for angela - fried rice

I was going to comment on her post, but it got long. Dude, you don't like Chinese dinner? Not even Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner? It is my favorite meal of the year. I can't wait for Saturday.

Anyway - fried rice is really simple. Rice should be cooked and either put in the fridge, or wrap some foil over the bowl and leave it out. It won't rot or anything. (Note, my dad's kitchen would violate many health inspection regulations. We never got sick off his food, though.)

Things that you want to start with:

Minced Garlic
Minced Ginger
Peanut Oil

Things you might add after the above ingredients have been heated up a bit (feel free to improvise):

Leftovers
Peas
Carrots
Mushrooms
Barbecue Pork, minced
Chicken, cut into 1-inch bits
Snap Peas
Corn
Green Beans, etc.

After these have been cooked - the veggies have to be crispy, not mushy, add rice. If your rice is really hard from being in the fridge, add a little water to soften it up. Stir and mix, until the rice gets heated up. Add soy sauce and salt at this point.

Once you think it's been cooked enough, toss in chopped scallions and eggs, if you like that stuff. Scallions cook really fast, which is why I toss it in at the end. The eggs will overcook if you put them in too early. Once the scallions and eggs are cooked, turn off the heat. Add sesame oil if desired.

The secret to almost any Chinese marinade for meat is: garlic, ginger, soy sauce, scallions, and peanut oil (to cook with, not to marinate).

freedom

I'm still pissed that Google decided to censor its search results for the Chinese version of their search engine. Pissed, and disappointed, but not surprised.

I was, however, really surprised by all the praise that was initially heaped on Google for refusing to provide the U.S. government with search records the week before. First of all, it's not that fucking hard to say no to the U.S. government, especially if you are a large corporation making millions of dollars. Second of all, it took no courage. Courage would have meant standing up to the Chinese, meant saying no to gobs of money, and risking something - the anger of the Chinese government, business interests, etc.

This bullshit isn't what my parents signed up for.