Angry Pig Fried Rice

By DreiFromBK

Kings County Imperial in Brooklyn serves this fresh-tasting, lighter version of fried rice. It has just the right amount of heat.

Ingredients

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 3/4 teaspoon whole Sichuan peppercorns
• 6 slices of bacon (5 ounces), chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions, plus more for garnish
• 4 ounces snow peas, thinly sliced on the diagonal (1 2/3 cups)
• 5 ounces Asian-flavored marinated baked tofu, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chile-garlic sauce, plus more for serving
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• Black pepper

Details

Adapted from foodandwine.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a medium saucepan, combine the rice with 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until all of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 
20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand covered for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and spread out on a baking sheet in an even layer to cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, toast the Sichuan peppercorns over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes. Let cool, then finely grind in a spice grinder. 

In a large nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Reserve 5 tablespoons of the bacon fat (if you don’t have enough, use canola oil to get to 5 tablespoons); discard any remaining fat. Wipe out the skillet.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon fat in the skillet. Add the eggs, season with salt and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until scrambled, about 30 seconds. Scrape the eggs into a small bowl. 

Add 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat to the skillet along with the ginger and 1/2 cup of scallions and cook until softened, 1 minute. Stir in the snow peas and tofu and cook until the snow peas are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of bacon fat along with the 1 1/2 teaspoons of chile sauce, the ground Sichuan peppercorns and the vinegar. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until combined and the rice is hot, about 2 minutes. Stir in the bacon, eggs and sesame oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer the rice to a bowl, garnish with scallions and serve with chile sauce.


Suggested Pairing

BEER: Crisp, hoppy pilsner.