Chef John and I use my wok at the least 2 times a week because well I have an unhealthy relationship with Asian food and we love my wok. We make about a dozen varieties of fried rice, but Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s is hands down the best recipe. It is so simple and clean yet extremely flavorful; it’s unlike any other fried rice I have had. 
Like all fried-rice dishes, you must start this one with leftover rice; fresh rice is simply too moist. Bittman suggests using white rice from Chinese takeout; not a bad call. The recipe calls for jasmine rice, almost any rice will do as long as it is a day old. Also the original recipe calls for cooking the rice in rendered fat; I am just using peanut oil. Unlike other one pot fried rice dishes, this one has a couple steps but is 100% worth the effort. I highly recommend sprinkling some fried pancetta along with the ginger and garlic. Of course Jean-George serves this by molding it into beautiful mounds and tops each with egg and garnish. -ts
A Mark Bittman adaption of a Jean-Georges Vongerichten recipe, with a few tweaks. Serves 2.
1/3 – 1/2 cup peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 cup thinly sliced leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed and dried
1 cup day-old cooked rice, preferably jasmine, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
- In a large skillet, heat peanut oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and salt lightly.
- Reduce heat under skillet to medium-low and add 2 tablespoons oil and leeks. Cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not browned. Season lightly with salt.
- Raise heat to medium and add rice. Cook, stirring well, until heated through and almost crispy. Season to taste with sesame oil and soy sauce.
- In a nonstick skillet, fry eggs in remaining oil, sunny-side-up, until edges are set but yolk is still runny.
- Divide rice among two dishes. Top each with an egg and drizzle a little more sesame oil and soy sauce. Sprinkle crisped garlic and ginger (and pancetta if using) over everything and serve.
Oh hells yes. This looks awesome. I actually had a burger yesterday that was a la Mills from The Tacky Shack in Grenada that had rotel, jalapenos and a fried egg on it, so topping anything with one of those is clearly a winning move in my book.