This is a French chef’s take on fried rice, that Chinese staple that I rely on to make delicious use of leftover rice and assorted odds and ends.
Yang zhou fried rice is commonly found on restaurant menus, but one of my favorite combinations was (is? it’s been awhile) rice with diced ham, scrambled eggs, corn, tomatoes, and get this, ketchup mixed into the rice during cooking. A blogger named Pei sums it up better than I can. It’s also a little bit like Japanese omurice. Another wacky fried rice I make is with cashews, pineapple chunks, fresh hot peppers, greens, and a squirt of lime. And then there’s my grandmother’s version that starts with a well-seasoned wok and several cloves of crushed garlic in a puddle of hot oil. The garlic infuses the oil (and your clothes and maybe even your home) with that wonderful kicky aroma, which then coats each grain of rice that hits the pan.
Anyway, back to Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s fried rice. Mark Bittman wrote about it a year ago in the New York Times, and I finally got around to trying it. I was a little put off by having to cook everything separately but in the end, I couldn’t complain too much about the result. And since fried rice is a vehicle for improvisation and refrigerator-cleaning, I added some chopped up Chinese sausage that my mom stuffed into my suitcase after my last visit.
In addition to the KitchenAid mixer I mentioned in my previous post, I’m also enjoying a hand blender from the one and only Hayes Shair (anyone out there need an architect?). All of a sudden I’m doing smoothies (yogurt and over-ripe peaches) and smooth vegetable soups. This one was made with some sweet late-summer corn and delicate summer leeks. Procedure: cook chopped leeks (white and light green parts) and a bit of garlic in olive oil, until soft. Add fresh corn kernels, salt, and pepper. Add vegetable or chicken broth, and bring to a simmer. Puree all, part, or none of it with a food processor, blender, or hand blender. Briefly return to heat and add milk or cream, being careful not to let clumps form.
Back in January (which feels like a crazy long time ago), John and I spent a week in San Francisco catching up with old friends and repeatedly overfeeding ourselves at places like Tartine, Bi-Rite, Humphry Slocombe, Chow, and the Mission (yes, the entire neighborhood). During one of our visits to Tartine, I had a slice of a moist, savory olive and ham bready loafy thing, enjoyed it, then returned to the East Coast. Months later, the New York Times told me it was a cake salé (“kek”… c’est drôle), a category of French quick breads that are ultra-portable and go well with summery wines. Um, yes please.
The accompanying New York Times recipe is pretty solid. I used leeks (the white and light green parts from 2 medium ones, chopped and gently browned in a little bit of butter and olive oil) instead of ham, but the combination of cheese and cured meat and onion-tasting things is enough of an excuse to make this again with all three add-ins. I don’t really understand how this stuff is supposed to be shared at picnics (or anywhere, for that matter) because I could easily eat an entire loaf on my own.
