How The InstantPot Brought Fried Rice Back To My Country

Step 1: Cook that rice

Rinse the rice, put it in the InstantPot for about four minutes, and then let the steam naturally release for ten minutes. Then, you fluff the rice, take it out of the pot, and put it in a bowl for later.

Step 2: Cook the eggs

Put some vegetable oil in the pot and put it on Sautee mode. When the oil's hot, crack the eggs, scramble them, and then set them aside. You want them cooked, but you don't want them dry.

Step 3: Slowly mix everything together

Add more oil, ginger, and garlic. When you can smell everything, add your frozen veggies. Move them to one part of the pot, and add the rice in layers and fry it. Then add your sesame oil and soy sauce. Mix them up until they're blended.

When everything is mixed up, turn off the pot, add the eggs and green onions and stir it all. When it's the seasoning you want, it's done.

I can finally bring a little bit of Chinese food home

The first part of reverse culture shock after coming back from China is learning the restaurants in the States don't serve real Chinese food. Everything in the U.S. is sweet. Orange chicken isn't a thing, and neither is sesame chicken. Even wonton soup isn't a thing in Beijing!

After living in China for six years, I found few dishes in American restaurants that matched the Chinese authenticity: Kung Pao Chicken and fried rice. I never liked Kung Pao Chicken. I don't have the tongue for spicy food yet. It's something I'm slowly working up to getting.

Fried rice often depended on the restaurant. I could go to one Chinese restaurant, and it would be nothing but brown rice. Another Chinese restaurant could have the eggs and vegetables I expect to see in authentic Chinese fried rice.

More times than not, those restaurants were hibachi places. They're expensive, and it takes an hour to get to one. Living in a small town in Northern Michigan, you don't get access to a lot of places selling authentic food. You simply walk into the first Chinese restaurant you find and hope it gives you a taste of your old life teaching abroad.

And then I found this recipe on the internet

I often find myself missing China, especially when I had a stressful day. I often wonder if I'd still be there now if things didn't turn out the way they did? Would I still be teaching now? Or would I have fled the country when COVID-19 hit? All of that alone time sounds nice, but I spent a lot of time alone while in China.

The few times I went with people anywhere abroad were when friends wanted to meet for lunch and catch up on things. We'd find our favorite Chinese or hot pot place and get as much food as possible. Chinese restaurants often made food shareable with people. It's strange to order one dish for yourself. If you had a Chinese friend, they would do the ordering for you, and you'd be surprised with what the servers brought.

Some of the best memories living in China involved sitting around a restaurant catching up and talking about our lives. Even if we didn't know too much about our friend's personal lives, we knew which co-worker annoyed them, Who's work-spouse was leaving the country, and who wanted to move to another city.

Sure, the friendships seemed superficial on the surface, but they were some of the best times while living abroad.

When I found this recipe on the internet, I got excited. I could finally get somewhat authentic fried rice! If it tasted like China, I'd be happy. But if it didn't, I tried. It'd be the first time I ever tried cooking rice on my own.

Yes, it's true. Somehow, I spent six year in China and never attempted to cook rice. I don't know why.

But after trying out the Instant pot recipe and taking that first bite, I knew I found a recipe for the days I missed China the most. The days where I find myself debating getting on a plane and going back. I'll cook up the rice and remind myself being back in the States isn't so bad.

Now, I'm onto finding a wok

There are so many dishes I want my family to try. Sometimes, I go online searching for a wok. It'd be nice to cook more authentic dishes that my family and friends could enjoy.

The InstantPot was a good headstart to making some more Asian classics I missed from my years abroad. As I get more confident about my cooking skills, I'm going to look up more authentic Chinese dishes and try my hand at them. Maybe I won't be so sad from thinking about China if I have enough food that reminds me of my times there.