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The many faces of fried rice
Fried Rice Competition

By Betty Shimabukuro
Star-Bulletin

Fried rice: Breakfast of champions, power lunch, dinner-that-clears-the-leftovers-out-of-the-fridge.

So many things to so many people. Somebody oughta write a book about it.

OK, how about George Yoshida, retired government employee, Hilo resident and musubi-maker extraordinaire?

Yoshida is author of "Hawaii's Best Cookbook on Fried Rice" -- all right, it's probably Hawaii's only cookbook on fried rice, but so what. It's a collection of recipes by "Big Island celebrities" from Council Chair James Arakaki, to Dr. Ben Hur (really), to Eileen Mende, owner of Restaurant Osaka in Hilo.

Admit it, the first question that comes to mind is, "Who needs a recipe for fried rice?" You put the rice in the pan and stir in whatever's in the refrigerator, right?

Wrong, oh sheltered one. Open this cookbook and you'll find an international storehouse of possibilities.

Photo courtesy George Yoshida
George Yoshida pays homage to fried rice and
Big Island cooks in his new book.

"Fried rice is a reflection of all the diverse cultures, (and ingredients) from kimchee to bagoong," Yoshida says.

"I have a fascination with how different cultures prepare it."

There are also many approaches to the basic ingredient: Some people swear you have to freeze the rice first, Yoshida says, so it will turn out loose and fluffy. "And then somebody else tells me they use long-grain rice, and that's flaky. Some use it hot, right out of the pot. Some say it has to be three days old."

Yoshida makes no judgments and lets the various cooks have their say in his book. Although, "I like to use mine right out of the pot," he says. "I like it sticky."

Other potential conflicts: Do you fry the egg first, then mix it in later with the rice? Or do you stir the egg in last so it sort of holds everything together? (Another matter of fluffy vs. sticky.) Green or white onions? Oyster or soy sauce? Whole eggs or just whites? Frozen veggies, or only fresh? Pork or beef or chicken or fish? Or tofu?

The great thing about fried rice is precisely that there are no rules. Personally, though, Yoshida does consider some things essential: rice, egg, soy sauce, green onion.

"Meat is whatever you got left over -- bacon or Spam or bologna or fish."

'Hawaii's Best Fried Rice Cookbook'
By George Yoshida ($6.95, paperback) is available
at most local bookstores. It is distributed
by Booklines Hawaii.

Yoshida completed 32 years of government service in various capacities, retiring as director of Hilo's Parks and Recreation Department in 1998. He spent 17 years working with senior citizens, and says they taught him much about making meals.

He cooks for his wife and for his neighbors -- one weekend maybe spaghetti; another weekend, Spam musubi -- "just to experiment, just to try."

Here's a George Yoshida tip: Make Spam musubi with Armour luncheon meat. Technically it won't be Spam musubi, but any other name would probably lose the familiarity factor. Layer the meat with fried eggs and rice mixed with furikake (Futaba brand). "You cut it up and serve it -- and you become a hero, I guarantee it."

Yoshida's first cookbook was on warabi, the fern shoot, compiled right after he retired. He paid a little under $2,000 to get it printed.

"We made it in my garage. My wife and several neighbors came forth and helped me collate."

The 1,000 copies sold out; he's working on a second printing that will add to the original 40 recipes.

"Fried Rice" is the second in what Yoshida hopes will be a series of local-style cookbooks honoring Big Island cooks.

Next up is something on soups and stews. ("It rains so much here that I guess people stay indoors and they cook soup. So we got the best Portuguese bean soup.")

So far he's done the publishing himself, although "Fried Rice" has a professional distributor, Booklines Hawaii, which has placed the 5,000-copy run in local bookstores. He also paid the printer for assembly this time -- no more collating in the garage.

"I got into this to make some money, but I haven't done that yet," Yoshida says. "I think in the long run I going come out."

Until then, he's having fun and meeting lots of people, as he holds cooking demonstrations and generally reaps the benefits of being an author.

"I'm becoming famous," he says. "For what, I don't know."

International fried rice tour Japanese: Flavor with teriyaki sauce and roll into sushi. Korean: Add kimchee. Hawaiian: Cut up a laulau and/or smoked pork and add to rice. Hawaiian No. 2: Add ogo and dried shrimp. Okinawan: Use pork, konbu and aburage. Vegetarian: Use tofu or break up a veggie burger to replace meat.

