We love this rice because it is very quick and tasty, and we almost always have the ingredients on hand. We tend to have it when we have steak; there’s just something so easy about marinating a flank steak, frying it up, and serving it with garlic fried rice and some stir fried vegetables. Easy, and delicious, too.

In the Pan

Ward likes to press the rice into small ramekins or bowls and turn it out onto each plate, which really serves to jazz up your presentation with very little effort at all.

Individual Portions

The following recipe is adapted from Harumi’s Japanese Cooking:

Garlic Fried Rice (Ninniku Chahan)

Ingredients:

6 – 8 garlic cloves

mixed handful of fresh basil and mint leaves

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups cooked Japanese rice

1 tsp granulated chicken stock

soy sauce to taste

dried bonito flakes (optional)

coarsely ground pepper

Directions:

1. Chop the garlic finely. Cut the basil and mint leaves into 1/3-inch pieces

2. Heat oil in wok and fry the garlic just until you can smell it (cooking too long will turn the garlic bitter). Add rice and granulated chicken stock.

3. Add soy sauce to wok and mix it in. Remove wok from heat, add the basil and mint leaves and mix quickly.

4. To serve in individual serving portions, press spoonfuls of rice into ramekin, then turn out onto plate. Garnish top with dried bonito flakes (if using) and pepper.

 Print This Recipe