BBQ Pork Fried Rice

       People are often curious as to why I love going home on weekends during college. As I walk past my friends holding my trusty "suitcases" ( aka Trader Joe's bags full of dirty laundry), I always notice their wonderment. Even if they never explicitly spoke it out loud, their facial expressions made it quite obvious what they were thinking:

"You're at USC you crazy woman, you have freedom! You shouldn't be wanting to go to where your parents are!"

"Aren't you bored when you go home?! I'd be so bored!"

"Is she that homesick??"

        First off, let me just admit to the fact that I am a complete homebody and sappy family-man. When I was in the 4th grade I had to fight back tears when I went for a 2-day trip with my school to Sacramento. And when I was 8 I racked up a $400 phone bill while on an Alaskan cruise with my grandparents and sister because I just had to call my mom and dad everyday to tell them how much I wanted to come back home to them--though I think I never really got past saying "M-m-m-mmoomm-mmyyyy I-I-I.." because I was basically hyperventilating/literally choking on my tears. But in my mind I knew that I was the most homesick child in the world, and that I never wanted to leave my family's side.
        Fast forward a decade or so, I've luckily grown out of the crying aspect of my homesickness and can now tolerate a lengthy separation from my parents, grandparents, and siblings; but, if there is any chance that I can get to spend time with them I will take it without hesitation.
        I think that my attachment to home stems largely from the fact that I was raised by both parents and both sets of grandparents. Fighting with my brother or sister, if at all, was never over anything more serious than who gets to choose what TV channel to watch. My aunts, uncles, and cousins were always right there with me at every birthday, holiday, sports game, and dance performance. You can't define familial closeness better than my family.  So when it was time for college decisions, I knew that staying local was what I wanted; and it just so happened that my dream school, USC, was only a  25 minute drive away.
       Aside from the obvious desire to spend time with my family, another huge incentive for me to come home was the fact that I would be able to cook. Freshman dorms =minifridge + microwave = -_-.
       I always love fun challenges, and the fun challenge that I found with cooking on the weekends is that I would be able to come home, open the refrigerator, and see what ingredients I had to work with. Similar to the show "Chopped" on Food Network with my fridge being the figurative "box" that I open and all of the leftovers and half-full packs of raw chicken, beef, veggies, etc. being my "mystery ingredients" with which I have to create a dish.  So one weekend when I came home I opened the fridge and found a box full of BBQ Pork (char siu), half a head of napa cabbage, and a little bit of frozen peas. Immediately I knew that it would be BBQ Pork Fried Rice because it's quick, easy, delicious, and really a great way to use up these basic ingredients.

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked rice (preferrably day-old rice, but you can do what I did in this instance. I cooked the rice a few hours before dinner time and stuck it in the fridge after it cooled down so that it gets the drier texture desired for fried rice. Freshly cooked rice will turn soft and mushy if immediately put into the hot wok)
1 1/2 lb BBQ Pork sliced into bite sized pieces
1 cup of frozen peas
1/2 head of small napa cabbage
2 eggs
2 scallion stalks (including white sections) chopped into small rings
2 TB minced garlic
1 TB grated ginger

Seasonings:
2 TB lite soy sauce
2 TB oyster sauce
2 TB fish sauce
black pepper to taste
white pepper powder (optional but recommended) to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare ingredients: chops scallions, dice BBQ pork, but napa cabbage into bite-sized slices, and mince garlic, cut/grate ginger.

2. Heat up a little bit of oil in your wok and throw in the ginger first. Let it heat for about 15 seconds and then throw in about half of the chopped scallions. Stir and let it heat up for about another 15 seconds before finally adding in the garlic. Stir the 3 ingredients together and let it become fragrant (about 1.5 min).

3. Add the sliced cabbage and let it heat up until cooked but still firm and crisp. At that point take it out and transfer to another plate.

4. If your wok seems dry, add in another tablespoon on oil. Next take the diced BBQ Pork pieces and put it into the wok, letting it heat up and release a little bit of its oil/juices. Careful to not let it overcook (about 1-1.5 min) take out the meat and transfer it to a plate. It's okay if some of the scallions and garlic/ginger mixture comes out with it.

5. Add in the rice, the seasonings, and the rest of the scallions, tossing it all together and using your spatula to break up any chunks of rice that are stuck together. After about 2 minutes, push the rice to the edges of the wok to create a little hole in the middle. Take the 2 eggs and crack them in this bare center. Let it sit for 10 seconds and then close the well, stirring and incorporating the raw egg into the rice. The heat from the rice will help cook the egg through as well your stirring.

6. After about another minute the rice should become more pliable to work with and the seasoning ingredients should be more evenly distributed, add back in the bbq pork, napa cabbage, and frozen peas. Stir and let it cook until the peas have turned the nice dark green color. Taste to see if any more black pepper/white pepper/salt is needed.

Serve and enjoy!