Source: Based Cooking (community recipes)
Day-old rice is non-negotiable for leftover-cookery fried rice. Fresh rice releases too much starch when you wok it — the grains clump and steam rather than fry. If you only have warm rice from today, spread it on a tray and chill it hard in the freezer for 30 minutes. The moisture has to go.
Dice the chicken into 1.5 cm pieces and season with salt. Heat a wok or large frying pan until a bead of water vaporises on contact, then add a thin film of neutral oil. Fry the chicken until the edges are golden and the flesh firms — roughly 5 minutes — then remove to a plate. The residual heat will carry over in the final mix; don't stew it. In the same wok, push the chicken to the side and crack the eggs directly in. Scramble them gently until they're barely set — they'll continue cooking when you mix everything. Remove and set aside. This staging matters: cooked proteins toughen if you keep agitating them in the pan.
Return the wok to high heat, add a touch more oil, and introduce the rice. Break up the compacted clumps with the back of a spoon. When the grains separate and heat through — you'll hear the snap and smell the toasted starch — add the diced Welsh onion, bell pepper, and bacon (if using). The wok-cooking|wok is your ally here: its sloped sides let you toss and fold without losing ingredients. Keep the heat aggressive. The vegetables should soften but keep their bite and colour. Add the chicken and eggs back in, then pour soy sauce around the edge of the wok so it touches the hot surface and develops depth before mixing through. A teaspoon of sugar cuts harsh soy-sauce salt — use it now if your soy is aggressive, tasting as you go. Finish with a thread of sesame oil and toss once more.
Plate while the rice still carries heat. The dish should smell of toasted grain and caramel, not steamed or greasy.
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