Yangzhou fried rice facts for kids
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| Alternative names | Yeung Chow fried rice Yang Chow fried rice House fried rice pork fried rice Cantonese rice |
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| Course | Entree |
| Place of origin | Yangzhou, China |
| Created by | Yi Bingshou (Qing dynasty) |
| Main ingredients | cooked rice; cha shao/char siu pork; cooked shrimp; scallions, chopped; eggs yolks; peas; carrots |
| Variations | Fried rice |
| Yangzhou fried rice | |||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 揚州炒飯 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 扬州炒饭 | ||||||||||||||
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Yangzhou fried rice (Traditional Chinese: 揚州炒飯; Simplified Chinese: 扬州炒饭; Pinyin: Yángzhōu chǎofàn) is a super popular fried rice dish from China. You can find it in many Chinese restaurants all over the world! In the UK, it's often called special fried rice, and in the US, it's known as house special fried rice. It's famous for having lots of different tasty ingredients mixed together.
Contents
What's in Yangzhou Fried Rice?
What makes Yangzhou fried rice special is that it always has a mix of different meats and seafood. Regular fried rice might just have one main ingredient, like chicken or shrimp. But Yangzhou style uses several!
Key Ingredients You'll Find
Usually, Yangzhou fried rice includes:
- Cooked rice (it's best if the rice is a day old, so it's not too sticky)
- Chinese roast pork (like char siu) or a special Chinese sausage
- Some kind of seafood, usually shrimp
- Cooked chicken, duck, or another type of meat
- Chopped scallions (also called spring onions or green onions)
- Fresh vegetables like carrots, peas, corn, or bamboo shoots
- Egg
Sometimes, chefs also add fancy ingredients like sea cucumber or crab meat. Peas might be used instead of green onions in some recipes. Some cooks even add a special Chinese cooking wine called Shaoxing wine for extra flavor. In some Western Chinese restaurants, you might find soy sauce added to the rice, and more chicken.
The History of Yangzhou Fried Rice
Yangzhou fried rice is perhaps the most famous dish from the city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, China.
Who Invented This Dish?
The recipe for this delicious dish was created by a person named Yi Bingshou (1754–1815). He lived during the Qing dynasty in China. The dish was named Yangzhou fried rice because Yi Bingshou used to be a government official (a magistrate) in Yangzhou. It's often eaten with a soup called "thousand fish soup."
How It's Cooked
There are two main ways to cook the egg for Yangzhou fried rice:
- "Silver covered gold": This is when the egg is scrambled (cooked) by itself first. Then, it's mixed into the rice.
- "Gold covered silver": For this method, liquid egg is poured right over the rice and vegetables while they are cooking. Everything fries together.
Some traditional recipes suggest using a certain amount of rice compared to egg, like five parts rice to one part egg, or three parts rice to one part egg.
A Big Cooking Challenge
In October 2015, the city of Yangzhou tried to break a world record! This was part of the city's 2500th anniversary celebration. They wanted to make the biggest batch of fried rice ever.
The World Record Attempt
A team of 300 cooks worked together to make a huge amount of Yangzhou fried rice. They made over 4,000 kilograms (about 9,200 pounds) of it! The people organizing the event planned to give the rice to local companies for their staff to eat.
However, some of the rice was cooked for too long (four hours). Because of this, about 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of it was thought to be not good enough for people to eat. This part was sent to feed animals instead. The rest of the rice was sent to local cafeterias as planned.
Because some of the rice was not suitable for people to eat, the world record attempt was not officially approved by Guinness World Records. They said that for a record to count, the food must be fit for people to consume.
See also
In Spanish: Arroz frito Yangzhou para niños
