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Fried Rice with Cabbage

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Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 30 minutes

In How to Cook Everything Fast, recipe directions are separated into “prep” and “cook.” Here, we’ve made that distinction with italics for prep-work and plain text for cooking. This reflects the most efficient order and timing of tasks.

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Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more if needed
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
  • Salt
  • 1 small head green or savoy cabbage (1 pound)
  • 4 scallions
  • 4 eggs
  • Soy sauce for serving

Instructions

  1. Put 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  2. When the oil is hot, add 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, 1 1/2 cups rice, and a sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is glossy and starting to color slightly, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Add 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently but steadily. Cover and cook undisturbed until small craters appear on the surface, 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Trim, core, and quarter the cabbage.
  5. Put 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over low heat.
  6. Cut each cabbage quarter crosswise into thin ribbons.
  7. Turn up the heat under the skillet to medium-high. Add the cabbage and sprinkle with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is lightly browned and crisp-tender (it should still have a little crunch), 3 to 5 minutes.
  8. Trim and chop the scallions.
  9. Move the cabbage to one side of the skillet and add a drizzle of oil to the empty space if it looks dry. Crack the eggs into that space and cook,  stirring constantly with a fork, until they’re scrambled and set, a minuteor two. Toss the eggs and cabbage together in the skillet and turn off the heat.
  10. When small craters appear on the surface of the rice, tip the saucepan to see if any liquid remains. If so, re-cover and keep cooking until the rice is dry, checking every minute or two.
  11. Add the cooked rice to the cabbage and eggs. Add the scallions and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve, passing soy sauce at the table. Or serve the stir-fry in bowls on top of the rice, garnished with the scallions.

— Recipe from How to Cook Everything Fast

Recipe variations

Fried Rice with Bok Choy

Here, this vegetable delivers two distinct textures, crunchy stems and silky leaves. Substitute 1 pound bok choy for the cabbage; slice the stems and leaves crosswise into narrow ribbons and cook them the same way in Step 5.

Fried Rice with Tomatoes Substitute 1 pound ripe tomatoes for the cabbage; core the tomatoes and chop in big chunks. Cook the tomatoes just until they start to release some of their juice but not so much that they break down into sauce, about 3 minutes. Then push them to the side and add the eggs as directed. If you like, garnish with chopped fresh cilantro or Thai basil along with the scallions.

Fried Rice with Leftover Rice Works for the main recipe or either of the first two variations. If you have 3 to 4 cups leftover rice in the refrigerator—brown or white, long- or short-grain—use that instead of cooking a fresh batch. Skip Step 1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat in Step 2, then transfer them to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil to the same skillet and raise the heat to high. Fry the rice until it sizzles and pops, just a minute or two. Transfer it to a large shallow bowl. Make the stir-fry in the skillet as described in Steps 5 and 6. Return the rice to the pan. Toss, taste, and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with the sesame seeds and serve.