Japanese Leftover Wagyu Beef Fried Rice

For today we have a super simple and delicious dish, and it’s always good to have this kind of quick recipe for those days after the holidays when we’ve all gone overboard and want to get back to normal portions and fast, with some healthier meals.

This rice was made with leftover wagyu steak. The word wagyu literally means “Japanese cow” in Japanese, but more precisely it refers to four breeds of Japanese cattle that have a genetic predisposition to produce meat with an enormous amount of “marbling,” meaning the meat is threaded through with fine veins of fat.

That’s what creates such a tender cut with such a mild flavor. Since it only comes from specific regions and specific cattle breeds, wagyu meat and steaks end up being a somewhat pricey product, with the most famous wagyu regions being Kobe, Yonezawa, and Matsusaka.

In my case, I had bought two steaks that were literally bigger than the pan, also they were a bit not best cut, so I trimmed off the edges of the steaks and saved those trimmings to cook this fried rice. But of course you can use another type of steak, especially one with a good amount of fat, so the meat stays nice and tender and gives the rice a pleasant hit of beef richness. Let’s check the recipe.

Japanese Leftover Wagyu Beef Fried Rice

Servings: 2
Time: 30mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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Those hard questions, what todo when you have day old rice and beef trimming, ohhh the conundrum hehehehe, its easy peasy, nothing as simple and delicious as a fried rice.

Ingredients

Wagyu Beef – +/- 100g (Or other beef cut)
Rice – 2 cups (Already cooked)
Onion – 1 small
Red Bell Pepper – 1/2
Yellow Bell Pepper – 1/2
Garlic – 2 cloves
Chives – 2 sprigs
Paprika – A pinch
Pepper – A pinch
Salt – A pinch

Directions

Fried rice is best made with pre-cooked rice that has had time to cool and dry slightly (so rice done the day before and stored in the fridge), so the rice will fry well, in this case with the fat from the meat.

Start by sautéing in a skillet over medium heat. If you have, like me, some pieces of Wagyu beef fat, you don’t even need to add any oil, if not, add a drizzle of olive oil, cut the pieces of fat, followed by the thinly sliced onion and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt and sauté until the onion begins to brown.

Then increase the heat to medium and add the chopped red and yellow bell peppers and cook a little longer.
Now add the Wagyu beef cut into pieces and let it brown. Season with a pinch of paprika, salt, and pepper.

Finally, increase the heat to medium-high and add the cooked rice. Stir and let it fry a little so the rice absorbs all the flavors well. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
Now remove from the heat and arrange on a serving plate, chop some chives, sprinkle on top, and you’re done. Enjoy!

Notes & Tips: Day-old, cold rice is the real secret here, freshly cooked rice is too moist and will turn out mush instead of crisping up nicely in the pan when its time to fry.

If your wagyu doesn’t have much visible fat left after trimming, a small knob of butter added with the onion will give you that same silky richness, also these are meaty trimming, if its just the fat, you can still use it, but let the fat get out of the trimming and then take them out before adding the rice, so you get that delicious wagyu fat!

Keep the heat moving up as the recipe progresses, starting medium for the aromatics and finishing medium-high for the rice, this staged heat is what gives the dish its proper “fried” texture instead of a steamed one.

Since wagyu is naturally very rich, a squeeze of lime or a splash of soy sauce at the end can help balance the fat and brighten the whole dish, even though it’s not in the original recipe.

This recipe for Japanese Leftover Wagyu Beef Fried Rice was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Arroz Frito de Wagyu foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.