Family Fried Rice
I don’t know a lot of Chinese-American families, but the few that I do know each have their own family recipe for fried rice. I made my family’s version today and thought I would share it with you.
I think recipes are meant to be shared. This is a small tangent, but I don’t understand it when people refuse to share recipes, or purposefully leave out a “secret ingredient.” It infuriates me.
<end rant>
Disclaimer: As you will see, this is not a “thinspired,” “light,” or “lean,” recipe in any way. But it is delicious.
Family Fried Rice
Many of you know that I am half Chinese. My grandparents came to California from Canton, China in 1948. My grandfather served the U.S. Air Force and was able to start his family here because of his service to our country.
As a result of being Chinese American, many of the foods my dad and his seven siblings grew up eating were traditional Chinese foods with a Western influence. This dish is the prime example, as I am sure it is most certainly not the kind of “fried rice” you might eat in China. SPAM, for example, has become a popular Chinese American food for many families.
Real fried rice is actually not fried. It is just plain steamed rice with a mix of meats, veggies, and spices. Here is my family’s simple yet delicious mix.
Serves 5 as a main meal
Note: I had to figure out measurements myself since this is not actually written down anywhere, but everything was in good proportion so I am listing what I used today.
Ingredients:
-
2 cups long grain white rice, measured dry
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1 small container of SPAM (I used “Lite”)
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4 rashers of bacon
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1 medium onion, chopped
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1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
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4 eggs
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3T soy sauce (I used low sodium)
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2 tsp. oil (I used vegetable)
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Optional: oyster sauce, Tabasco sauce, white pepper
Steps:
Prepare rice as you normally would. I don’t have a rice cooker here, so I do it on the stove using the absorption method. Set aside.
Cook and chop bacon, chop SPAM in small cubes.
Sauté onion. When translucent, add SPAM and brown.
Add bacon and peas. Keep heat to low while you scramble the eggs.
Once eggs are scrambled, add to stove mixture. Add rice.
Add soy sauce and combine all together.
Here is the secret ingredient: Oyster sauce.
For measurement’s sake, I added a set amount (2T) to the entire batch. But normally each person would season their own bowl to taste. Tabasco sauce is also sometimes used in my family, but I am not a fan of it.
And enjoy!
Do you have a favorite family recipe? Do you share recipes or believe that they should remain in families?
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Yum! This looks amazing! I love making different kinda of fried rice, well I usually call mine “dirty rice”, but same basic idea and the ideas are endless!
Oh wow…my husband would FLIP over this!! He loves fried rice. What am I saying – he loves Chinese food! I’ll have to save this recipe.
most of what I cook is either my mom’s recipe (which she’s gotten from somewhere or someone else) and I am always more than happy to share! Some of my favorites are her nutballs, lasagna, shepherd’s pie (vegetarian and ground beef)…oh heck – I love it all. 
Love this! I think it’s pretty funny you used spam, I don’t think I’ve ever had it before!
I’m totally with you – recipes should be shared and enjoyed by as may people as possible. My mother is a GREAT cook, but unfortunately, she never measures anything. So her creations are often one-of-a-kind. My attempts never turn out the same. She’s famous for her vegetarian lasagna, veggie chili, scalloped potaotes, layered salad, vegepate and hummus (and manymany more, but I’ll save you the list
)
that looks delicious
my mum makes a similar one, just without the ham and with one egg. Now im craving it 
I think reciepes should be shared, so everyone can enjoy them
Enjoy your weekend hun!
The rice looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I totally believe in sharing recipes. It’s sometimes a bit hard for me though as I hardly ever follow a recipe and often just “add a bit more of this or that.” And then I lose track of my measurements…
Also, I have found that some of my family’s recipes have sadly been lost because they have never been written down. My grandaunt was a great baker and cook but nobody knows what her “secrets” were. I’m sure if we had asked her when she was still alive, she would have shared. But we never asked. That’s why writing down recipes (on a blog or elsewhere) is so important…
Thank you so much for sharing your special family recipe! I’ve never had SPAM, but kind of love that it’s in the recipe.
yes, why have asian-american families so keen on using spam? of course, it’s a generalization, but it is not uncommon to find it their kitchens, including my parent’s house. i wonder if it serves as an alternative to lap cheung, the fatty chinese sausage.
Ugh…spam. My dad likes spam so we used to have it when I was a kid. I hated it. It was slightly better when covered in cheese, but I’m still not a fan.
