Fried Rice..............do I use......Soy or Black Bean Sauce?

Bama Egger · June 2006

And can I use Black Bean Sauce w/Garlic? Wanted to make fried rice with some leftover pork tenderloin but wasn't sure what to use to get the dark color. My kids are used to the typical Americanized fried rice from local restaurants. Not sure what they use.[p]Paul

AZRP · June 2006

Paul,
I've always used soy. -RP

Haggis · June 2006

Paul,[p]Gosh no, do NOT use black bean sauce in fried rice. In order to create a darker color you'd have to add way too much and you'd end up hating the taste - its very salty and in most of our dishes (e.g., shrimp and black bean sauce) I use little more than a teaspoon. [p]There are multiple kinds of soy, not just La Choy or whatever the major Japanese brand is (much saltier than La Choy.) If you have an Asian grocery available you should be able to find bottles of both light (also called thin) soy and dark soy. The thin is usually used for taste without too much color and the dark is added for color without overdoing the salt/soy taste. In our house we use both so often that its automatic and I no longer even think about how much or which I am using.

Bama Egger · June 2006

Haggis,[p]That's interesting as I searched the Food Network site for a recipe that used 1/4 cup of Black Bean Sauce with 2 cups of rice. How much of the dark soy should I use vs. the amount of white rice?[p]Paul

Haggis · June 2006

Paul,[p]I am surprised by that recommended quantity - it seems an awful lot. I did, however, ask my wife what she uses in her fried rice - she was born in Shanghai and raised in Bangkok. She said that she does occasionally use some black bean sauce mixed with a garlic-hot pepper mix when she makes fried rice for herself but never for the family. She agreed that fried rice is really a "whatever's left over gets tossed in" kind of dish. The basics are day-old rice, chopped scallions, lightly mixed egg, chopped garlic, and whatever shards of meat or seafood are in the fridge. My wife usually just splashes the soy in until it looks right and we use a Thai hot sauce and nuoc mam (fish sauce) but usually add those at the table. If you rely on the other ingredients for the taste, the amount of soy is not too important except for "salt to taste" and for color. [p]Soy in cooking is similar to salt in western dishes - its easy to overuse it and ruin a dish. You can always add more if you need it but you can't take it out. About the only thing we use much soy in the cooking is Red Cooked Pork - a Shanghainese dish roughly analogous a pulled pork picnic shoulder before the pulling takes place - its an all-day pot roast kind of thing where the sauce (soy, sugar, anise, and other stuff) is intended to penetrate the meat.

mad max beyond eggdome · June 2006

Haggis,
i was in shanghai about 5 years ago on business .. .what a GREAT city. . . it actually amazed me how little rice i saw in the restaurants and at the street stands .. .mostly seafood, chicken and lots of fresh veggies in the dishes. .. i had one memorable dish (in addition to the most fabulous grilled snake) called "drunken shrimp". ..saw this on a lot of menus. .. they were fried shrimp with a drizzled sauce over them. . .it was a brown sauce, a little sweet, obviously made with some sort of booze in it (though not overpowering). .. you or your wife ever heard of this? . ..i'd love a recipe. ...[p]i really liked shanghai style cooking, much different than the usual hunan or shezuan we get around here. . .. i'd love to find a shanghai style restaraunt. .. .

Haggis · June 2006

mad max beyond eggdome,[p]I'm familiar with drunken chicken (and drunken cooks) but don't recall drunken shrimp - I'll ask my wife. Shanghai has always been the most cosmopolitan of Chinese cities - for the first part of the 1900s large sections were totally european (or at least non-Chinese.) As a result there influences from many areas there. Shanghai-style cooking generally tends towards the heavier sauces and heavier meats, Cantonese towards light sauces and seafoods, and the inland cities vary a lot but are often very spicey. [p]There have been a couple Shanghai-style restaurants around here but I'm not sure whether they are still open - I'll ask around for you, and also see if we have a recipe for the shrimp.

Bama Egger · June 2006

Haggis,[p]Hope you see this post as it's starting to get too far down. But I apprecaite the info. you have given. I think I will use the black bean sauce first in small amounts till I think it's right. I agree, I think 1/4 cup is too much.[p]Gotta ask you anotherr question. Fish sauce - I have kept it in the cupboard, does it need to be in refrigerator? With all the salt I thought it was fine. Also, what is the shelf life after opening fish sauce? I tend to use it in waves so it may sit for a while but did't want to get the family sick.[p]Thanks again for your help,
Paul

Haggis · June 2006

Paul,[p]Like many, I look at the "latest 25 messages" rather than trying to follow specific threads. Sorta disjointed but easier to pick and choose . . .[p]Hot damn, I don't know about the refrigeration for fish sauce. We keep ours in the fridge but our door is lined with at least 4 different kinds of soy, two or three hot sauces, several mustards . . . well, it goes on and on. But more realistically I'd look at the label - anything sold in the US has to have some kind of instructions for "after opening" and I suspect they will suggest refrigerating. On the other hand I am pretty sure what I ate in Vietnam nearly 40 years ago never saw an icebox! In fact my favorite soup was the stuff they kept in horse troughs along the highway - just kept adding water and it got better and better - the flies and dust added flavor and the hot pepper kept the bacteria under control! Seriously! I am an absolute believer in the theory that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and that modern society is just aching for its come-up-ance by killing off all the good stuff! [p]Yeah, I'd probably put it in the fridge but I wouldn't worry too much about it . . . after all, gravelox is nothing but uncooked salmon with a lot of salt on it and it doesn't make us sick, right?

Bama Egger · June 2006

Haggis,[p]I think I'll dump this bottle and start new using the frig. Better be safe than sorry! Great thing is the neighborhood finally has a large asian market open up but majority of the products are not labeled in english. So far..... half the the employees show little interst in helping and the other half do not speak english very well, so you've been a big help. Anyway, thanks again.[p]Paul

Fried Rice..............do I use......Soy or Black Bean Sauce?

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