Crispy Garlic Egg Fried Rice 

Ingredients  
500g cooked jasmine or basmati rice
1 cucumber
150g radishes, leaves trimmed 1 tablespoon crispy chilli oil or chilli crisp
3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon maple syrup
zest and juice of an unwaxed lime
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and very thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)
3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as groundnut)
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
4 free-range eggs
1 bunch of spring onions, very finely sliced

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SERVES 2 GENEROUSLY, OR 4 AS PART OF A MEAL
 
Cook the rice if needed
If you don't have leftover rice, cook around 170g rice now, to give 500g cooked rice (see page 194 for a method).

Make the cucumber and radish salad
With a rolling pin gently smack 1 cucumber and 150g trimmed radishes so they split but don't break up completely.
Chop the cucumber into 2cm pieces and put them into a serving bowl with the radishes.
Add 1 tablespoon crispy chilli oil, 2 table­ spoons soy sauce,
1 teaspoon maple syrup and the zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lime and mix until every­ thing is coated in the dressing.

Make the crispy garlic
Thinly slice 8 peeled cloves of garlic with a knife or very carefully with a mandoline.
Put 3 tablespoons of neutral oil into a small frying pan or saucepan
add the sliced garlic and 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds.
Put the pan over medium-low heat and allow everything to cook slowly for 3-5 minutes
until the garlic is very lightly golden and crisp.
Be careful here to cook until just golden.
Taking the garlic too far or too brown will make it bitter, so don't be tempted to cook it on high heat.
Drain the garlic and seeds with a sieve (keeping the oil), then leave to cool on some kitchen paper.

Beat the eggs and fry the rice
Beat 4 eggs well with another table­ spoon of soy sauce.
Put the reserved oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat,
Once hot, add 500g cooked jasmine or basmati rice and spread it out in an even layer to heat through for a minute.
Now stir until all the rice is coated in a little oil.

Add the eggs
Push most of the rice to one side of the pan.
Add the beaten egg to the empty side, stir the egg quickly to fry and partly cook it,
Stir it into the rice and cook for another minute or two.
Take off the heat.

Serve the rice
Mix a quarter of the crispy garlic and sesame seeds into the cucumber and radish salad.
Divide the rice between four bowls and put some of the salad on the side of each.
Finish the rice with the remaining crispy garlic and sesame, and top with 1 bunch of very finely sliced spring onions.