Stir-fried Ten Varieties (ii) with Meats

This is an ideal way of using up leftovers from roast chicken and meat joints.

1/4 lb (100 g) cooked chicken meat
1/4 lb (100 g) cooked meat or ham
1/4 lb (100 g) prawns (peeled and cooked)
3-4 Chinese dried mushrooms
2 oz (50 g) bamboo shoots
1/4 lb (100 g) green peas
3 eggs
3-4 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine or sherry

Dice the cooked chicken and meat (or ham) into small cubes. Do the same with the mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Stir-fry all those together with the prawns and peas for about 1 minute, add salt and wine, then put aside while you heat some more oil, beat up the eggs and make an omelette, breaking it into small pieces before it is set hard. Now return all the other ingredients to the pan and cook them all together for a few more seconds. Add soy sauce and blend everything well. Serve hot.

This is a very good starter or an excellent accompaniment to wine (both red and white). But if you happen to have some ready-cooked rice handy, then you can turn it into a meal on its own or serve it as a part of a buffet-type meal. For this, proceed as before, but when you have cooked the beaten eggs keep them aside with the rest of the ingredients. Now heat up some oil and reduce the heat when it starts to smoke, stir-fry the cooked rice until all the grains and separate, add a little soy sauce, stir, then return all other ingredients and cook together until they are well mixed. If you like, garnish with a little finely chopped spring onions when serving.

This is a superior variation of the fried rice you can get from most Chinese restaurants known as Yangchow or Special fried rice, and it is very popular, particularly among young people. Of course you can omit the mushrooms or bamboo shoots, or indeed substitute for them any leftovers you happen to have in your kitchen. Just use your integrity and make your own blend of ten varieties.

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