Dried shrimps - easily found in Asia, sold in sacks, in bags, loosely by the grams and in little packets and cost so little - is definitely a rare ingredient here. My guess is that it’s hardly used, if never, in Western dishes. Hence with limited demand, there is even more limited supply. (Hmmm..my Econs teacher will be so proud that I can still remember these Economic terms.) So you can understand my jubilation when I saw these remarkable little shrimps in little packets (and not many of them) on the shelf at the Asian store. Let’s not talk about price. It’s rare and therefore if I need to pay to buy some and use it sparingly, I will.

In this recipe, these shrimps are the main ingredient. It happens to be the yummiest fried rice ever. Fast, easy and tasty, it makes me look forward to cooking leftover rice. Unfortunately, my kids don’t favor this fried rice because it’s spicy. That’s just a heads-up in case you’re looking for something mild.

Ingredients:
Cooked leftover white rice (about 2 - 3 adult portion)
3 tbsp dried shrimp - washed and soaked in a little water for about 15 minutes.
1 1/2 - 2tbsp chili paste/chili boh
1/2 a medium sized onion
1 clove garlic
salt to taste
1 egg - lightly beaten with a pinch of salt
2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

1.  Blend the chili paste, onion and garlic with a little water to make a thick paste.
2. Add the soaked dried shrimp with the water used to soak it and blend. Do not blend too finely. It should still have some coarsely ground dried shrimps.



3. In a wok/pan, add oil. When hot, pour the ground mixture and fry till fragrant.



4. When the mixture thickens, add salt to taste.



5. Add the rice. Stir to coat the rice completely with the fried ingredients. On medium heat, cover the rice for 3 minutes.



6. Remove the cover, stir again. Continue frying the rice for a few minutes, then push the rice to the side of the pan to make a hole in the middle.



7. Pour the egg into the hole. Leave the egg to cook undisturbed for a while. When the top of the egg is still wet but the base is cooked, stir the egg to scramble it. Cook a little while longer.



8. Then mix the rice and the egg well.



9. Turn off the heat.
10. Serve with fried anchovies, sliced cucumber and fresh tomatoes.

Tips:

• You can prepare the chilli paste in advance and store in an air tight container in the refrigerator so that it cuts the prepapration time.
• Use leftover rice so that the rice will not look too wet/soggy when fried.
• Keep leftover rice in the refrigerator overnight for best texture.