Pork Fried Rice — The Boxing Day After Brayden’s First Christmas

Christmas in Sapulpa this year. Brayden’s first Christmas. He is nine months old, sitting up unassisted, eating purees, beginning to crawl in the early stage of crawling that’s mostly army-crawl with one arm reaching forward. The cafe was closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — Cody had announced the closure in early November and the regulars had grumbled but accepted — and Cody and Mama and Aunt Linda and Roy and Aunt Patty’s family all gathered at Mama’s house for the celebration. Twelve at the table including Brayden in the high chair Aunt Patty had brought up from McAlester.

Brayden was the centerpiece of the celebration in the way first-grandbabies are centerpieces. He was passed from lap to lap across the holiday week. Aunt Patty’s twins (now eighteen, both college freshmen, Hannah at OU and Hayden at OSU) held him for an hour each. Cody sat with Brayden on the couch on Christmas Eve while reading him a Carl Sagan picture book Cody had bought for the occasion, which is its own small thing.

Sunday was Boxing Day, the twenty-sixth. I made pork fried rice because the household had a refrigerator full of Christmas leftovers — primarily a four-pound pork crown roast Cody had cooked for Christmas Eve dinner with about half remaining — and pork fried rice is the right dish for Boxing Day Sunday because the format consumes leftovers efficiently and is a household-cooking workhorse.

The technique: about two cups of leftover roasted pork chopped into small dice. Three cups of day-old cold jasmine rice (Mama had cooked the rice Christmas Eve specifically for Boxing Day fried-rice purposes; she has read enough Asian-cooking literature to know the day-old-cold rice rule). Two large eggs scrambled in a separate small pan and reserved.

The wok: a tablespoon of vegetable oil heated to almost-smoking. The diced pork stir-fried for two minutes to crisp the edges. One yellow onion diced and four cloves of garlic minced added; cook three minutes. A two-inch piece of fresh ginger grated added.

The day-old rice added to the wok and pressed flat against the pan with the back of a spoon. Allowed to fry undisturbed for two minutes so the bottom layer of rice toasts golden. Tossed and stirred with the rest of the contents.

The seasoning: three tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce, a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a teaspoon of sesame oil, a teaspoon of rice vinegar. Drizzled over and tossed.

The scrambled eggs added. A cup of frozen peas added. Three sliced scallions. Stir-fry one minute to combine.

Off the heat. Plated in a giant family-style bowl on the table. Mama, Cody, and the rest had seconds. Brayden had a small portion of plain jasmine rice with a tiny dusting of soy sauce on his high-chair tray. He approved.

Day-old cold rice. Leftover roasted pork. Stir-fry hot and fast. Here’s the build.

Pork Fried Rice

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork tenderloin or boneless pork loin, cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 3 cups cooked white rice, day-old preferred
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the pork. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the pork pieces in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, and cook 4—5 minutes, turning once, until browned and cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside.
2. Scramble the eggs. Add a small drizzle of oil to the pan if needed. Pour in the beaten eggs and scramble quickly over medium heat until just set, about 1 minute. Break into small pieces and push to the side of the pan.
3. Saute aromatics and vegetables. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add garlic and ginger and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the peas and carrots and stir-fry 2 minutes until heated through.
4. Add the rice. Add the cold cooked rice to the pan, breaking up any clumps with a spatula. Press the rice into the pan and let it sit undisturbed for 1—2 minutes to develop a little color, then toss everything together.
5. Season and finish. Return the cooked pork and scrambled eggs to the pan. Drizzle soy sauce and sesame oil over everything and toss well to combine. Cook another 1—2 minutes until everything is heated through and evenly coated.
6. Garnish and serve. Remove from heat and top with sliced green onions. Serve immediately straight from the pan.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 410 | Protein: 30g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 780mg