Rice Dishes
Authentic Singaporean Olive Fried Rice (Gan Lan Chao Fan) Recipe
A comforting Teochew-inspired staple found in many Singaporean households and zi char stalls. This fragrant fried rice uses bottled preserved olive vegetable to create a deep, earthy umami flavour that is perfectly balanced with juicy minced meat and fluffy, separated grains of rice.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 480 kcal
Method
Break up the cold day-old rice using your hands or a spatula to ensure the grains are separate and not clumped together.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the beaten eggs and scramble quickly until just set, then remove and set aside.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the same wok. Sauté the minced garlic until fragrant, then add the minced pork. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
Add the chopped long beans and the bottled olive vegetable. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, allowing the oil from the olives to coat the meat and aromatics.
Toss in the rice and increase the heat to maximum. Stir-fry vigorously for 3-5 minutes, ensuring every grain of rice is coated in the dark olive mixture.
Season with light soy sauce and white pepper. Taste before adding more salt, as the preserved olive vegetable is naturally very salty. Return the scrambled eggs to the wok.
Give it a final toss for 1 minute until the rice grains are dancing in the pan and infused with 'wok hei'.
Serve immediately, traditionally accompanied by a side of spicy Sambal Belacan and fresh cucumber slices.
Notes
Always use cold, day-old rice; fresh rice is too moist and will turn mushy when the oily olive vegetable is added.
Do not discard the oil in the olive vegetable bottle; it contains concentrated flavour that seasons the rice.
If you want more crunch, add a handful of fried ikan bilis or toasted cashew nuts as a topping just before serving.
Ensure your wok is smoking hot before adding the rice to achieve the charred 'wok hei' aroma typical of Singaporean zi char.
