This “Trini Style” Egg Fried Rice Recipe uses local ingredients like bay leaf, shadon beni and pimentos to add a local twist to a classic Asian dish. Egg fried rice is a menu staple in every Chinese restaurant in Trinidad & Tobago and a go-to side to accompany many favorites like sweet and sour chicken, char siu pork and more. For this recipe I’m also making five spice powder from scratch. Freshly ground and grated spices always deliver more flavor than the ready-made versions but if you prefer to buy five spice powder in your local supermarket for this egg fried rice recipe then by all means, feel free to do so.
Of course, no egg fried rice recipe would be complete without the use of Ve-Tsin or MSG for that umami flavor so we’re making sure to deliver authentic flavors in each layer of this dish.
Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice washed
- 2 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 6 pimentos finely chopped
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 bundle chives
- 4 shadon beni leaves chopped
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- msg to taste
- oil for cooking
- salt to taste
Five Spice Powder
- 2 star anise
- 1/2 tsp fennel or aniseed
- 4 grains whole clove
- 1″ piece cinnamon
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
Method
- Add rice to a pot with water and bay leaf then season with salt
- Bring pot to a boil then reduce heat to lowest, cover and allow to cook for 8 to 10 minutes
- Transfer rice to a bowl then set aside in the refrigerator
- Add spices to a spice grinder then grind into a fine powder and set aside
- Add oil to your wok then fry eggs until cooked, remove from wok then set aside
- Add onion, garlic, ginger, pimento, carrots and shadon beni to wok then cook for 1 minute on high heat
- Add 1 tbsp of the five spice powder
- Add rice and soy sauce then toss until the rice has an even brown color
- Add MSG to taste
- Add eggs to rice then combine well
- Remove from heat then add chives
- Serve & Enjoy
