Made with just a few ingredients, this fried rice is fragrant thanks to the generous amount of fresh ginger. In traditional Chinese medicine, ginger is a key ingredient in postpartum care and is thought to help balance the body’s yin and yang (cold and heat) and restore heat lost during childbirth. More broadly, ginger is used to aid digestion and treat upset stomachs and nausea, so consider using this recipe as a pick-me-up when you’re feeling under the weather. While many fried rice recipes contain garlic; this one does not, as I never use garlic in fried rice and there are theories that garlic may alter breast milk and cause colic in babies.
While ginger is the undeniable star of this dish, you can vary the amount to your liking. For the best bright flavor and warmth, add it to the skillet after the rice and cook it minimally (the longer the ginger is cooked, the sweeter it will be). While the recipe calls for a cast-iron skillet, you can certainly use a wok—just skip the step of cooking the rice until crispy. A wok naturally achieves this due to its large surface area.
As with fried rice, cold leftover rice is best, but if you need to make rice from scratch, here’s what you can do: Cook the rice, let it cool for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a baking sheet and spread into a single rice dish. layer. Let cool for another 10-20 minutes, then uncovered for 1-2 hours. The cold air from the refrigerator dries out the rice, making it more suitable for frying.