Ham and chorizo fried rice

It is basically a Chinese style fried rice except I did not add eggs. But the weird combination of bits of ham and chopped chorizo de bilbao is mine. This is the Spanish chorizo de bilbao, not Chinese chorizo or what is popularly known in the Philippines as longganisang macao.

This isn’t some attempt at creating something exotic. It’s just that we have leftover ham from Christmas eve and leftover chorizo from cooking callos before that.

At any rate, I think the Chinese invented fried rice to make good use of leftovers.

A few tips for cooking fried rice. We all know that there are lots and lots of rice varieties and each has a distinct texture and aroma. The best for making fried rice is the long grain variety. Not too starchy so that the grains are easy to separate. What isn’t good for making fried rice are the glutinous varieties which are really better for making lugaw (congee) or risotto. If you’re not very sure about what kind of rice you have, it is better to use the minimum amount of water if you intend to make fried rice afterwards.

Second, it is never a good idea to use hot ot even warm rice. It is best to use cold rice, better even, rice that had been chilled overnight in the fridge.

Third, while I normally flavor my fried rice with oyster sauce, I refrained from doing so with this version. I wanted to retain the distinct flavors of the ham and chorizo and not drown them in a sea of oyster sauce.

Ingredients :

5-6 c. of cold cooked rice
about a cup of chopped Chinese ham (or any salty ham)
1-2 pcs. of chorizo de bilbao, minus the lard, cut into thin rings
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 carrot
1 shallot
about 3/4 c. of drained sweet corn kernels (I used canned)
4-5 tbsps. of cooking oil
salt (optional)

Cooking procedure :

Mash the rice to separate the grains.

Core and remove the seeds of the bell peppers and chop coarsely.

Peel and coarsely chop the carrot.

Peel and finely chop the shallot.

Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan. Keep the heat high. Add the chopped shallot and cook, stirring, for about 15 seconds. Add the chopped carrot and bell peppers. Cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add the chopped ham and sliced chorizo and cook until the meats start to turn crisp around the edges. Add the corn kernels and the mashed rice. Season with some salt, if you wish, but Chinese ham and chorizo are salty enough as they are. Cook, tossing, until the rice and corn are heated through.

[tags]Chinese+cooking, fried+rice[/tags]