recipe

Eggs are always in my fridge. Leftover rice is always in my freezer. Fish sauce is in abundance in my pantry.

These three items make for a tasty, quick and oh-so yum lunch or dinner in minutes. This is a dish I ate a lot of as a kid. We’d go to my grandparents house in Ermington, and a big tub of this eggy fried rice would be sitting on the bench ready to be eaten. Yellow, fluffy, steaming hot and always served in one of those old school casserole dishes with a glass lid on top. My Ba (grandma) would always serve this eggy fried rice with a dipping sauce of sliced fresh chillis from the garden with fish sauce – just to add that kick of salt and chilli.

Every time I make this dish, it takes me back. And for a moment I’m that little kid again.

The recipe is simple. There aren’t any solid measurements – just use what you have and taste as you go. First, heat up some vegetable oil in a good nonstick frypan. Add your frozen rice (I freeze in snap lock bags, then I bash it on the bench to break it up into manageable chunks), stirfry for a good five to ten minutes or until the rice is fried all round and reheated. Push the rice to one side and crack your eggs in. Fold and chop up the egg to create scrambled eggs, then mix with the rice. I like it to be quite eggy so always use about four or five eggs to about two cups of rice. Season with fish sauce and a generous sprinkle of white pepper. If you have them, add your sliced shallots and stir fry for the last few minutes. Then, eat immediately!

Recipe, Styling and Photography Theresa Nguyen / THE GOOK

THE DEETS YOU WANT TO KNOW

Tuesdays? Taken from the Top? I’m keeping things simple; the mandatories, it must be taken from the top aka an above shot or looking down.

I don’t know about you – but I love a ‘top shot’. Every time I shoot, without-a-doubt I will try and include a top shot. Every week will be different – it may be a recipe, it may be a mish-mash of goods styled by moi, or a little something I’ve eaten during the week. It could even just be my toes (aka headless selfie). Just kidding – I’ll leave my feet outta this.