Lop Cheung Chao Fan (臘腸炒飯)

Lap cheong — the sweet, smoky, wine-cured Cantonese sausage — transforms a simple fried rice into something deeply fragrant and satisfying. This is Hong Kong home cooking at its most elemental: day-old rice, cured pork, eggs, and scallions tossed in a screaming-hot wok.

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 600 g (4 cups) day-old cooked jasmine rice, refrigerated overnight
• 3 lop cheung (lap cheong / Chinese sausage), sliced into rounds or diced (about 150 g / 5 oz)
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced (whites and greens separated)
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) light soy sauce
• 1 tsp (5 ml) sesame oil
• White pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Render the lap cheong: Place sausage in a cold wok over medium heat and cook 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the fat renders and the pieces are slightly caramelised. Remove and set aside, leaving the rendered fat in the wok.
2. Increase heat to very high. Add oil and stir through the rendered fat.
3. Add the cold rice, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spatula. Stir-fry vigorously 3–4 minutes, pressing the rice against the hot wok surface in intervals to develop a slight crust.
4. Push rice to one side. Add beaten eggs to the empty side and scramble lightly for 30 seconds before folding through the rice. Toss everything together.
5. Return the lap cheong to the wok along with the spring onion whites. Season with soy sauce and toss well.
6. Finish with sesame oil, white pepper, and spring onion greens. Serve immediately.

Cook's Notes: Day-old refrigerated rice is essential — freshly cooked rice is too wet and will clump. Lap cheong is available at Asian supermarkets; the Taiwanese style is less sweet and more garlicky. Duck or pork liver lap cheong adds extra richness.