As long as it’s delicious ; ) Thanks for sharing, that’s really neat!
This looks amazing! So colorful. Thanks for sharing the recipe. My family is not big on cooking/recipes so sadly I can’t share any but my mum does make a mean shepherd’s pie!
i have always been afraid of trying spam~i think it gets a bad wrap though, you make it look delish! thanks for the recipe.
ahhh how much do I love this post!!! hahah I love the fact that your recipe uses oyster sauce! My family uses soy sauce and sesame oil, but oyster sauce is BY FAR my favorite sauce in the world. I use it on top of steamed veggies of EVERY type!
Guess what lara!!! I went out and bought an Oster steamer after reading and seeing it on your post the other day! hahhaha It was on sale at Macy’s and I just KNEW i had to get it. If you ever visit Chicago, I would love to steam Asian veggies for you if you’ll make your Spam fried rice for me. hahahaha
Spam really does make a lot of bland tasting foods taste better.
Cantonese people love it in ramen noodles. Sodium + sodium. yum. hehehe
I’m sorry I didn’t get to comment earlier on your fitness test post, but I read all about it. I think that it’s SO brave of you to embark on such a long, arduous test. Although I did enjoy that “exhausted” picture of you.
I’m sorry that you were dissappointed with being of “average” fitness despite having trained so hard. Sweetie, average is NOT BAD AT ALL!!!! I can understand your perfectionist ways though, and I really look up to you for taking on the challenge to make yourself “fitter” using your results as a benchmark. I haven’t had the courage to ever do a fitness test. 
Hope you’re having a great weekend Lara!!!
OH!! one thing i want to add is, refridgerated overnight rice works MUCH better than freshly steamed rice because the grains don’t stick together as much and they hold up better to the stir-fry process!
It’s a restaurant trick. hehehe
love the family recipe – ive never tried spam, but i think its hilarious for no real reason aside from its reputation…haha
I had no idea you were half Chinese, that’s so neat! I can’t believe the recipe called for SPAM, I’ve never had it before and I really never understood what the point of it was. Now I understand, people probably use it in recipes, duh!
I have a lot of my grandma’s old recipes (she was Italian) and my favorites are her lasagna (YUMMMM) and her peanut butter pie!
My mom has some great family recipes from her side of the family: mostly baked goods and jams/jellies. My dad’s side of the family boasts a creamy potato soup recipe that my mom learned to make shortly after they married.
I LOVE fried rice and that recipe looks absolutely incredible. I’ve never tried spam…I’m sure I’d like it though, as I like pretty much anything. Does it just taste like regular ham?
Linda: I don’t know why but I have noticed it
I know it is a generalization but I have found it to be true. Also, I can’t stand lap cheung! I know it’s mainly used to season rather than eat whole (right?) but ehhhh, not my favorite.
Michelle T: That is so awesome that you got a steamer! If I am ever in Chicago, we will have a big Chinese food party
And thanks for the tip on the fried rice!
Lainie, and the others who asked about the taste of SPAM: It is very salty, but otherwise tastes a lot like a rich ham.
I know SPAM gets a bad rep, and it’s funny because I agree that the concept is seriously gross, but in certain dishes it’s the only thing that will do!
Oh I love a good fried rice! I really enjoy tamari in fried rice these days, it gives a different flavor, very yum. I believe in sharing your OWN recipes, but not in copying from cookbooks – I’ll always refer people to the recipe book for information – they’re the ones doing all the work!
SPAM!! Holy cow that brings me back to my elementary days.. I used to love to eat it for lunch! haha
The only time I tried to make fried rice, it was a miserable failure! I’ll have to give it another go…
Mmm, I love fried rice! That oyster sauce is used in many of my family recipes too
When people ask for a recipe, I share it and don’t leave out anything as well. I want to spread all the good food to all people. What’s the point of keeping all the glory to yourself? It irks me when people don’t share a good recipe too!
I don’t have a family favorite recipe, but we do have a general method that I like. Lots of onions, garlic, and hot pepper flakes
Looks pretty good.. yum! I have to be honest though and tell you that i’d be picking out all those nasty peas.. and i’ve never had “Spam”.. lol!!
Looks really good Lara – love how you shared the recipe and the family history along with it.