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By Dean Sensui, Star-Bulletin
Sushi is an imaginative way to show off fried rice.
Use teriyaki sauce for flavoring and you
have a true fusion dish.

The many faces
of fried rice

Star-Bulletin

George Yoshida's favorite recipe for fried rice was taught to him by seniors in programs he used to run for the parks department in Hilo.

"It just combines tuna, shoyu and fried onions. You add rice and you got a meal. And it's delicious."

A panful will feed four for 99 cents, Yoshida says, which is probably how it became a staple for the seniors. "I guess when you grow up poor you gotta stretch the budget."

He admits being skeptical at first. "How can this taste good? But when you put it together -- yeah."

Take the leftovers and make fried rice musubi, he advises.

Other recipes from Yoshida's cookbook include the international mix that follows.

A Southwestern specialty comes from Betty Jo Thompson, retired University of Hawaii extension agent and home economist; Fried Rice Sushi from Shelley Yasuhara program director at Hale Anuenue Restorative Center; and a Puerto Rican version from Wayne Abalos, sports announcer with KIPA radio.

Southwestern Fried Rice

1/2 cup diced Portuguese sausage
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium stalk celery, diced
4 cups cold cooked rice
1/2 medium onion, diced

Sauce:
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon ketchup
Dash salt and pepper
Dash Tabasco, optional

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside.

Fry sausage lightly; drain. Add chile powder and blend well. Add onions and celery, stirring and cooking 1 minute.

Mix rice with oil to separate grains. Add to mixture on stove, tossing over low heat. Add sauce and heat thoroughly. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving, without added salt: 240 calories, 10 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 290 mg sodium.*

Fried Rice Sushi

4 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 cup slivered char siu
1/4 cup Spam, chopped
1/4 cup kamaboko, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons prepared teriyaki sauce (Yoshida brand preferred)
6 sheets sushi nori

Fry bacon until crisp. Drain. Fry char siu, Spam and kamaboko. Add eggs and cook until done. Stir in rice, green onions, oyster sauce and teriyaki sauce. Mix well. Cool.

Place 1 sheet of nori on a sushi mat and roll, as though making makizushi. Repeat for remaining nori.

Slice each log of sushi. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving, without added salt: 310 calories, 14 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 100 mg cholesterol, 880 mg sodium.*

Gandule Hunto Rice

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, diced
1-1/2 pounds chopped pork
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup canned gandule beans (pigeon peas)
4-1/2 cups uncooked rice, washed
4-1/2 cups water
Salt to taste
6 slices bacon, chopped

Heat oil. Saute garlic, onions and pork. Add tomato sauce and beans; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in salt. Add rice and water.

Boil 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until rice is cooked.

Fry bacon. Add rice, stirring to mix. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving, without added salt: 1,000 calories, 30 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 90 mg cholesterol, 530 mg sodium*

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File photo
Glenn Chu serves up fried rice at his restaurant, Indigo.

Is your recipe
a winner?

Last time chef Glenn Chu made fried rice he used egg whites and truffles, which goes to show that this dish can go upscale.

"Fried rice is our chop suey," Chu says. "It could be anything you take out of your pantry or refrigerator and make a meal out of."

All this intrigues Chu and is the impetus behind his recipe contest and cook-off at June's Taste of Honolulu event.

The winner earns a dinner for 10 at Chu's Indigo Eurasian Cuisine and the top recipe will be featured at the restaurant. Finalists and semi-finalists win bags of rice, Taste of Honolulu scrip and Indigo gift certificates.

Serious entrants, Chu said, should be creative, "get away from the average, the standard white rice, oyster sauce and char siu."

The only absolute: Recipes must include rice.

Fried Rice Competition To enter: Submit a recipe by June 8 with $5 donation payable to Easter Seals Hawaii Mail to: Fried Rice Competition, Easter Seals Hawaii, 710 Green St., Honolulu, 96813 Semi-finalists: 10 will be invited to participate in a cook-off at Indigo restaurant Finalists: Five will compete in the final cook-off at the Taste of Honolulu June 24 Call: 536-1015 Online info: www.eastersealshawaii.org

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