Crab Fried Rice

This is so good.

This is so easy to make.

This is also smelly.

I do not mind.

I like this recipe because you will make a big batch and there’s enough leftovers for the next day. You can take it to work for lunch, like I do, and sit back and watch your coworkers pass by the microwave (after heating it up) to hear them say, “Ewwww what’s that smell?!” It’s seafood, Karen.

Or if you want to be more considerate than I am, I guess you can eat it for dinner the next day.

This recipe is adapted from Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings: Hungry for More cookbook. By adapted, I mean that I tweaked the recipe a LITTLE a bit because I found it was a little bland (surprisingly unlike her other recipes). However, I did like her instructions – she made the process very easy to follow. The key is to measure out all the ingredients before you begin cooking.

Let’s begin.

CRAB FRIED RICE

INGREDIENTS

• 5 cups cooked jasmine rice, preferably cooled or 1-day old
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 3-4 scallion, cut into 1-inch lengths, plus thinly sliced scallions for garnish
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 large tomato, seeded and cut into wedges
• 8 ounces lump crabmeat, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped for garnish
• Chili oil, optional

Important Note: Make the rice ahead of time. Everyone has different methods to cook rice, but I use a rice cooker. If I don’t make rice a day ahead, it’s fine, but you’ll still have to cool it a bit. To cool rice faster, line a baking sheet with foil and grease it with vegetable oil. Pour your freshly cooked rice into the baking sheet and spread it out. Let it cool for 20-25 minutes. If you cook with sticky, warm, freshly cooked rice, your fried rice will turn out soggy. 

INSTRUCTIONS

Measure out all the ingredients before cooking and have them at arms reach around your stove.

In a large wok or saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering, but not smoking. Add onions until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the scallions and garlic and stir for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the eggs, letting them sit and cook for 20 seconds until partially set, and then add the rice. Immediately add the soy sauce and fish sauce. When mixing everything together, make sure you break up the eggs. Cook, stirring, until the rice is hot.

Add tomato wedges and lump crab and cook until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with ground white paper and salt (be careful when adding the sauce because you already added soy sauce and fish sauce). Take off the heat and stir in chopped cilantro.

Garnish with thinly sliced scallions and drizzle with chili oil if you want.

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Really Good Dry Rub Wings

Flats or drums?

I’ve thought a lot about this (can you tell?) because every time someone asks me that question, I answer, “flats.” And they always clap back with, “but it has less meat!” And somehow they think they’ve won an argument. Then I get annoyed because it isn’t an argument to begin with. It’s personal preference.

Then one day, it hit me. I prefer the flat pieces because it doesn’t have a lot of meat. Isn’t that the whole point of a chicken wing? If I wanted to eat more meat, I would then opt for a full piece of chicken leg or thigh rather than the wing. With the flat wings, the taste & texture of the chicken skin is what I crave more than the meat.

At the end of the day, I’m glad we each have our own preferences – people who are pro-drums and people who are pro-flats. Can you imagine serving wings at a party? It would not be fun if everyone was fighting to get the same piece.

(…just don’t ever ask me if boneless wings are better than bone-in wings. I won’t answer your question.)

Today, I’m going to share my ultimate favorite wing recipe… EVER. This is waaaay easier and require less thinking than the Honey Sriracha Wings, which is already a simple recipe. All you have to do is toss the wings with a homemade dry rub and throw it in the oven for 45-50 minutes and you’ll have some crispy wings.

As far as dipping sauces, that is entirely up to you. I personally dip mine in ranch (secret: I go to Wingstop just to buy their ranch and take it home to dip my wings into), but I know people like blue cheese or Gorgonzola cheese dips as well. I also eat these with celery to make myself feel a little better.

Alright, enough ranting. Here’s the recipe.

Dry Rub Wings

DRY RUB INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 tablespoon kosher salt (if you’re using regular salt, reduce this amount to 1 tablespoon)
• 1 tablespoon ancho chile pepper powder (this is not spicy, it gives more of a sweet/smokey flavor)
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1.5 teaspoon chili powder
• 1.5 teaspoon paprika
• 1.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper (add more to make it spicer, but it isn’t spicy as is)
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

(You won’t use all of this, and that’s fine. Save the rest in an airtight food container. This makes it easy for you because you don’t have to cut the recipe in half if you only want to make 2 pounds of wings since the dry-rub won’t expire until after a while)

WING INGREDIENTS

• 4 lbs chicken wings (thaw completely if frozen)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

• Oven-safe wire rack, optional (I like using this because the oil drips down rather than the wings sitting on it after you pull it out of the oven. Regardless, you’ll have crispy wings whether or not you use this).

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
• Line a large baking sheet with 2 sheets of aluminum foil (I usually
  • If you’re using a wire rack, spray the wire rack with non-stick cooking spray.
  • If you’re NOT using a wire rack, you still have to spray the foil generously with non-stick cooking spray or oil or else the chicken skin will stick to the foil.
• Combine all dry rub ingredients in a small mixing bowl, set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, add chicken wings. Add the vegetable oil. Use your hands to rub it!
• Sprinkle in about half of the dry rub mixture and use your hands to massage it into all of the chicken wings, coating evenly. If you don’t want to use your hands, use a rubber spatula or put on some food prep gloves.
• Add chicken wings to prepared baking sheet (skin side up for the flats!). Sprinkle the top of the wings with a little bit more of the dry rub.
• Bake for 45-50 minutes. Let it cool for maybe 5-10 minutes before eating.