Salted Chinese Olive Fried Rice

Chinese olives taste different than Western olives. There is a hint of five spice and very little of the Mediterranean flavor tones. The olives come in two forms, canned with pits and dry packed. Not to be obvious, but if you get the canned ones, you will have to pit it yourself before you cook with them. The dry packed ones look more like a paste than individual olives. This combination of salted olives and rice is lovely marriage, the dry packed olives which is not as salty, more liquorice like complement the bland rice very well.




Ingredients:

1/3 lb. small fresh shrimp, shelled and diced
2 eggs
10 Chinese salted black olives - chopped
4 garlic - chopped
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 tsp. fish sauce
4 cups long grain cooked rice - preferably leftover
6-8 Thai chillies, cut into very thin rounds
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Cilantro sprigs

Method:

Heat the oil in a wok until it is hot, add the shrimp and stir fry until the color has become pink and cooked through. Remove from wok, leaving behind the oil and set aside.

Toss in the ground pork and garlic and stir-fry, breaking the pork into little bits as it cooks. When most of the pork has changed color, add the eggs and stir to combine. When eggs are set add in the chopped salted olives.

Loosen the grains of the leftover rice before tossing into the wok. Stir-fry for several minutes until the rice is well heated through and well mixed with the pork and olives. Add in the cooked shrimps and adjust the taste with fish sauce.

Garnish rice with cilantro sprigs and cut chillies.


Serves