Thai Fried Rice

I have a special place in my heart for thai food with thai fried rice right up there amongst my favorite dishes.  I decided to try this out one day and it turned out really well.  It was just as good if not better than any thai restaurant I've been to.

This is a versatile dish in which you can really put whatever you want.  Chicken, shrimp or really any type of meat (or none at all) can be put into this.  One key ingredient that I use is thai sweet dark soy sauce.  I obtained a bottle from a local thai restaurant a few years back for cheap and it apparently lasts forever because I've been using it off and on ever since.  Thai sweet dark soy sauce is super thick, syrupy and complex.  You can make your own with a reduction of regular soy sauce and brown sugar until it gets sweet, thick, and syrupy, but the bottled thai sweet soy sauce is just better and more complex.


ingredients:
1.  3 clove garlic minced
2.  1 small onion
3.  1/2 tsp grated ginger
4.  1 medium plum tomato
5.  2 eggs
6.  1 tsp + 1/8 fish sauce
7.  1 tsp + 1/8 soy sauce
8.  1 tsp sweet dark soy sauce. Don't overshoot

9.  1/2 bell pepper 
10.  1 small chicken breast
11.  Lime wedges to squeeze on top
12.  Cucumber slices on the side

13.  Approximately 3 Cups of cooked jasmine rice (1 cup of uncooked jasmine rice)


note: - Again, you can leave out things and add others but the first 8 ingredients I would say are necessary and should not be omitted.  

Don't add any salt to the dish except when salting the chicken.  All the salt will come from the sauce.  If you add salt, it will throw off the measurements and flavor.

The measurements listed were tested and adjusted on a few batches of fried rice to a precise amount. This dish was surprisingly sensitive to small additions of sauce so I would be very precise and use measuring spoons when adding in the sauces.


recipe:
1.  Rinse EXACTLY 1 cup of jasmine rice a few times in cold water then drain completely.  Add to a non-stick sauce pan along with EXACTLY 1 cup + 2 TBL of water to the rice, cover, and heat over medium.
note: - This is for a somewhat drier rice, as this is ideal for fried rice.  It's also vital that you cook the rice al dente and with a good amount of bite to it.  Don't over cook it.
2.  As soon as it begins to boil, mix, cover, and turn to lowest heat possible.
3.  After exactly 6 minutes, mix, cover, and cook another 6 minutes.
4.  Taste the rice.  If it's slightly under, add some water if needed, cover, and cook another 2-3 minutes until done.
5.  Plate rice then cool in refrigerator to dry out.
6.  Cut onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and any other vegetables you will be adding into rough 1/2"-1" chunks.
7.  Slice cucumber into 1/8" slices and quarter a lime.
8.  Mince ginger and garlic.
9.  Cut chicken into smallish 1/2" chunks.  I found that if they were too big, they distracted from the rest of the dish.
10.  Lightly salt and pepper the chicken.  Oil a pan over medium high heat and quickly saute chicken until outside is just cooked.  Inside should still be slightly under.  Transfer to plate.
11.  Re-oil then saute bell peppers and onions for 2 min over medium high.
12.  Add tomatoes and stir for 1 min.
13.  Clear small area in the pan, add a drop of oil to it, add the garlic and ginger to it and toast for 1 min.
14.  Add rice, chicken, and sauces. Saute, mixing constantly for about 1 min.
15.  Add eggs and mix well until eggs are fully cooked and incorporated.
16.  Add a good chunk of cracked pepper
17.  Make sure chicken is fully cooked through, taste, then adjust seasoning if needed.
18.  Plate the fried rice onto a large serving plate and enjoy with sliced cucumber and lime wedges on the side.