Khao Phat Muu (Thai-style Fried Rice with Pork)

(from Andy Ricker's Pok Pok)

I love fried rice. I guess I love a lot of rice-based dishes - paella, risotto, etc.; I find them comforting and hearty and delicious. If you're not going to make pasta, you might as well go for rice! Yep, this gal loves her carbs.

This is another great, pretty simple recipe from Andy Ricker's Pok Pok; Joef is, once again, the person to thank for cooking this up. Like all of the recipes in this cookbook, the results are far better than anything you could order at (most) restaurants, and definitely better than delivery. Once you get over the slightly odd ingredient list (most of the ingredients repeat from other recipes in the book, so once you've stocked up once, you have a lot of options open up for you), it cooks quickly and easily.

So, for ONE (just double it and cook all at once for two people, or make it twice for extra-freshness):

1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 tsp Thai thin soy sauce
1 tsp granulated sugar
Pinch ground white pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg, room temp
1/4 cup peeled small shallots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced with the grain
1 tbsp peeled garlic cloves, halved lengthwise and lightly crushed in a mortar
4 oz boneless pork shoulder, sliced against the grain into 1/8-inch-thick, bite-size pieces
2 cups cooked Jasmine rice (day-old is best, fresh is fine)
2 tbsp thinly sliced green onions, lightly packed
1 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro, lightly packed
Lime wedges and cucumber slices, optional, for serving

Combine the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and pepper in a small bowl and stir well.

Heat a wok over very high heat, add the oil, and swirl it around in the wok, coating the sides of the wok. Crack in the egg when the oil starts to smoke, and cook without touching it until all but the center of the egg has set, about 15 seconds. Flip the egg and push it aside. .

Add the shallots and garlic and cook and stir them (but not the egg), until lightly browned, about 1 minute.

Add the pork, stir everything together well, and stir-fry - constantly stir, scoop, flip - until the pork is no longer pink on the outside.

Add the rice and stir-fry that with everything else, breaking up the egg a bit, for about 30 seconds. Add the fish sauce mixture, and stir-fry until the pork is just cooked through..

Turn off the heat and stir in 2 tbsp of green onions. Plate and sprinkle with remaining green onions, cilantro, and cucumber and lime if using.