Chahan (Japanese Fried Rice with Chashu Pork)
Japanese short-grain rice stir-fried with fluffy egg, diced chashu pork belly and green onion, seasoned with soy sauce, white pepper and sesame oil, then packed into a rice bowl and turned out as a neat dome.
In Japan fried rice has two names: chahan and yakimeshi. Wikipedia says chahan is a modern borrowing of the Chinese chǎofàn, "fried rice" (citing Ono and Salat, 2013), and that it may have come with Chinese immigrants who arrived at the port of Kobe in the 1860s, a claim the article does not source. It is made the Chinese way, in a very hot wok, but usually with Japan's own sticky short-grain rice, and seasoned with soy sauce, salt, pepper and sesame oil.
This version is Namiko Chen's of Just One Cookbook. She uses diced homemade chashu, the soft braised pork belly that tops ramen, lets its fat render into the wok and finishes the rice the way it is served in Japan: packed into a rice bowl and flipped onto a plate as a dome. The short-grain rice is the big difference from a Chinese plate. It is stickier, so it takes longer to break up, and it fries into chewy grains.
Why it works the kitchen science
Rendered pork fat
Fatty chashu releases its own fat into the wok, which coats the rice and carries the pork flavor, so the dish needs little added oil.
The half-cooked egg
Pulling the egg while it is still runny keeps it soft and fluffy when it goes back in with the rice instead of turning rubbery.
Step by step
- Step 1
If the rice is freshly cooked, spread it on a parchment-lined sheet pan to cool and dry. Cut the chashu into 1/4-inch slices, then strips, then small cubes. Slice the green onion whites into thin rounds and the greens on the diagonal; keep them apart. Beat the eggs.
- Step 2
Heat a wok over medium-high heat with 2 tbsp oil, swirled to coat. When the oil starts to smoke at the edges, pour in the eggs, swirl them a few times with a spatula and take them out after about 30 seconds, while the center is still runny and the edges are fluffy.
- Step 3
Add the chashu to the same wok (plus 1 tbsp oil only if your meat is lean) and stir-fry about 2 minutes, until its fat renders. Add the green onion whites and stir-fry 1 minute.
- Step 4
Add the rice and break it up with the spatula, 2 to 3 minutes, lowering the heat a little if separating the sticky grains takes time. Scoop and fold so every grain is coated in fat.
- Step 5
Return the egg and break it into small pieces as you stir-fry. When everything is evenly mixed and the rice is steaming hot (165°F), add the soy sauce and salt, then the white pepper and sesame oil.
- Step 6
Toss in most of the green onion greens. Pack a rice bowl to the top, press it gently, flip it onto a plate and lift it off. Repeat, sprinkle with the rest of the greens and serve right away.
Chahan (Japanese Fried Rice with Chashu Pork)
Serves 3 · 3 domes (4 as a side dish) · 30 min total
- 8 oz chashu (braised pork belly), homemade or store-bought
- 5 green onions
- 2 large eggs
- 3 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice (about 1 lb), at room temperature or cold
- 2 to 3 tbsp neutral oil
Seasonings
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Method
- If the rice is freshly cooked, spread it on a parchment-lined sheet pan to cool and dry. Cut the chashu into 1/4-inch slices, then strips, then small cubes. Slice the green onion whites into thin rounds and the greens on the diagonal; keep them apart. Beat the eggs.
- Heat a wok over medium-high heat with 2 tbsp oil, swirled to coat. When the oil starts to smoke at the edges, pour in the eggs, swirl them a few times with a spatula and take them out after about 30 seconds, while the center is still runny and the edges are fluffy.
- Add the chashu to the same wok (plus 1 tbsp oil only if your meat is lean) and stir-fry about 2 minutes, until its fat renders. Add the green onion whites and stir-fry 1 minute.
- Add the rice and break it up with the spatula, 2 to 3 minutes, lowering the heat a little if separating the sticky grains takes time. Scoop and fold so every grain is coated in fat.
- Return the egg and break it into small pieces as you stir-fry. When everything is evenly mixed and the rice is steaming hot (165°F), add the soy sauce and salt, then the white pepper and sesame oil.
- Toss in most of the green onion greens. Pack a rice bowl to the top, press it gently, flip it onto a plate and lift it off. Repeat, sprinkle with the rest of the greens and serve right away.
