Fried rice is one of those dishes that’s enjoyed all over the world and I love just how connected we all really are because of rice. Rice is life. And fried rice is no exception here. While fried rice originated in China, many other countries throughout Asia and around the world have their versions of fried rice dishes, including areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, like Peru, Chile, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Chinese immigrants settled in these countries and brought their beautiful culture and food with them, which resulted in great fusion dishes like arroz chaufa, arroz frito, and mamposteao (Puerto Rico’s version with leftover rice and beans).

This bacon fried rice recipe isn’t necessarily authentic by any means since I like playing around with leftovers to minimize food waste at home (and fried rice has worked its way into the leftover rotation). Fried rice is best made with using cold, day-old rice. If you don’t have any leftover rice on hand for this recipe, you can make a fresh batch of rice and then lay it flat on a sheet pan and freeze it for 15 minutes to cool down completely, making sure it’s not completely frozen. Drier rice grains fry up better the next day. It’s science. Trust me.

This recipe is definitely one that I make often, especially since I tend to have leftover rice in the fridge on any given day of the week. Eggs? Always on deck. Some bacon? Sure. Aromatics and seasoning? Pantry and fridge staples to the rescue. Don’t want to use bacon? Cubed sausage or ham would be great substitutes here (plant based options work as well, same method). This will definitely be in your rotation in no time since you can make it with what you have on hand.

Fried rice always comes together quickly, so you want to make sure that you have all of your mise en place, meaning all of your ingredients prepped and ready for cooking once you get the frying pan ripping. Let’s get cooking!

Bacon Fried Rice

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

4 bacon slices, sliced (reserve some of the bacon fat)

3 small celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

Large pinch of kosher salt

Large pinch of cracked black pepper

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cups leftover jasmine rice, cold

2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

3 large eggs, beaten

Nori furikake seasoning, to garnish

Starting in a large, cold skillet or frying pan cook the sliced bacon until crisp over medium-low heat and the fat has rendered. Once the bacon is cooked, set it aside to cool down and reserve about 3 tablespoons of bacon fat to fry up the rice with.

Save the rest for another recipe or discard. I’m country as everything, so I never throw away bacon fat.

In the same frying pan, turn the heat up to medium-high and sauté the celery and onion, stirring occasionally until onions are slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with a large pinch of kosher salt and black pepper, the ground ginger, and red pepper flakes. Stir well.

Then, add the cold jasmine rice and using the back of your spoon or spatula, break the chunks of rice down to separate if needed. Make sure everything is well combined and then season with the soy sauce, making sure all of the rice is seasoned and now light brown. Let the rice fry up in the pan, getting crispy and warmed through, about 5-6 minutes.

Next, move the rice to the side of the pan if it’s large enough. If not, create a well in the center of the pan and add the toasted season oil. Scramble the eggs in that area with the sesame oil, moving them around to quickly scramble into large curds. Turn the heat off once the eggs are almost set and then gently fold in the cooked bacon pieces into the fried rice and eggs.

Sprinkle with nori furikake and enjoy immediately.

¡Buen provecho!