Fried Rice Help

ok so i made some fried rice for me and my girlfriend the other day, but had a problem, it was very sticky.

i realized when i was done i forgot the egg, would that have fixed it?

it was the first time i made it, and we both love fried rice so any help would be appreciated.

Explanation: 1st use 1 day old plain boiled rice...it has to be boiled and then left to fully steam and then dry out before you fry it OK!

2ndly a little bit of sesame oil and soy sauce go a VERY long way! Be sparing with both!

3rd and finally cook your eggs [or what ever you are adding to the fried rice] seperately and add them after they are cooked. Don't ever use anything frozen like pea's or prawns as they kill the all important stir fry heat. FRESH IS BEST [except of course for the rice...its gotta be a day old!]

Personal Disclosure: I had to cook for an old chinese lady who was very fickle with her food..especially her rice! I hope what she taught me can be of benifit to you! Thread St*rred!

P.S. A Wok is not a Wok unless its extremely HOT!

There are many different varieties of rice to choose from. A sticky rice used in Japanese cooking is almost useless for fried rice, a Basmati from India is workable, but just barely. And when I used Jasmine rice from Thailand it turned out really clumpy and crumbled when I tried to fry it.

Never use an instant or par-boiled rice, it's just wrong.......

The best so far that succeeded for me was long grain white rice.

1 1/2 cups rice
3 cups water
Tblsp butter
pinch of salt

Rinse rice in cold water and drain.
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a pan that can be covered tightly.
Add salt and butter to water.
Add rice and stir once, bring back to full boil for 5 minutes.
Gently stir again, cover pot and turn to lowest heat for 20 minutes.
Don't peek at it, just remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Gently fluff the rice with a fork and it's ready to serve. Or as OmegaLogos pointed out, chill till the next day before using to fry. And it is a good idea to cook anything you want to add separately, then mix with the rice in the last minutes of frying.

I use a non-stick skillet with a little butter and it turns out great.

thanks both of you.

it all makes sense.

if anyone has extra to add please do.

Just like what everyone else said, use day old rice, it doesn't stick together anymore and I always break up the clumps before frying so all the rice cooks good. Again, cook everything seperately.. When it comes to the vegetables, some are good crunchy, others soft so do those seperately also. Cook the egg seperate from everything and then I always fry the meats seperate too.. I also find that sesame oil gives it a great distinctive flavor that you can't get with butter or a canola/veggi oil. And a VERY hot pan is great! Keep an eye on it though and constantly stir it or it will burn quickly, especially the rice. Don't cook shrimp very long either or it gets tough and chewy. I prefer to use the fragrant jasmine rice, other rices might work better but the jasmine just smells sooooo good while it's cooking, and I love it