Lamb & Cumin Fried Rice

Two of my nieces walked just when I was about to have lunch. I had just enough for two but there were four of us. Leftover uncooked lamb shoulder from a bbq the night before to the rescue! I've never fried rice with lamb (lamb isn't a meat we eat often) but I've eaten it in a restaurant recently and liked it even though the msg was overpowering.

Cooking with whatever on hand can turn out surprising results. I didn't have any mixed frozen veggies--the corn, peas and carrots trio--because I don't like them and don't buy them. I have plenty of Chinese chives in my garden so that went into the rice. I also wanted a stronger flavor to go with the lamb and since I love cumin, I used that and some Maggi soy sauce to make up for the msg. The result was so good that I decided to take some photos, nothing fancy and no food propping, and share it with you. I also found out that freshly cooked semi-unpolished brown rice can be fried without turning into clumps. As anyone who has fried rice before knows, the best rice for frying is day-old stale rice because they will not stick or become gummy like freshly cooked rice. The only thing I didn't do right was using too much lamb for the amount of rice I had and the lamb could've been fried at a higher heat to sear and brown. You learn from my mistakes. Now go and fry some rice.



Lamb & Cumin Fried Rice
5 cups cooked day-old rice
1 cup lean lamb shoulder, cut into small cubes
1 cup Chinese chives or spring onions, in 1 cm lengths
1 T chopped garlic
1 to 2 large eggs
2 T (or more to taste) Maggi soy sauce
1/2 tsp (or to taste) cumin
a few shakes of white pepper
1/2 tsp(or more to taste) salt
 veg oil

1. Marinate the lamb with a large pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp of fine sugar and 1 tsp each of Worchestershire sauce and light soy sauce. Do this while you prepare the other ingredients so that the lamb has time to absorb the seasoning.
2. Put 2 T oil (or you may like it with more oil than I do) into a heated wok, add the garlic and then the lamb and fry at high heat until the lamb is lightly browned. 
3. Add the cumin to the lamb, stir well, then add the rice and stir well to break up any lumps. Keep frying to blend the two ingredients. Season with the salt, pepper and Maggi soy sauce. Taste and add more seasoning to taste remembering that you still have to add the egg and chives.
4. Push the rice in the center to make a well for frying the egg. Add 1 T oil and break in the egg, stirring all the time until egg is half set. Throw in the chives and keep frying until the egg is set and dry and the rice grains are separated.