 minutes or until the mixture is piping hot. Add the eggs and the greens of the spring onions. Stir for a minute then turn the heat off. This is now ready to serve.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Made this tonight! Easy and delicious! Added mushrooms!
I have made several of your variations of this recipe and my husband keeps asking for more. It is his new favorite!
My family loved this recipe they ate every bit.
YUM!!
Made this tonight after searching for ways to use up leftover pork loin roast from last night’s dinner.
I had to adapt a little due to lack of oyster sauce. I just used more soy sauce. I used two bags of Trader Joe’s frozen organic jasmine rice. Skipped carrots and peas, but would try with them next time. Also added a drop more sesame oil. Did eggs in one skillet. Did garlic, soy sauce, and rice in another. Then sautéed cooked pork in oil and soy sauce, threw rice skillet and eggs in and mixed. SO GOOD. Had this with spicy Asian broccoli.
This recipe doesn’t disappoint! I like the taste of sesame oil and used a little more than called for in the recipe. Better than most take out, and because I used organic/non GMO ingredients (couldn’t find organic oyster sauce) I knew it was healthy. This was flavorful and satisfying as a main dish, though it would work well as a side dish.
I made this awesome Pork Fried Rice tonight. I used the leftover pork roast that I had cooked in the crockpot for Christmas. I did not have any oyster sauce so I left it out. I was able to purchase Sesame Oil and Kikkoman soy sauce although my store didn’t have any that said light so I used the regular one. It turned out great! The instructions were well written and easy to follow. Everyone loved it and went back for seconds. This is definitely a keeper receipe.
There’s no nearby stores where I can get Chinese sausage so I make my fried rice, using a recipe very close to yours, with diced boneless pork chops marinated in Kikoman Soy Sauce. Is there any other!?
You don’t need to use old rice or cold rice for this recipe. Simply put dry rice in a dry pan or pot and dry fry it until it turns opaque or white. This will take about 10 minutes. It needs to be stirred often.
Then cook your rice as usual. 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice.
Once the rice is cooked just follow the directions of this recipe.
Also, marinated pork loin (Chinese style) is really good in this rice as well as pork back bacon.
You can get Chinese sausage from Amazon. Mostly, it is dry cured which mean no refrigeration is required.
If you would like, you can substitute Spanish dry cured chorizo. Both kinds of sausage are made with paprika and garlic and taste very similar and would be great in this recipe. Just dice it up and add, it will fry with the rest of the ingredients and soften up. It is delicious. Spanish chorizo can often be found in the deli section of your supermarket or online.
Pork back bacon is not spicy and has a mild bacon flavor. It is the back and part of the belly of the pig so it is like regular bacon but more lean. The fat just melts into the food so there is little need to add any oil except sesame oil. If you want to cut it up, it is best to do while the pork is a bit frozen. : )
My family LOVES Kikkomams products, especially the one with the “red cap”!!!! I cannot wait to try this recipe considering I have some leftover pork loin in the fridge that needs to be used up!! SOOO EXCITED!! P.S. I ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ your blog, I’m an avid follower!!
Going to make this tonight with my leftover pork yum
Good idea Alexandra! We hope you love it! :)