What To Keep In Mind When Making Fried Rice In A Pan Instead Of A Wok

If you're wondering why your homemade fried rice fails to stack up to takeout flavor , there's a basic mistake that plenty of folks make when whipping up this scrumptious Asian classic, and it's one that's easy enough to remedy. Simply put, you aren't using a big enough pan . A wok is the ideal vessel for cooking fried rice because the multiple ingredients heat quickly and evenly against the curved sides of the specialty pan, but not every home chef has one of these in their kitchen.

You can achieve takeout-style fried rice with no wok ; you just need a nice, big pan. Size matters here because the large pan will accomplish two goals. It will prevent you from overcrowding, which is one of the cardinal sins of homemade fried rice.



An overcrowded pan will steam the contents as opposed to frying them. Using a large pan will also keep you from accidentally flinging rice all over your stove as you frequently turn the food. Cooking fried rice at home doesn't need to be messy Anyone who's attempted to make homemade fried rice knows that it can turn your kitchen upside down.

Setting up your mise en place is time-consuming, requiring you to chop all of your veggies, prepare your protein, and whisk your eggs. You have to cook your rice, whether in a rice pot or a covered pan, which generates more dishes, and you have your frying pan itself. Don't make your post-meal cleanup any harder by using a too-small pan and sending food flying out and onto your sizzling-hot stovetop as you're trying to stir-fry.

A roomy pan ensures that you have space to manipulate the rice the way you need to. Another bonus of cooking fried rice in a bigger pan is that, with more surface area, you are more likely to mimic that oh-so-desirable wok hei — a combination of char, flavor, and texture – on your prepared dish since more of the rice is touching the searing-hot cooking surface. A pro tip for a crispy crust on your fried rice is to let the rice sit on the pan a bit longer than you think, because this will allow it to finish with a great texture.

.