Fried Rice

[Soukuw]

I feel the need to randomly spread a bit of information I have learned attempting to recreate proper fried rice. I think I'm 25-35% of the way to perfect.
Absolute step one: Day old rice, rice that's "dry" is perfect as it fries better and soaks in the liquid ingredients you're about to add. You can use rice you've thrown in the fridge for a few hours but day old/overnight is best.

stuff load of Butter. Seriously you need a bunch of butter, you might be able to partially substitute with some olive oil but I haven't tried it. You need somewhere around 3/8th of a stick.

Soy Sauce. This is the salt for your dish, some people use the light version as you can put more on which means more liquid to cook with. Adds liquid to the fry

You need Rice Vinegar (aka rice wine vinegar but not rice wine which is alcohol, bit confusing) It's incredible and you can fry up vegis with it. It's a bit tangy and I love it. Adds liquid to the fry.

You absolutely need Oyster Sauce this is THE "secret" ingredient. I do not like seafood and this stuff is like liquid gold to me, it's absolutely loving incredible.

Sesame Oil, this stuff is very strong tasting so only use a bit. I don't find it incredibly important but if I have it I will use it and I do buy it just for fried rice.

Green Onion. You don't have to add it but you probably should have it on hand growing in a cup of water. It really adds a lot.
Really there's not much more to it than the ingredients, if you use everything listed it will come out fairly similar to typical to fried rice you buy. If you struggle with making rice buy a instant pot or a rice cooker. (Instant pots are incredible though, you can cook frozen a frozen chicken breast straight from the freezer)

Fry up your vegis with a little butter, soy sauce and rice vinegar.
Add more butter and add the rice along with oyster sauce and more rice vinegar/soy sauce, toss on the diced green onion and throw an egg in the side of the pan.
Cook the egg until it forms a bit but is still runny and mix it into the rice, if your timing is right there should be bits of egg rather than it just mixing into the rice. (Even if it mixes it doesn't really matter)

I highly recommend you play with these ingredients as I have found I really love oyster sauce and Rice vinegar so I use a bit more than other people do while also not using a lot of sesame oil. What vegetable you use it up to you, you can put pretty much anything in fried rice, if you want inspiration just buy a stir fry mix that's frozen or another blend. Personally sometimes I like just broccoli.

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[Nicepoint]

This is such a dedicated and genuine approach compared to my culinary crime that is boiling a bunch of unwashed rice, frying it on a baking tray, and frying everything else separately on a non-stick pan and mixing it all together in a bowl.

[Ladios]

I am personally a very arrogant chef, so I am pleasantly surprised at your suggestions of preparation.

Minor variations i might make are to instead, if you can afford it, opt for the fresh pre-sliced stirfry mix in your grocer's produce department, as it will come out much better with more vibrant flavors among the veggies over frozen mix which can kinda taste uniform.

If you aren't reusing rice from a previous meal and making it specifically for fried rice, I would also consider adding a scoop of chicken or vegetable boullion to the water you are cooking the rice in. It adds  a bit more heartyness and nutrition to the dish without altering the flavour too much.

100% agree on oyster sauce, but also keep in mind it doesnt add much salt on its own so the soy sauce is very important, and if you didnt want to alter the flavour too much, just adding regular salt on its own could help. The main difference between most american's  home cooking and professional restaurants, is that we at home tend to undersalt our food and thats why the flavours seem more pronounced at real restaurants. If you have enough soy sauce etc then you wont need as much oyster sauce as you think you will.

Butter is good, but I find olive oil doesnt mesh with the flavours being used  as much. Sometimes a light amount of vegetable oil with some drops of sesame oil is enough. Alternatively coconut oil is a good addition too and has a higher temperature limit but be careful it doesnt overwhelm the flavours if you are someone who tastes it easily in things.

One of my favorite go-tos to add a bit of spice to this is Garlic Chili Oil,
https://www.sbfoods-worldwide.com/lp/us/umamitopping/
It isnt specifically made for cooking but it just adds so much substance.

Additionally, mixing in some ginger and garlic can help the flavour. Ginger is particularly tricky to find pieces that grate well, but dont be afraid to by the tubes of ginger paste, also located in the produce section by the herbs. They last a while without too many preservatives. Always opt for the stuff in the refrigerated section over the shelf-stable jarred stuff when you can. You'll have to refrigerate it after opening anyways, but its much fresher with less extra stuff.