Golden Fried Rice with Asparagus and XO Sauce
Stir-frying rice with egg yolks is a technique that hails from Chinese imperial cuisine, says chef Lucas Sin of Junzi restaurant, and gives the dish a buttery richness and beautiful golden color. A generous amount of onions, garlic, scallions, and fresh ginger builds a foundation of flavor, while a spoonful of spicy seafood-infused XO sauce and plenty of freshly blanched asparagus make this fried rice even more delicious.
Ingreadient
- 8 stalks asparagus, trimmed
- 3 cups cooked day-old white rice
- 3 large eggs, yolks and whites separated
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 1 (one-inch) knob ginger, peeled and minced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon XO sauce
Direction
- Cut off the tips of the asparagus and slice the remainder of the stalks into rounds. In a medium pot of boiling salted water, blanch the tips and sliced stalks separately until bright green and crisp-tender, about 30 seconds each. Drain and rinse under cold running water; pat dry and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, toss rice with egg yolks, breaking up the rice with your hands to separate and coat each and every grain.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and onion and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the rice, gently mixing and pressing into the pan until the egg yolks are cooked though and the rice grains are fully separated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add asparagus stalks, garlic, and scallions. Stir in salt and sugar.
- Briefly beat the egg whites, push the cooked rice mixture to the side of the skillet, and add the egg whites to the pan. Stir-fry until whites are cooked and scrambled, about 1 minute. Mix the cooked egg whites into the rice in the pan. Add XO sauce and stir-fry until incorporated and fragrant, about 1 minute more. Serve golden fried rice topped with asparagus tips and more XO sauce, if desired.