Cooking in where I can find some solace, a sense of newfound purpose in life that makes me want to become a better person. I am starting to realize I am more than capable of being a good cook. The inherent fear that held me back for so long has since subsided in exchange for optimism and a sense of confidence toward pushing my culinary capabilities. In particular, cooking makes me feel better. It curbs any stress and uncertainty and then allows me to redirect these unwanted feelings toward the food I am making.
For today, I just had the urge to make a common dish in Asian cooking: fried rice. I have never met anyone who doesn’t like fried rice. It is such an iconic dish that everyone loves. I grew up with my mom’s cooking, which entailed a lot of fried rice for lunch or dinner. Of course, to get things started, I needed to get a batch of fresh rice going.
Rice is nice.
As the rice was getting ready, I needed to use a protein. I opted for a bag of some handy, dandy lạp xưởng (or Chinese sausage as the culinary world commonly uses). Cutting time.
Chinese sausage.
Cutting board = ready!
Ah yeah.
And it can’t be fried rice without some accompanying veggies.
Green onions. I do love green onions a lot. <3
A bowl of green onion “flowers.”
Garlic cloves.
Fresh basil from my basil plant in the backyard. Yeah, I have a basil plant in the backyard. Come at me. >^..^<
Ginger, basil, garlic, sweet onions and green onions.
Bowl of veggies.
Every dish also needs its sauces and other fixins!
“Red rooster” hot sauce, Thai fish sauce and my favorite brand of soy sauce.
Sweet. Sugar.
Beaten eggs.
Now the rice was ready to be fried.
Rice is ready to go.
Hot pan with some olive oil (I wished I had a wok, but oh well). Garlic and ginger in. Followed by the Chinese sausage.
Sizzlin’.
Sizzlin’ sausage.
Now …
Rice in.
Veggies in.
Eggs in.
Seasoning and sauces in.
Lots of mixing and stirring.
Season to taste. Don’t forget the salt and whatnot!
Mix and stir some more until some color is seen throughout the pan.
Very easy, actually. If you are doing it right, you should end up with something like the picture below …
Dat fried rice.
The fried rice turned out very well. Very flavorful. Of course, I would turn in my Asian card if I couldn’t make a batch of fried rice competently. All about the kitchen courage. XD
Presentation is there for 30 seconds. The flavor is what holds the memory.
Want a bite? 
Filed under: Pham Fact, Rant, Special Day, Special Series Tagged: Asia, Asian, Cats, Chef, China, Cooking, Courage, Culinary, Depression, Emotion, Family, Fear, Food Photography, Fried Rice, Fun, Happiness, Hello Kitty, Hobby, Hope, Joy, Kitchen, Life, Memory, Nostalgia, Photography, Rant, Recipe, Recreation, Rice, Spirit, Vietnam, Wok
