Fried Rice: Homely and Hearty

There’s always days when a bunch of rice is left over from the day before. You can always heat it up in the microwave, but it just doesn’t have the wonderful taste as it did when it came out fresh from the rice cooker.

That’s when you take out your big wok or frying pan, plop in the rice, add any toppings you want, and make fried rice.

The reason I love fried rice is because of its simplicity. It’s one of the first dishes I learned to cook on my own. Even my friends who hate cooking can whip up kimchi fried rice in no time. And everyone has their own little way of making it. There is no right way. (Side note: I always use butter instead of vegetable oil)

Sometimes the best fried rice is the one you made trying to get rid of all the leftovers in the fridge.

In Korea, Chuseok and Seollal are the two main holidays. All the relatives will gather and bring something to share for 제사 (jesa: an ancestral memorial rite). The day after these holidays, my grandmother would always take out her enormous frying pan and make fried rice from whatever was left from the day before. Most of the time, we would just put the frying pan on the table and eat from it right away. (No need for extra dishes to be washed.) Visually, it’s not glamorous, but that’s what I love about it.

Even when you’re having it in restaurants, the best kind is the fried rice you get after a barbecue. When I’m going out to eat pork, I always look at reviews to see if they cook the fried rice on the grill where I had my meat. In text, this sounds disgusting, but trust me. It’s so good. When the rice meets the oil from the meat and turns crispy golden, it just tastes exquisite.

The unrefined and homemade feel of a dish is what makes it “comforting.” I’m sure there are extraordinary restaurants serving fancy fried rice. But when I’m craving fried rice, I lean toward something homemade and rustic, even though it may lack culinary finesse.

Daily writing prompt

What’s your go-to comfort food?

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