Adapted from Namiko Chen, "Chashu Fried Rice", Just One Cookbook (3 servings, 4 as a side). We follow its amounts (8 oz chashu, 5 green onions, 2 eggs, 3 servings cooked short-grain rice at about 150 g each, 3 tbsp oil with the third only if the meat is lean, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, 1/8 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp sesame oil), its 2 minutes for the chashu and 1 minute for the green onion whites, and its bowl-mold finish. The egg and rice times and the 165°F check are ours. Just One Cookbook. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Short-grain rice is stickier than long-grain rice; be patient breaking it up, and keep the heat a little lower while you do.
- No chashu? Use diced ham instead, and add the third tablespoon of oil.
- Just One Cookbook says leftovers keep up to 2 days in the refrigerator and a month in the freezer; reheat them only once, to 165°F.
- Wikipedia lists katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and nori among Japanese additions.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Chahan arrived with Chinese immigrants in 1860s Kobe. Folklore: Wikipedia states it with "may have" and gives no source.
- Chahan and yakimeshi are the same thing. Documented: Wikipedia gives yakimeshi as another name.
- Japanese fried rice uses short-grain rice. Disputed: Just One Cookbook and Serious Eats both use it; Wikipedia's chahan page lists no required rice, and Serious Eats found long-grain rice the most troublesome in its tests.
- Fried rice needs day-old rice. Disputed: see Thai Crab Fried Rice; Just One Cookbook spreads fresh rice on a sheet pan instead.
Every other fried rice
Yangzhou Fried Rice (Young Chow Fried Rice)
China's most famous fried rice: day-old rice stir-fried with egg, shrimp, ham, roast pork, onion and peas, seasoned with salt, a pinch of sugar and Shaoxing wine instead of soy sauce, and finished with crisp lettuce and scallions.
Thai Crab Fried Rice (Khao Pad Pu)
Jasmine rice stir-fried with golden garlic and marbled egg, seasoned with fish sauce, soy and a little sugar, toasted in the wok, topped with sweet lump crab and served with cucumber, lime and chili fish sauce.
Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice with Shrimp and a Fried Egg)
Cold rice fried with shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, coriander and cumin, shrimp, snow peas and bean sprouts, darkened and sweetened with kecap manis and sambal, then topped with omelet strips and a fried egg.
Kimchi Bokkeumbap (Korean Kimchi Fried Rice)
Steamed rice stir-fried with sour, well-fermented kimchi, its red brine and gochujang, finished with toasted sesame oil and topped with green onion, shredded gim, sesame seeds and a fried egg.
Arroz Chaufa (Peruvian Chinese Fried Rice)
The fried rice of Peru's chifa restaurants: chilled rice stir-fried with garlic and ginger-marinated chicken, ham, squares of thin omelet and green onions, seasoned with soy sauce and served with lime and ají.
Thai American Fried Rice (Khao Pad American)
Thailand's idea of an American plate: ketchup fried rice with carrots, peas, corn and raisins, molded into a dome and crowned with a sunny-side-up egg, with crisp fried chicken drumsticks, blooming hot dogs, tomato and cucumber around it.
Omurice (Japanese Omelet Rice)
Ketchup chicken rice with onion and peas, wrapped in a soft, custardy butter omelet, turned out seam side down into a neat football shape and finished with a zigzag of ketchup.
Chinese-American Pork Fried Rice
The takeout classic: jasmine rice darkened with soy and dark soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine, tossed with a full pound of red-edged char siu, onion, bean sprouts, scrambled egg and scallions.
Hawaii-Style Spam Fried Rice
Diced Spam fried until the edges crisp with ginger, onion and carrots, then tossed with rice, Shaoxing wine, soy and fish sauce, egg, peas and scallions, the local-style fried rice of Hawaii.
Hibachi Fried Rice (Japanese Steakhouse Garlic Butter Fried Rice)
The flat-top fried rice of America's Japanese steakhouses: freshly boiled long-grain rice fried until it sizzles and pops with soft egg and scallions, glazed with soy sauce and mirin and finished with garlic butter.
20-Minute Leftover Fried Rice
The weeknight method: leftover rice toasted in two batches in a smoking-hot wok, then tossed with onion, carrot, garlic and scallions, a little soy and sesame oil, one egg and a handful of frozen peas.
Hibachi Chicken Fried Rice, Inspired by Benihana
Inspired by, not official: jasmine rice fried with browned chicken, carrot, onion, garlic and soy sauce, crisped in a well of melting butter, then finished with scrambled egg, sesame seeds and scallions, the way the steakhouse chicken rice tastes.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.