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A popular (rightly so as it’s right on tasty!) fried-rice dish invented in Thailand for American GIs visiting on their R&R during their tour of Nam. I wonder if there are any dishes invented in USA for Thais??? This dish is almost always served with a fried-egg, Southern-fried chicken, frankfurters, and sliced cucumber and tomatoes. A very good way to use up left-over rice.
First thing is make sure you got some left-over rice. It is always better to make fried-rice with cold, leftover rice as opposed to hot rice.
There are a number micro-dishes that make up this dish. Hence people in Thailand prefer ordering this dish as opposed to making at home. Not a difficult dish to prepare but just a number of elements and steps that’s all – but hey! we’re up to this challenge right!?!
Before we start the actual cooking let’s get the prep out of the way.
Peel and chop up the onion. Not too finely. Peel, crush, and chop up the garlic. Again not too finely. Slice up the ham into small squares.
If using frozen peas or petits pois – make sure they’ve been defrosted. Very easy – just run some water on them.
Make sure you have the tomato ketchup, light soy sauce, and sultanas/raisins at the ready. It’s gonna move fast from here on.
Okay let’s start with the southern-fried chicken (my apologies to any Americans out there from the South – this is a Thai chef’s take on your beloved dish so please be gentle!). In fact if you have a good fried chicken recipe – I would really love to hear from you.
In a bowl, mix together a handful of flour with a couple sprinkles of sea salt, a few twists of freshly crushed peppercorns, and a few pinches of paprika. Have a taste to make sure the mix is salty enough. Coat the chicken drumsticks in the flour.
In a pan heat up enough vegetable oil to cover the drumsticks. Make sure the oil is at the right heat by dropping in a small cube of bread or a dash of flour – if it goes brown in good time (a few seconds) then the oil is ready. If it browns very rapidly – that oil is too hot so it’s best lower the flame.
Gently lower the drumsticks into the hot oil. The drumstick should start to brown nicely. Make sure they get plenty of movement so that they cook evenly. Fry the drumsticks for about 7-8 minutes (maybe longer if they are large). Make sure the oil is hot but not too hot lest the drum-stick burn (and worst – still raw inside!). Once they are cooked – place them on kitchen paper or a wire-rack in order to drain the oil. Cover with foil to keep them warm.
Next we tackle the fried rice.
Heat up a tablespoon or two of olive or vegetable oil on a medium-high heat.
Fry up the onion and garlic until they start to soften. Throw in the ham and then throw in the rice. Splash in the ketchup and light soy sauce. Give it all a good stir. Now add the peas. Stir.
Add in the sultanas/raisins. Stir. Add a couple twists of black pepper. Stir.
Make sure the rice is uniformly cooked and coloured. It’s very important that the rice is well cooked as leftovers can give you a tummy ache if not properly heated up to kill off any bacteria. Bacteria loves rice because rice is very nutritious.
Have a taste. Add more light soy sauce if saltiness is needed. Add more ketchup if the rice is too pale.
Fry the eggs to your liking – over medium heat until they reach your desired level of firmness.
Fry or steam your frankfurters until heated through.
Slice up a tomato. Slice up a quarter of a cucumber.
Divide the fried rice between two plates. Add two chicken drumsticks per plate. Add a frankfurter each (or more if you like). Put the fried egg on top the rice. Then add sliced tomatoes and cucumber on the side. A splash of hot sauce and barbecue sauce to the side as well.
And here we are… a slice of Americana all the way from Thailand.
Enjoy.
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