Fried Rice in Hong Kong

[sasquatch]

Been consuming a lot of Fried Rice in Hong Kong during a recent trip, different types, with char siu, shrimps, salted fish, etc. They have a distinct aroma that I cannot get from cooking at home. I would guess this aroma comes from the shine/sheen that you can see on the rice. Is it the oil? lard perhaps? Or is it the light soy sauce? What is their common ingredient?

[johung]

I heard from my father that most restaurants would add some drippings from roast pork into the finished dish. This is why fried rice is very high in fat.

This would be true at least up until the late 1980s, but I'm not not too sure if it is still true today.

[CNLink]

The Sheen on the rice is in fact oil. Depending on the restaurants different kinds of oils are used but lard and roast dripping are rapidly disappearing from the kitchens in Hong Kong due to health issue.

I use groundnut oil in my fried rice because of the strong flavor. To produce a similar aroma of the restaurant, there are 3 ingredients I recommend: ginger, garlic and sugar. I lightly caramelize the sugar with grated ginger and garlic before putting in other ingredients. Soy sauce should be added at the last moment because it turns sour on high heat.

[Ben Hong]

Wok Hei