Japanese garlic fried rice with garlic chips

Slice about 40% of a head of garlic into even chips and finely mince the rest; the chips can be skipped, or the garlic chopped instead.

Mix soy sauce, salt and dashi powder with a little water. Without dashi powder, use more salt.

Use cooked Japanese short grain rice, 1.5 cups uncooked.

Heat just enough oil to submerge the garlic until a test piece bubbles steadily, add the garlic chips, then turn the heat to low and fry gently until the bubbling nearly stops and the chips are light golden; pull out any that brown early, since browned garlic is bitter. Cool so they crisp.

Melt butter over low heat, add the minced garlic and soften it without burning the butter, adding a little of the garlic oil.

Add black pepper to the fat so it infuses.

Add the rice and spread the seasoning over it so the liquid separates the grains. Turn the heat up and flip, pressing out lumps with an angled spatula.

Optionally let the rice sit to brown a little on the bottom, then flip.

Push the rice aside, add the eggs, break the yolks and let them set a little; smother the egg with hot rice for about 30 seconds, then toss.

Turn off the heat and toss in green onions, saving some for garnish.

Top with crushed aonori, concentrated in the middle, then the crispy garlic chips.