Yangzhou, Jiangsu
Yangzhou Fried Rice
Cold rice, hot wok, char siu and shrimp — the canonical Chinese fried rice and the standard every other version measures against.
In repertoire since Mar 2026
Fried rice is day-two rice.
The defining variable is the rice itself. Hot fresh rice steams against the hot wok, releasing surface starch, turning the dish into a wet clump. Cold day-old rice — dried by a night in the fridge — fries up into the separated, glistening grains a real fried rice depends on. There is no shortcut for this.
2 · Plant
Then, the plants.
Each ingredient held water and minerals, built sugar out of light over weeks or months, ripened, and was picked. A few ingredients (salt, water) came from a different elemental story.
- Ingredient
Day-old jasmine rice
800 g cooked day-old jasmine rice (cold from the fridge)
Fresh hot rice steams against the wok and turns gummy. The fridge dries the grains overnight so they fry up separate. This is the single most important variable.
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Char siu pork
150 g char siu (Cantonese roast pork), diced (or substitute Chinese-style cooked ham)
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Small shrimp
150 g small peeled shrimp
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Eggs
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Frozen peas
150 g frozen peas (no need to thaw)
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Carrot
1 small carrot, finely diced (5 mm cubes)
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Scallions
4 scallions, finely sliced (whites and greens separated)
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Toasted sesame oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Origin not yet authored
- Ingredient
Neutral oil
3 tbsp neutral oil (peanut or vegetable)
Origin not yet authored
3 · Cook
Then, the kitchen.
Heat, time, salt, fat, acid — the recipe that turns the ingredients into something more than their sum.
4 · Plate
Yangzhou, Jiangsu
Yangzhou Fried Rice
Cold rice, hot wok, char siu and shrimp — the canonical Chinese fried rice and the standard every other version measures against.
The fried rice that every Cantonese banquet ends with, every Chinese takeout menu starts with, and every home cook with a wok eventually learns to make. Yangzhou is the canonical recipe — the city in Jiangsu that gave the dish its name maintains a specific named-ingredient version (peas, carrot, scrambled egg, shrimp, char siu, scallion). Other regions have their own; the Yangzhou is the reference.
Soy on the edge of the wok.
Not over the rice. Pour soy down the hot side of the wok so it caramelises in a sheet against the metal for a second before you toss it in. That second is the difference between *fried rice with soy* and *Yangzhou fried rice*.