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Making Uncle Roger’s Fried Rice at Home | But Better

If you know Uncle Roger, you know that he is a good judge of fried rice - he even judged Gordon Ramsay. Some may say that Uncle Roger's fried rice recipe is perfect. However, this is But Better, and nobody is safe. Not even you, Uncle Roger (kisses from papa).

Prep
45 minutes
Cook
45 minutes
Total
1 hour, 30 minutes
Serves
4
people
Making Uncle Roger’s Fried Rice at Home | But Better
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Ingredients

Rice: 

  • 2 cups (340g) medium grain white rice
  • 2 cups (480ml) filtered water

Fried Rice Sauce:

  • 1” (2.5cm) piece galangal, peeled and finely grated
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp Malaysian sambal
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
  • 1.5 Tbsp double aged soy sauce

Fried Shallots:

  • 3 shallots, peeled but still whole, cut into ⅛” (3mm) thick rounds 
  • 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying
  • Kosher salt, to taste 

Fried Rice:

  • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil 
  • 3.5 Tbsp cold, smoked duck fat (optional to use smoked duck fat which is made with a smoking gun) 
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 shallots, finely diced
  • 2 fresno chiles, finely diced
  • 2 green onions, finely sliced, plus extra for garnish 
  • 3 large eggs, whipped together in a small bowl 
  • Kosher salt, to taste 
  • 3-4 cups cold, cooked rice
  • 2 tsp ground white pepper
  • 2 tsp MSG
  • Fried Rice Sauce

Directions

Rice: 

  1. Before cooking the rice, add it to a fine mesh strainer. Place the strainer in a large bowl and fill it up with water. Toss the rice to remove excess starch and then lift the strainer and drain the rice. Empty the bowl and repeat this process one more time to clean the rice. 
  2. Place the cleaned rice into a rice cooker with the water and cook according to your machine. Remove the rice to a baking sheet, let cool to room temperature and then cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Fried Rice Sauce: 

  1. Stir together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. 

Fried Shallots: 

  1. Have a sheet tray lined with paper towels near your stove top along with a spyder or slotted spoon. 
  2. Add the oil and shallots to a wok and place the wok over medium-high heat. Heat the oil, while constantly stirring the shallots with long chopsticks. After a few minutes the oil will begin to bubble and then increase to a vigorous boil. Continue to cook and stir the shallots until they turn golden brown and the bubbling in the oil subsides.
  3. Immediately transfer the shallots to the prepared sheet tray. Season with salt to taste and then set aside to cool. 

Fried Rice: 

  1. To prep your wok before making the fried rice, place a large wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil, swirl it around the pan to coat and heat until almost smoking. Swirl the oil again and then pour it into a heatproof bowl. Let the oil cool before discarding. Wipe out the wok with a paper towel. 
  2. Make sure to have all your ingredients prepped before you begin making the fried rice. 
  3. Place the prepped wok back on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the duck fat and heat until melted and starting to ripple in the pan. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the garlic just begins to toast. 
  4. Stir in the shallots, chiles and green onions and stir fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until softened and fragrant. 
  5. Add the eggs along with a pinch of salt. Let the eggs cook for a couple seconds until they just begin to set and then stir constantly to break up the eggs into small pieces and cook them through. 
  6. Stir in the cooled rice. Stir fry for another 2 minutes or until the rice toasts in areas and is warmed through.
  7. Sprinkle the ground white pepper and MSG over the top and stir until evenly combined. Remove from heat and stir in the fried rice sauce until it is evenly distributed and coating all the rice. 
  8. Add the fried rice to a plate and top with the fried shallots and thinly sliced green onion. Serve.