My mentor, Marcia Halpern, taught me this recipe when I first started cooking the macrobiotic way. I have not yet discovered a version that surpasses it in speed or taste.

directions

1. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat oil.
2. Sauté ginger for 2 minutes to flavor the oil. Add scallions. Cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly.
3. Remove ginger. Add the cooked rice. Sauté for 8 minutes over medium heat, allowing bottom rice to crisp. 
4. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon each of the shoyu and mirin over the rice. 
5. Flip the rice over with a spatula and crisp the other side. Repeat step #4. 
6. Place celery on top of the cooked rice. Pour 2 tablespoons water along the outer edges of the rice. Cook covered for an additional 3 minutes.
   

variations

Substitute yellow or red onions for scallions.
Add 2 cloves of garlic, cut into matchsticks, to step #2.
Substitute 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks, for celery.
If you love the taste of ginger as much as I do, cut it into matchsticks and do not remove in step #3.

cook's tips

A nonstick surface is ideal for sautéing. Unfortunately, most pans with a nonstick surface will eventually flake off into the food.
     Glass and stainless steel are poor conductors of heat and are not
     well suited for this purpose. Cast iron is acceptable, but requires
     considerably more oil during sautéing and care to prevent it from
     rusting. Luckily, I discovered Scanpan^® with its high quality,
     ceramic and titanium surface which will not flake off. The
     Scanpan^® sauté pans are perfect for this recipe.
Leftover, cooked rice works wonderfully in this recipe since it dries out in the refrigerator. Dried rice is a better texture than
     sticky, fresh rice for frying.
2 cups of raw brown rice yields 6 cups of cooked rice.

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