Loose, toasty grains of rice fried with diced chicken, egg and green onion. It is the dish that quietly holds a Chinese takeout order together, and the one most Golden Hill families order every single time.
Fried rice is a technique dish, not a leftovers bin. We cook and chill the rice ahead so the grains dry out and separate, then fry it in a very hot wok with egg, diced chicken and green onion, seasoning lightly so the toasted rice flavour comes through instead of soy overwhelming it.
It is the safest order at any table - no heat, no unfamiliar textures, and it stretches a meal for a family. Serve it under General Tso's Chicken or BBQ Spareribs, or move up to Shrimp Fried Rice when you want seafood.
Every portion is fried on its own over high heat and kept moving so the rice toasts rather than steams. The chicken is diced small and cooked through in the same wok, picking up the same seared flavour as the rice before it goes in the box for Martindale, Cityscape or Redstone.
Separate grains
Rice is cooked ahead and cooled so it fries loose instead of clumping into a sticky mass.
Toasted, not steamed
Constant motion over serious heat gives the rice colour and a nutty, seared aroma.
Stretches any order
One order turns two mains into dinner for a family across northeast Calgary.