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When cooking stuff like fried rice, I often run into a problem that the sauces don't really mix throughout the rice, rather just attach themself on a small bit of it. Any way I can fix this?

Reine Abstraktion
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    I'm surprised by this question. Fried rice is a stir-fried food, so the conventional method automatically takes care of mixing the ingredients really well. Can you describe your method in detail? – rumtscho Jul 16 '23 at 10:52
  • I don't have a wok, I cook in a pan @rumtscho – Reine Abstraktion Jul 16 '23 at 11:27
  • I’ve never had this problem, but I use a bottle with a small opening to shake an amount on, moving around as I go so it’s not just all in one place, then stir – Joe Jul 16 '23 at 12:44
  • Note in Chinese tradition, _how_ the liquid seasonings are added, courtesy of [Chinese Cooking Demystified](https://youtu.be/_hkG0e13HKM?t=406). – Michaelyus Jul 19 '23 at 14:32

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As mentionned. The answer is probably just stir it more. Martin Yan often quoted.... "It's stir-fry, not sit-fry".

That said, if you want to distribute it more without changing your salt:rice ratio, you could thin it out with water (I'd start small; a tablespoon or two) or low-sodium broth. That'll ensure more of the "sauce" gets spread to various grains. If your heat is right, most of the water should evaporate pretty quickly, while you stir your rice.

talon8
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  • Instead of water, you could also use mirin… it’s a sweetened alcohol made from rice, and can enhance the rice flavor. (I often use it in stir fries if I need to thin things out) – Joe Jul 26 '23 at 22:50
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While fried rice is cooked with almost constant motion, as mentioned in the comments, I'll add that you can successfully make fried rice without a wok. In either case, to ensure proper mixing, you also want to be careful not to overcrowd your pan. Too much rice will not only make it harder to mix, but will also make the browning/frying more difficult to achieve. It also helps to use day-old rice, or rice that has been refrigerated. This cold rice is less susceptible to breaking apart when you mix. So, the key, in general, is to mix well.

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moscafj
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  • Those are good poitns, but it seems still like a logical impossibility to me. How can such a small liquid coat evenly such a large quantity of lfie – Reine Abstraktion Jul 16 '23 at 15:01
  • You are not covering each grain of rice with fish sauce. It is a seasoning and flavoring that combines with the other ingredients as you are mixing and cooking. If you are not getting enough fish sauce flavor for your liking, you can also use it on each serving as a finishing seasoning. – moscafj Jul 16 '23 at 15:10
  • What do you mean by "combining" other than "coating"? – Reine Abstraktion Jul 16 '23 at 15:20
  • All of your seasonings and flavors will combine with mixing and heating. From your initial post it sounds like you are not mixing enough, thus my tips. – moscafj Jul 16 '23 at 15:46