Fried Rice

Method

1. dice6 min
   onion + carrot to a 5 mm cube, no larger than a pea — everything in the pan gets the same 3 or 4 minutes of heat, so uniform dice is the only way the carrot finishes at the same moment the onion does. Slice scallion and keep whites (aromatic) separate from greens (garnish). Break the cold rice apart with wet fingers now, not in the pan: a clump crushed later releases free starch and glues the batch.
2. fry2 min
   high, 1 tbsp oil
   beaten eggs poured into the hot pan and pushed into large soft curds while still glossy, then scraped out to a plate — they will get a second pass of heat at the end, so pulling them 20 seconds early is what keeps them tender rather than rubbery
3. saute4 min
   high, remaining oil
   onion + carrot first, then garlic + scallion whites for the last 30 seconds. The hard vegetables need the full time; garlic burns bitter in under a minute at this heat, which is why it goes in last and not with the onion.
4. fry4 min
   high, pan spread in one layer
   + cold rice, pressed into contact with the metal and left undisturbed 45 seconds at a time between tosses. The pauses are the cooking — constant stirring keeps every grain at steam temperature and you get seasoned pilaf instead of the toasted, slightly chewy grains that define fried rice. The chilled grain survives this because its dried exterior has already given up the free water that would otherwise turn to paste.
5. season2 min
   high
   soy sauce + sugar + salt + pepper drizzled around the hot rim of the pan rather than onto the rice, so the liquid hits metal and flashes to vapour — poured straight on, it soaks into a few grains and leaves them soggy and dark while the rest stay bland. Then + peas, which only need warming through.
6. fold1 min
   heat off
   + reserved egg curds + sesame oil + scallion greens. Off the heat: sesame oil is an aromatic, not a cooking fat, and it goes flat and faintly stale if you fry it. Fold gently so the curds stay in visible pieces.