Fried Rice

• 3 cups??? cold rice (i.e., cooked rice that has been refrigerated - this is the "secret" ingredient)
• 1/4 of a large pepper (maybe put in red or yellow pepper for a different color)
• 1/3 to 1/2 medium onion
• 3 or 4 scallions
• bean sprouts (when I was a kid, all fried rice had bean sprouts in it but I haven't seen that in restaurants for a while, and I haven't gotten any sprouts to put into the mix; maybe sometime I'll get some)
• 1 thick slice of ham from the deli (1/8"?  3/16"?) - at least 1/4# for 2 people, the last time we did it we had almost 1/2#
• 2 eggs
• soy sauce (1/3 cup??)
• Plus anything else you think would be great in fried rice! Maybe you want to substitute shrimp for ham. Maybe top with toasted almond slivers. (I would love that, but my wife? Not so much.)

• Put oil in a large fry pan and add cold rice. I mash it into the pan to spread it out (after all, it's cold rice). Turn the rice from time to time, and you may need to add oil part way through. The goal is to dry it out. I like it on the more dry side so I do this longer than is probably necessary. I'm probably doing this for a half hour while all the other cutting and cooking is being done.
• Cut up the vegetables (not sprouts if you get them) into pieces 1/2" or less
• In a separate pan start frying the vegetables in oil until cooked, but not mushy
• Cook onions and set aside
• Cook peppers and set aside
• Cook sprouts and set aside?? I don't know as I haven't had done this. I wouldn't cook them very long, they are pretty delicate.
• Don't forget, keep flipping the rice
• The ham is pre-cooked. I fry the pieces to dry it out and to make it taste better. You may not need oil to cook the ham - I generally don't.
• Once the rice is done add in the vegetables and ham. Stir until everything is heated up again.
• Push the rice and ingredients aside to make a hole in the middle of the pan. Break the eggs into the hole, constantly stirring them until they are cooked (the eggs will mix with some of the other ingredients, try to minimize that). I don't scramble the eggs beforehand. Once the eggs are cooked mix them in with everything.
• Add soy sauce to taste and stir it up. I wouldn't overdo the soy sauce as you can always add more when it is on your plate.
• It is now ready to serve.