This was a bit of a departure from the Wok Wednesdays schedule. I had some leftover rice from the previous recipe and decided to try my hand at making fried rice. I love me some fried rice, so I chose the first recipe off the schedule that fit the bill: Chinese Jamaican Jerk Chicken Fried Rice (p. 262).

So what to say about this dish? The first bit consisted of marinating a couple whole chicken legs in a jerk rub and resting them in the fridge for a couple hours. I let mine go overnight because I’m hardcore. The chicken is then roasted and removed from the bone. Pan drippings are reserved for the stir-fry which is a common indicator of a great recipe.

Onion and carrots are briefly stir-fried before adding the rice. A soy sauce mixture is added along with scallions, pan drippings, and the chicken (cut into bite-size pieces). That is it.

I made a couple deviations from the recipe in the book. First, I forgot to get carrots and had to omit them. Sad face. The other is that during the initial stir-frying of the rice, I felt the soy mixture wasn’t coating the rice the way I thought it should, so I added more soy to the wok.

Overall, I thought this turned out very well. A super simple dish, although with a bit of prep ahead of time, and very quick to make. The chicken leg could easily be substituted for a multitude of leftover meats and this would still be a great go-to dish for a lazy dinner.

What I Would Do Differently

Apparently, I don’t learn my lessons the first time around. I once again deviated from the plan and I wonder what the results would be if I hadn’t. Although the dish was good, it could have been better.

• Carrots! These would have added some much needed color and texture to the fried rice. Not to be omitted.
• The extra soy sauce. I think that ultimately, with a bit of patience, the rice and soy would have come together on it’s own. Next time I’m sticking to the script.
• Try removing the skin from the legs before marinating. It could allow the jerk marinade to better incorporate into the meat, imparting more flavor. Save the skin and still roast it along with the meat so that pan drippings aren’t affected.

All in all, a successful first endeavor into fried rice in my new wok. Not perfect, but still quite good.