Ketchup Fried Rice

This is a strange one: this dish is popular all over Asia, where it's known as "American" fried rice. But here in the United States of America, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who's ever heard of it! Recently, I learned a little bit about the way other countries look at the United States, especially with the way our eating habits and our foods are presented in other countries. Here in the USA, every supermarket has the so-called "international" aisle where you can find foods that are common in other countries...including some foods that we only think are popular in other countries. If you ask folks in Mongolia about Mongolian beef and broccoli, you might get a strange reply when they say they've never heard of it. But in other countries, it's even more strange.
If we were to accept what other countries say is typical American food, then the most American food must be hot dogs, since there are a lot of dishes around the world that call themselves "American style" by adding hot dogs. In England, the stores sell so-called American style hot dogs, in jars of brine, and also in cans; while in Italy, they sell American style pizza which is a pizza topped with hot dogs...and French fries. Meanwhile, over on the other side of the world, there's a dish in Asia that people call "American fried rice"...even though here in the USA, fried rice is most often seen in Chinese take-out. If you ask anyone here in the USA about fried rice mixed with ketchup and raisins, they'll probably give you a look that simply asks what the heck you're talking about. But in Asia, this so-called American fried rice is very popular...and it's also very cheap to make.
Pans needed: A metal bowl for the sliced and cooked hot dogs. A second bowl for the cooked raisins; a plastic bowl will do. One small dish or ramekin to mix the ketchup sauce. A wok, or a large cast iron skillet. A wok is simply the best cooking utensil there is for making Asian stir fry dishes, but you can make a dish that's just as good in a large cast iron skillet, 10 to 12 inches in diameter.

Ingredients

  • Seasoning sauce:
  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) tomato ketchup
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 cups cooked rice (click to see my recipe for how to cook rice!)
  • vegetable oil for shallow frying
  • 3 hot dogs, cut into large pieces
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1 inch stick of ginger, finely chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder)
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon raisins (yes, raisins!)
  • 2 fried eggs, to serve on top of the rice
The best fried rice is made with rice that's been in the refrigerator for about a day. If you don't have leftover rice, prepare a batch of rice to use in this dish.
Preheat the wok by keeping it over your stovetop burner, turned to about 3/4 of maximum, for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
A good stir fry needs to have the prep work done in advance, but this is a very easy stir fry. All we need to do is chop up an onion, slice up three hot dogs, and prepare a sauce for the stir fry by mixing in ketchup, soy sauce and fish sauce. (Because here in America, of course everyone keeps fish sauce in their kitchen!)
Add a little oil to the wok, and start by frying up the hot dogs. This only takes a couple of minutes because the hot dogs are pre-cooked anyway. Once they have some good color, remove the hot dogs and add the weirdest ingredient, namely raisins. The raisins will also fry very quickly, and they only have to be fried for a minute or two. After this, remove the raisins.
Add a little more oil, then add chopped onions to the wok. Stir fry the onions for three to four minutes until they're soft and cooked. Mix in two cups of cooked rice. Add garlic and ginger. Stir fry until the rice is soft and hot.
Once the rice is hot, add the ketchup sauce, and stir it all around to mix it in and get everything good and hot. Add in the raisins. Nothing raw was added to this stir fry except the onions, and all we're really doing is getting everything good and hot; so it doesn't take long at all. Scoop out the fried rice into serving bowls. Place the sliced hot dogs on the side of each bowl.
Finally, add more oil and fry one egg in the wok for each serving of fried rice. Use the extra-crispy method, which is a popular way to make fried eggs in Asia. Break the egg into the hot oil, and let it bubble and fry for about ten seconds. With a spoon, repeatedly scoop the hot oil over the top of the egg to completely cook the egg white, When the egg is completely cooked, top one dish of fried rice. Fry one egg for each serving of fried rice.
(My close friend Rev. Panik EVlynn Bedlam suggests additions to serve with this fried rice! Add-ons include chopped dates, pickles, pickled garlic, and even creamed corn. Additions to the ketchup sauce could include hot mayo, hot sauce, and yellow mustard.)

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