3 have already made this dish!
The preparation:
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First, you need to cook the rice according to this guide (ideally the day before)
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Then, dice the vegetables into small cubes
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Now heat a pan, add some oil and stir-fry the vegetables until they are crisp
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Then add the meat
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Now add the cooked rice. Stir-fry everything for 5 minutes
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Now season the Chahan with soy sauce, broth and a little pepper
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To allow all the spices to develop their aroma, it's best to continue stir-frying the rice over low heat for another 5 to 10 minutes
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Done! Now enjoy!
Table of contents:
Summary
Chahan, a delectable Japanese fried rice dish, is your go-to recipe for using leftover rice, transforming it into a meal that redefines "leftover utilization." This dish requires only cooked rice and common ingredients that are likely already in your kitchen. With a cooking time of under 30 minutes and just one pan needed, Chahan is perfect for busy weeknights when you crave something delicious without extensive preparation. To achieve the perfect Chahan, it's recommended to use day-old rice, opt for short-grain rice that can be slightly sticky, keep ingredient variety to a minimum for the best flavor, and prepare in a large pan or wok for even cooking. Enjoy experimenting with traditional and innovative ingredients like cabbage, carrots, sausage, edamame, peas, ground meat, ham, and shrimp to elevate your fried rice experience.This is the perfect recipe for leftover rice – and it tastes so delicious that "leftovers" will take on a whole new meaning for you! Chahan is nothing more than the Japanese version of fried rice.
Besides cooked rice, you only need completely normal ingredients for this recipe, which you are guaranteed to have at home almost all the time. In addition, you only need one pan and less than 30 minutes of cooking time to prepare it! Chahan is therefore a perfect dish for stressful weekdays when you have little time to cook, but still want to bring a delicious dish to the table.
4 Tips for perfect Chahan
Use rice from the day before
Fresh rice is much harder to fry than rice that is already a day old and therefore a little drier. It is only important that the rice has time to warm up to room temperature before you fry it.
Use the right ingredients
For authentic Chahan you need short-grain rice, which may also be slightly sticky. The vegetables or meat you add to the rice should be cut as small as possible.
Don't use too many different ingredients
More is always better? Not in this case! Fried rice tastes just as delicious as it is simple – if you mix too many ingredients together, then on the one hand the individual components hardly come into their own. And on the other hand, they stick together much more easily – the result is then more like solid mush than crispy fried rice!
Use a large pan
The rice must be able to come into contact with the pan on all sides. Therefore, use a sufficiently large, non-stick pan or – even better – a wok.
What ingredients belong in Chahan?
Feel free to experiment here! In addition to classic ingredients like cabbage, carrots and meat, various other things also fit into fried rice, for example
- Sausages
- Edamame
- Peas
- Minced meat
- Ham
- Shrimp
Comments
Not my first fried rice, but my first Japanese one. I made it with chicken breast, egg, bell pepper, peas, and spring onions—a classic way to use up leftovers. It turned out just as well. The dashi gives it an interesting flavor that really sets it apart from other types of fried rice.
Hello Dirk, I'm glad that you managed it for the first time. Dashi has a special significance in Japanese cuisine and is used very often. The interesting flavor you describe is exactly what Dashi is meant to create. The Japanese call it "umami". Best regards, Ryusei from RyuKoch