Yangzhou fried rice

Public reference · Home adaptation Abroad this is called 'Yangzhou fried rice'; locally it is more often just 'egg fried rice' — **the 'Yangzhou' names the method, not the place of origin.** Three things make it: **The rice.** It must be cold rice from the day before, because day-old rice has less moisture and separates, while freshly cooked rice goes into the pan as one sticky mass. So a banquet serving this has to have the rice cooked and spread to cool a day ahead. **The egg.** Once the egg is in the pan, **stir it with a chopstick, do not turn it with a spatula** — that is what breaks it into fine fragments that coat the grains; a spatula makes big slabs that stick to the rice and take no shape. Pull it out the moment it just sets, because it gets another chance to cook when it goes back in; fried early, it ends up overcooked. **The dice.** Ham, shrimp, peas, corn, bamboo shoot — each small enough that a bite catches it, large enough to tell it apart in the mouth. If the pieces are too big it is simply rice with something on it, not a mixed (什锦) fried rice. Traditional versions also carry sea cucumber, dried scallop, dried shrimp and chicken thigh, aiming at many ingredients and no visible clutter; a household version swaps in whatever can be bought, and the difference is in the layering, not in the approach. The 2018 group-standard report lists the staple by name only, so **this technique comes from a public home recipe with no correspondence to the banquet's own kitchen method**; it is not a historical original. **The seat list records only the dish name, not the method; this version's technique comes from two public home recipes on xiachufang, Super-savoury Yangzhou fried rice / ham and egg mixed fried rice and Foolproof classic simple Yangzhou fried rice, and has no correspondence to the actual three-head-banquet kitchen method.** It is not a historical original or a house secret. The two sources corroborate each other on the key points: **cold rice from the day before** (the second adds 'add the rice and fry it loose' and beats three eggs ready) and **the egg broken into small fragments with a chopstick rather than a spatula** (the first states plainly: do not use a spatula, stir with a chopstick and the egg breaks naturally into small pieces). This version follows both and says so. Both sources are simplified household versions; **a traditional mixed fried rice uses sea cucumber, dried scallop, dried shrimp, chicken thigh, shrimp, ham and more, and this version keeps only the items reliably available to a home kitchen and states that trade-off.** **The dice size, heat and oil are editorial for 4 servings and have not been kitchen-tested**; the sources stress that the egg should be pulled out the moment it sets and not fried old. **Contains shellfish (shrimp), egg and wheat (from additives in ham and cooking wine).** Evaluative claims in the sources such as 'one-pot, tasty and affordable' are not adopted; only the technique is taken. Contains egg, shellfish (shrimp, a common allergen), soy and wheat (light soy; processed meats such as ham commonly contain wheat, soy and nitrite preservatives); cooking wine contains wheat. Check the labels of the ham, shrimp and seasonings individually. **This dish is unsuitable for a gluten-free or shellfish-allergic guest** and a separate portion must be prepared. Contains meat; this is not a vegetarian dish. A vegan version can omit the shrimp and ham and use shiitake and dried tofu instead, with the other ingredients adjusted accordingly. 下厨房：超级香的扬州炒饭/火腿鸡蛋什锦炒饭 — The method itself: prepare the ingredients; beat the eggs with a little wine to remove any smell and a little salt; fry the egg in hot oil and take it out as soon as it just takes shape, not fried old; fry the accompaniments in hot oil (peas, carrot, corn, diced ham) and season with a little light soy when eight-tenths done; add the rice and fry it loose, return the fried egg and toss, then season with salt, white pepper and chopped scallion; serve in a bowl. https://m.xiachufang.com/recipe/107255945/ 下厨房：0失败经典之简版扬州炒饭 — The method itself: three eggs beaten and set aside; ham cut into small dice or pieces; a little oil heated in the pan, the egg added — **do not fry it with a spatula, stir it with a chopstick so the egg breaks naturally into small fragments** — and scooped out as soon as set, not fried old, because it will go back in later; then a little more oil and the scallion and ham are fried until fragrant. This version confirms the chopstick method and the rule about not frying the egg old. https://m.xiachufang.com/recipe/104301715/ 揚州炒飯 — 维基百科 — Dish context and the cold-rice basis: the entry notes that the Cantonese-style 揚州炒飯, despite the name, does not originate from Yangzhou in eastern China but is a Cantonese rice dish originating in Guangzhou during the Guangxu period of the Qing, later developed in Hong Kong and carried worldwide by Chinese migrants. It also explains that 'because chilled rice has less moisture and does not stick easily, families in the Cantonese region often make 揚州炒飯 from leftover rice' — that is, this dish's use of cold day-old rice that stays grain-separated is supported here. It also records the traditional ingredients as rice, egg, char siu, shrimp, vegetables, spring onion and salt. This source supports the cold-rice step and the point that 'Yangzhou' is a circulating name rather than the place of origin. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%89%AC%E5%B7%9E%E7%82%92%E9%A5%AD 扬州晚报美食团：扬州发布“三头宴”团体标准（搜狐，2018-01-18） — Seat evidence: the staple in the three-head banquet menu is Yangzhou fried rice, served with a seasonal fruit platter; the report also records that the group standard comprises three signature dishes with eight cold starters, nine hot dishes, Yangzhou fried rice as the staple and a seasonal fruit platter, with two vegetable courses as seasonal positions. The report lists dish names only, with no methods. https://www.sohu.com/a/217424559_740963 AI-generated illustration; not kitchen-tested.

Source: WorldBite · public-reference adaptation · Source-attributed editorial adaptation; AI illustration; not an authenticated original recipe.