Quick Fried Rice Bento
Making fried rice for Saba Man. Ham, green onion, egg, and cold rice.
Refrigerator-cold rice is important.
I chop the ham then while heating the skillet with a drop or two of canola oil. When the pan was sizzle-ready I toss in the ham and heat through.
Chopsticks in one hand, I add more oil then dump the bowl of rice into the pan. The sound of cold rice hitting the hot oil is intoxicating. The thick and quick rising steam prohibits any decent photos. :(
Stirring constantly, I add the splash of shoyu, check for color, then a bit more. Not too much… the ham has enough of it’s own salt to go around.
I form a crater in the center of the now tanned rice. In goes one egg—dead center.
Stir. Stir. Stir.
Just in the middle.
I start moving the rice towards the center as the egg fries up!
Making chopping motions… breaking up the pieces.
In go the green onions. I like bigger pieces.
Swirl. Toss. Swish!
It’s done!
Add some fruit and bits of tofu. Honestly, I wish I had added more veggies. But oh well…
Embellish with beni-shoga and nori slivers.
Packed and ready to go.
I crack the egg alongside everything else too. So much quicker than frying separately and cutting up nicely.
Thanks for the narration complete with sounds. Hehe! Lucky SM is sure to enjoy this one.
Hi sheri! Yes, cooking the egg in the same pan is the quickest way.
Refrigerator-cold rice is so true! Delicious bento and delicious fried rice, lucky SM to have this. Next time please make more for us too hahaha
Thanks Lia! I would love to make extra for you…wish you lived closer.
Yum! Sometimes, when I was a kid, my mom used to not mix the egg in the fried rice but she made an egg crepe and put that on top of our fried rice. I’m not a big egg fan but added this way, it adds a lot of flavour. Love this!
Hi Chantale, Thanks! An egg crepe sounds lovely. My parents would place a fried egg over the rice.
I love, love, love your voice in this post! You make it sound delicious, which I’m sure it is! I can’t wait to try this out. I’m new to bento making (is that even the right term? bento-ing?) so coming across an article like this is fab! Thank you!!
Hello Desiree! Thank you and welcome to our bento blog. Bento-ing sounds just about right to me.
Please let us know if you have any questions about packing bentos.
i mix my egg right in too! and you’re exactly right, no better word for the sounds/smells of this process than “intoxicating”! nothing says comfort like fried rice. hope SM enjoyed this wonderful treat!
Thanks megan! Cooking egg right there in rice seems both rustic and gourmet at the same time.
This looks good!
Thanks! I love bento too!
Yum!
Thanks kainoa!
Now I’ll HAVE to eat eggs for lunch….sadly I don’t have cold rice ready to use, but I’ll have for tonight or tomorrow!!! Nham, Nham!!!
Hi NoveiMC, Nothing, nothing tastes better than next day’s rice for this dish!
This post makes me feel like I’m right in the kitchen with you as wonderfully savory fried rice is cooked up with confident elan! Thanks for the how-to’s!!
Thanks Jenn! Fried rice is quick, easy and versatile. I could easily eat this everyday.
That’s the way I make fried rice too but I add garlic salt and black pepper also. I’m making fried rice in the morning for breakfast. My kids favorite!
Thanks Ilene. Fried rice for breakfast is perfect!
This was so tempting I made it for lunch with vienna sausage instead of ham and with brown rice! It was delicious! Thanks for this great idea!
Hi Pipaw, When I was a kid, my mom would make fried rice with vienna sausage! Thanks for mentioning that brown rice makes an excellent fried rice.
It looks so good! I have a bowl of cold rice in the fridge right now. I love making fried rice to use up some leftovers, that and quiche! I fry my egg like that too! It looks stunning in the bento!
Thanks Lyndsey!