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Trader Joe's Fried Rice with Steak and Roast Corn
Steps
- Prep everything before the pan is hot. Cut the steak, strip the corn off the cob, beat the eggs, slice the scallions. Once the heat is up there is no time to catch up. Leave the rice in the freezer until the moment it goes in.
- Scramble the eggs. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in your largest skillet or wok over medium-high. Add the eggs, scramble softly for 30 seconds, and pull them out while they are still a little wet.
- Char the corn. Same pan, no extra oil, heat up to high. Corn kernels in a single layer, then leave them alone for 2 minutes until they pop and pick up real dark spots. Scrape them out onto the plate with the eggs.
- Fry the rice from frozen. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the butter and let it foam. Add the rice straight from the bag, spread it flat, and salt it. Now leave it alone for 90 seconds at a time. Toss, press flat again, repeat for 4 to 5 minutes total. Stirring constantly is how you end up with steamed rice, so let it sit still and take color.
- Aromatics, then sauce. Push the rice to one side, add the scallion whites and garlic to the clear space for 30 seconds until fragrant, then fold everything together. Pour the soy sauce around the edge of the pan rather than onto the rice, so it hits hot metal and sizzles instead of soaking. Add the sesame oil and toss.
- Steak goes in last. Turn the heat down and fold in the steak, corn, and eggs for 30 to 45 seconds, only until the steak is warmed through. Taste and correct with salt or another splash of soy.
- Finish off the heat. Stir in the scallion greens. Chili crisp on the side for whoever wants it.
Notes
- Do not thaw the riceThawed rice sheds water and turns to mush the second it hits the pan. Straight from frozen, in a pan that is genuinely hot, the outside of each grain dries and fries before the middle catches up.
- The steak is already cookedIt was pulled at the doneness you wanted the first time. Seconds in the pan, not minutes, or you have paid for a good ribeye and eaten a gray one.
- Season it like you made it from scratchOnce you have added a half pound of steak and a cup of corn, the bag alone is not carrying enough salt for four people. Taste before it leaves the pan.
- No corn on the cob?A cup of frozen fire-roasted corn from the same store, charred the same way in the dry pan, does the job.
