Southside Fried Rice

This recipe was the result of a content organized by Southside Market (affiliate link, I get a referral fee) – the oldest BBQ business in Texas. The assignment was simple, use their top quality product in an imaginative and interesting way. I wanted to use the product in both an unexpected dish and also a different cooking method, so me being me, I immediately thought of fried rice. Just bear with me…

What better than marrying my love of fried rice and sausage – all in one dish. After all surely, the salty, garlicky and slightly smoky nature of the Polish dog would be a massive improvement on the small chunks of pink-hued ham in many a take out fried rice.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups leftover cooked white rice, chilled
• 2 Southside Market Polish Sausages
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 green onions, sliced thin
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• sauerkraut (optional, see notes)

Method:

1. In a large non stick pan, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil
2. Add egg to medium hot oil, cook until it forms a loose pancake
3. Break egg into large pieces
4. Add yellow onion, turn heat up, cook for 60 seconds
5. Add rice, stir well
6. Add prepared Southside Polish sausage, as well as reserved cooking fat
7. Stir well, cook 60 seconds over hight heat
8. Add 2 tbsp soy sauce
9. Cook briskly over high heat turning rice quickly
10. When sizzling hot, or cooked to desired finish, add 1/4 tsp sesame oil and green onions
11. Stir well, cook for 30 seconds
12. Plate – with optional sauerkraut if so desired, see below

Cooking notes:

Let’s start with the Southside Market Polish Sausage. I prepared the sausage by chopping it with a Brunoise type cut. The small cubed pieces helps the Polish sausage cook through very quickly. There’s no need to add oil to the pan, there’s enough fat in the sausage itself.

How long you fry the sausage pieces is up to you; though I shote note the packaging recommends you heat the Polish sausage to 160F. I was aiming for a crisp finish to add some textural depth to the dish; over a medium-high heat that meant about ten minutes of cooking time. The result is vaguely reminiscent of Chinese BBQ pork that you get in fried rice dishes. Here’s my before and after snap of the cut and cut sausage:

A crucial part of making any fried rice is that you select good quality, leftover white rice. Ideally you will have made it the day before; where you quickly cooled it, and then immediately refrigerated it. It’s crucial you cool and refrigerate your leftover rice as quickly as you can – incorrectly treated leftover rice is a big food safety no no.

I personally like basmati as the fine grains are less starchy, meaning you don’t get too much ‘clumpiness’ to the cooked and cooled rice. Any good quality white rice is great though. And whatever you do, don’t even think about using warm, lukewarm, or just cooked rice. You will end up with a mushy rice porridge at best.

…and then the piece de resistance…

Sauerkraut? Are you mad? Actually it makes quite a bit of sense if you’re willing to fuse a few cuisines. Obviously kraut and sausage go hand in hand, but here, the acidity helps cut through the grease and salt (this ain’t no health forward dish in case you wondered ;). There’s also a small corollary with fermented cabbage in Chinese cooking too – so it’s not quite that insane…

Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC – Utah’s biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.  I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.

I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years.   I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen.  Follow along on Instagram too!