Chinese Fried Rice

This dish, a variation on Special Fried Rice, is more elaborate than the more familiar egg fried rice, and is almost a meal in itself. Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:

2 ounces (60 g) cooked ham
2 ounces (60 g) cooked prawns, peeled
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2 spring onions, finely chopped
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup green peas, thawed if frozen
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
4 cups cooked white long grain rice

Method:

1. Dice the cooked ham finely. Pat the cooked prawns dry on kitchen paper.
2. In a bowl, beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and a few spring onion pieces.
3. Heat about half the oil in a wok, stir-fry the peas, prawns and ham for 1 minute, then add the soy sauce and rice wine or sherry. Transfer to a bowl and keep hot.
4. Heat the remaining oil in the wok and scramble the eggs lightly. Add the rice and stir to make sure that the grains are separate. Add the remaining salt, the remaining spring onions and the prawn mixture. Toss over the heat to mix. Serve hot or cold.

Variations: This is a versatile recipe and is ideal for using up leftovers. Use cooked chicken or turkey instead of the ham, doubling the quantity if you omit the prawns.