I’ve got the key, I’ve got the corned beef
So this is not quite magic, but very tasty nonetheless. This is something I like to cook from time to time, just like another of my old favourites created from tinned meat, SPAM, egg and rice. My mum used to cook a similar dish when we were kids. It’s very easy to make – regular readers will see that it’s just another variation of fried rice, really. Cube a medium-sized brown onion, chop up two or three garlic cloves (depending on their size, and how garlicky you like things – me, I go for HEAVY). Open a tin of corned beef (when I was a kid, I loved opening these corned beef tins with that special key!), slide the corned beef out and chop it up roughly so it’s no longer one solid trapezoidal shape. I usually use tinned corn kernels for this dish but since we had corn leftover from the weekend’s roast lunch, I just used that. Yeah, yeah I know I complained that the corn tasted old, but for some reason it tasted fine in this dish.
I fried up the onion and garlic in the wok until fragrant but not too browned, then added the chopped up corned beef. When I had tossed all of this around a bit and the corned beef had broken down somewhat I added the corn kernels, and then, the rice. I added oyster sauce and soy sauce to taste, drizzling directly over the rice and mixing the sauces into the rice before mixing the rice through with everything else. And last of all, I broke a couple of eggs into the mixture and cracked some black pepper over the top. I let the eggs begin to cook a little before stirring them through the mixture. No greens, no garnish, but delicious. I especially enjoy this dish if I’ve managed to use particularly bursty corn kernels. I don’t use salt-reduced corned beef either – it just doesn’t taste as good. I know it is often said that “old” cooked rice is better for fried rice than freshly cooked rice, but I use both – whichever happens to be available at the time – with no problems.