This is one of many ways i make fried rice. Everyone has their own way of frying rice and what they want on it. You don't necessarily have to follow it, but use it as a sort of guide to help you figure things out and what you want. Hope things turn out well for you in the end.
What you'll need:
Vegetable oil
Salt..about a pinch or two
One egg...optional, i guess
Large wok or frying pan
your favorite veggies or minced meat...for this i will be using scallions and breakfast links on mine
Day old rice...i prefer using long grain jasmine rice, when you're raised eating rice, you can tell the difference in a lot of rice brands
Like most said, use day old rice from the fridge...its better if its cold and barely sticking together.
First, heat up the pan with some vegetable oil, use enough to cover the pan and then add about 2-3 table spoons more. Get it somewhat medium to high heat.
Once hot, add 1 egg and a dash of salt. (scrambled before hand or just mix it while in the pan...i like the last method for personal preference.)Frying the egg shouldn't take more than 15 seconds...if it looks a little runny its ok. Break it up to small pieces, shapes doesn't matter as long as its small.
Go ahead and add any meats or veggies you like. Keep the minced egg to one side while doing the meat and veggies on the other. Once veggies and/or meats are heated or searing, its time to add the rice.
Heat management will be important here. Depending on your pan, the water in the old rice, the weather, the veggies and/or meats used, the constellation alignment, the NASDAQ outlook... razz j/k, but its something you learn on your own through trial and observation.
Add the rice in the wok or large pan. Using a wooden spoon or whatever is in your hand to gently break apart the large clumps of rice. Try not to mash the rice...this was probably one of many reasons why your fried rice turned out mushy. Use a folding action to mix the rice while it warms up in the pan, at the same time, continuing to break the large clumps of rice.
Don't worry about the rice being dry, you will notice, after a while, it will become soft once again...magic!! razz
Depending how much oil and heat, the rice should turn out fine after about 4-10 min. in the pan. During this time, if you want, you can add some soy sauce, but not too much, soy sauce is very strong alone, so use them in small increments at a time. What I do to cut it down a bit is to add a touch of teriyaki sauce to sweeten it up...but that's just silly me.
Enjoy!!!