I have never tried Span either but I’ll bet it infuses the rice with tons of yummy flavor. My mom ate it as a kid – she said she loved Spam sandwiches
We have some family recipes (from my Mexican grandma who has since passed) but I can’t re-create them for the life of me! I watched her many times and the taste is just never right. The one dish I wish I could re-create is what she simply calle “sopa” (soup in Spanish). It was angel hair noodles (the little dried nest type you can buy), you lightly pan fry it with garlic and onion and then add V-8, tomato paste and water. Salt to taste. Oh, it was the most delicious tasting dish ever. I wish I ate it more when I could …
YUM! I love fried rice. These looks great. We always make sausage balls for christmas. I love sharing our family recipes. I want others to enjoy them just as much as I do
Oh and I think you should share recipes!!!
I loveeee my mom and grandmas fried rice! my grandma taught me how to make it the last time she was here visiting. i didnt write it down though, but its ah oh so amazing! love that we’re both halfies
That looks yummy! I have never had spam. . .
I definitely believe in recipe-sharing. Thank you for sharing this one!
I completely believe that recipes should be shared, unless of course they are for a company or something like that. This looks so comforting! I’ve never actually had spam before, but I remember my crazy cousin eating it with her hands from a jar as a kid and I think that deterred me from it haha
I wish we could both go to the FB Festival, that would be awesome to see you there!!
Just love family recipes and Chinese food is pure genius
um that looks AMAZING! I’m gonna have to make that this weekend. I love fried rice!
We have a lot of ‘family’ recipes that we always share. Course we are always willing to just bake it for you too
I love family recipes! And I love to share (perhaps I should post some on my blog). My dad is from Naples, Italy, and he did most of the cooking in our household. To this day I have such a reluctance to eat in an italian restaurant, because I’ve been so spoiled with the homemade stuff!
My family is Asian American, though lack Asian-blood…. asian food, ESP. things like fried rice were a staple for us.
YUM!! I’ve never had oyster sauce (or bacon in fried rice) – great ideas!! I love family recipes too and TOTALLY think they should be shared!! My favorite is my mom’s cream cheese brownies (also not thinspired!)
Isn’t Oyster Sauce the secret ingredient for everything? Haha. My mom uses the same brand and she uses it to flavor just about everything. Ever try switching the white rice for brown rice? A couple of years ago my mom made the substitution and now she uses it for everything, including her fried rice. My mom makes some other killer dishes like chow mein, steamed egg & dried shrimp pie, tomatoes & egg…so, I totally understand your craving for home-cooked Chinese food.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I hate it too when people refuse to share their recipes! I love how simple this fried rice is!
Lenore: I did think this time to try brown rice but then thought, “Why mess with a good thing here?” Haha. Day-to-day I rarely have white rice now so I decided it was OK to make this “authentic.” I don’t think I’ve ever had your mom’s fried rice! I bet it’s delicious, too!
Looks superb. Oyster sauce is fantastic, isn’t it? I always use it to ‘beef up’ stir fries.
Um, pretty sure Tabasco is not an “option!”
Looks great!!
We used to have spam sandwiches when I was a kid! The thought of it now makes me–well, gag! No offense:) The dish looks pretty good though! I love how you are not afraid to show not so perfectly healthy food on your blog. That’s real life after all:)I mean, who eats perfect 100% of the time? Not me!
Wow, from what you shared it sounds like you have a great family story. Your grandfather sounds like a good man! My grandfather also served in the airforce.
Your fried rice looks deeelicious! I want to try your recipe… especially with the tabasco. But maybe without the spam!
About spam, my sister lived in Hawaii for a summer a couple years back and she said they even had a spam burger on the menu at McDonalds! Who knew there were so many spam eaters out there!
Lara,
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Never knew fried rice was so easy, and I used to love that stuff. I’ve had oyster sauce in our fridge for months. I bought it for some recipe but never ended up using it. I know what I’m making when we get back to Nashville.
Oh, and I never understand the non-recipe sharers either. I think that’s just silly.
Just read over your last few posts. Glad you are enjoying all your favorite foods, and 19% body fat is awesome…definitely on the slim side. If you get much lower, you might run into some problems. Trust me on that one.
Oh, and CD and I spend way too much money on groceries as well…but you’ve seen what the boy eats. We go through produce like crazy! So, I feel your pain.
wow. spam lite?!?! i am surprised by this recipe but I am more surprised how badly I want to try it!