Growing up, fried rice was part of a system. Everyday, one of my siblings or I would have to make a pot of rice. The leftover rice from the day before was taken out of the fridge and added to the rice cooker once it switched from ‘cook’ to ‘warm’, indicating the new rice was cooked, and ready to have yesterday’s rice piled onto it for a reheat. So at every meal, ideally old and new rice is eaten to prevent waste. However, everyone wants that fresh rice. So typically, the old reheated rice is pushed to the side so fresh rice can be accessed.

On the weekends, all the leftover rice from the week was turned into fried rice. My dad would add garlic, egg, and ‘betsin’ (msg). I always remember him saying “crush the rice, you have to crush the rice.” Because it’s true, you do have to, since the refrigerated rice was hard and needed separation.

These days, I’m proud to say that anytime I make fried rice, whether it’s basic Filipino garlic fried rice, or whether it’s got fun additions, it’s pretty much always good :^)