Whilst my birth dialect is Hainanese, my mother is a pure Cantonese since my grandparents came down from Guangdong to Singapore years ago before the 2nd World War. Hence I basically grew up watching Cantonese dramas on videotapes, as well as having a staple diet of Cantonese home cuisines and double-boiled soups. There is probably no Chinese or rather Cantonese person that I know of who doesn’t like Salted Fish Fried Rice…heck, even our friends from other ethnic groups love this dish. And the best part is that it’s actually very simple to prepare, yet extremely addictive to eat!
Before we go into the recipe, let’s look at where salted fish came from and how it got to be a popular ingredient for several Cantonese dishes today, including Steamed Pork with Salted Fish (best eaten with steaming white rice).
Salted fish, otherwise known as 咸鱼 in Chinese, is as you would’ve guessed, traditionally preserved in salt. It’s a popular staple originating from Guangdong, China, given that many people back then were very poor and could not afford to have refrigerators in their homes. To prevent their meats from rotting, people then turned to preserving them through curing, and this also accounts for the origins of Chinese sausages (lapcheong), preserved duck, as well as salted fish. There are typically two types of salted fish, one being mei-heong (霉香) and the other being sat-yok(實肉). The one commonly used today is the mei-heong variety, since the fish is typically thicker, more fragrant and has a better crunch when fried or cooked.
Salted Fish Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 250g overnight cooked white rice
- 20g salted fish, diced into 1 cm pieces
- 100g chicken thigh, diced into cubes
- Spring onion, diced
- Beansprouts (optional if you don’t like it, like myself)
- 1.5 tbsp chopped garlic
- 2 eggs
- Fish sauce
- Soya sauce
- Pepper
- Sesame oil
- Sugar to taste
Directions
- Firstly, place around 3 tbsp of oil in a wok. When the oil gets heated up, scoop the salted fish into the wok and let it fry for about 3-4 minutes, till it turns brown and crispy. The smell of the salted fish frying is extremely pungent, so be sure to turn on your cooker hob!
- Remove the salted fish cubes from the wok. In the remaining oil, fry the garlic for a couple of seconds, then add the chicken cubes and cook through. Crack the 2 eggs into the wok and quickly stir. You don’t want it to cook through as the idea is for some of the egg to coat the rice and give it a golden texture.
- Quickly stir in the overnight rice and bean sprouts as the egg starts to cook about 1/2 way through. Add the spring onions and seasonings to taste. Remember, you’re adding the fried salted fish you prepared earlier, so make sure your rice isn’t too salty.
- Add the salted fish and stir through till well-mixed. It’s now ready to serve.
Masak Masak 