Fried Rice

The most generous treat for our family would be dinner at Kiku Steakhouse of Japan. Our kids love the food and atmosphere! All meals are prepared before your eyes on the hibachi grill which makes a fun evening all around. The prices are a little bit higher than we normally spend on dining out, so we usually go but once a year.

Fried rice comes with every meal, and tastes phenomenal. Our kids have requested on many occasions that we try to make our own version for dinner. Over the past few months, my husband has perfected his recipe. I bought him a wok for his birthday and a rice cooker for Valentine's Day. We now have Kiku's rice in our own home almost every week. It makes a great quick lunch on Saturdays, or a fast dinner on weeknights when we haven't much time to spare. There are never leftovers, and every child consumes their entire plateful!

I don't have an exact recipe to share with you, as my husband doesn't measure out his ingredients. Each time it comes out a little different in flavor, but the end result is always delicious!

I start by cooking the rice. We have a rice cooker that does all the work for us. All we do is add rice and water. When we make this as a meal, we normally will do about 3 cups of uncooked rice. I'm not sure how many cups of cooked rice it will end up. It's plenty for our family of five. The rice takes the longest to cook and should be finished before you start frying.

Once the rice is cooked, in your wok, you add a few tablespoons of oil, and a chopped onion. We fry the onion on high until soft or lightly browned.

Add three eggs, and fry. Our ratio is 1 egg to 1 cup of uncooked rice.

Add rice. When we add the spices and soy sauce, we turn it down to a low heat in order to keep it from burning.

We're going to add a few spices now. I don't have exact measurements here. We sprinkle until there is a generous layer covering the top of the rice. We layer each spice, starting with salt. Then we add pepper, ginger, and a final layer of sesame seeds. Mix well.

Our last step is adding the soy sauce, the most crucial ingredient. We add a generous helping of soy sauce. I wish I could give you an exact amount, but it changes every time. Notice we do not fully saturate all the rice. It would be quite salty if we did. Play with it a little and see how much you like.

Once the soy sauce is added, we fry the rice for a little longer, once again on high. We do this for a few minutes, no longer than five minutes. My kids don't like it very crispy, but that's their personal preference.



We love to eat this as a meal, but it also is great as a side dish! To make it more substantial consider frying some shrimp, chicken, or vegetables. Enjoy!