Guizhou freestyle fried rice

Wash the jasmine rice three or four times to remove surface starch and avoid gloopiness.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, dump the rice in and parboil two and a half minutes over high flame, until the rice loses its translucency and looks white.

Drain the rice in a colander.

Put the parboiled rice in a steaming tray lined with a wet cloth, set it over bubbling water and steam ten minutes.

Shut off the heat, let it sit five minutes, then remove and fluff.

Refrigerate the rice overnight; day-old rice is drier and fries better.

Pound the doujiao in a mortar with the white part of the scallion, the ginger and the garlic for about two minutes.

Heat the wok until piping hot, about steak searing temperature, shut off the heat and add the lard. Swirl it to get a non-stick surface, then drop to medium low.

Fry the smoked larou about 90 seconds until the oil is infused with pork flavour.

Add the pounded chili paste and fry three to five minutes until the paste re-separates and the oil looks clear again.

Add the suancai and fry another two minutes until the oil clears again.

Add the cracklins and beans, raise the flame to high for a quick thirty seconds, then add the day-old rice.

Push the rice down with the spatula and fry about three minutes until the grains are clear and separate and you hear light popping sounds.

Add the dark soy sauce over the spatula and around the sides of the wok, then the light soy sauce the same way, and fry another minute until evenly incorporated.

Season with the salt, sugar and MSG, mix, add the herbs, mix, then add the dark Chinese vinegar over the spatula and around the sides of the wok. Heat off.

Variation: with homemade fermented zhaolajiao, do not pound it with aromatics — fry the chili sauce directly until the oil is tinted slightly red, then add the aromatics and fry only until fragrant.