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Friends, do you know what this is?

It looks perfectly innocent, doesn't it, sitting there in all its ashy gray-black glory?

Hah!

Don't be fooled. Just be glad you don't have smell-a-vision (unless you covet the odor of sulphur and ammonia).

Once, long ago, in my foolish salad days, someone made me eat this Chinese delicacy, the thousand-year-old duck egg. And this someone just happens to be here today, visiting from her warm abode in Honolulu, Hawai'i!

Fran and I went to grad school together. Most days, we'd share chicken and kamaboku (fish cake) sandwiches in the English Department library. After graduation, we continued to meet for lunch, the deal being to try to introduce the other person to something she had never eaten before.

That's how we became "Colleagues in Adventure" (CIA's).

It started out quite well. Fran invited me over for artichokes. I learned to dip those little green leaves into savory dressing and scrape the meat off against the roof of my mouth. A lot of work for so little food. We called it the "Artichoke Adventure."

This was followed by the "Strange Adventure from Sour to Sweet." I took Fran to a restaurant. I forgot what we ate and why the whole thing was strange. Ask Fran.

Then came (*gag*) the "Duck Egg Disaster." *Fran laughs maniacally* She came to my place of employment, a business office located in a downtown Honolulu highrise. You know, I should have known better. She had a devious smile on her face as she presented her innocent little brown bag. She led me to the ladies room, where she took out two eggs encased in mud and straw.

How interesting! I'd always loved Chinese food, and had eaten the regular salted duck eggs many times.

Then she cracked them open. Holy stink!!

Try to imagine the worst smell in the world concentrated in a small restroom without windows. "Go ahead," she said. "Eat your egg." 

Easy for her to say. She wasn't the one who had fainted dead away on the floor.

There was no getting around it. I would have to eat some egg. It would have been rude to refuse. I foolishly thought the white (actually gray) part of the egg would be easier to swallow than the yolk. Nope. It tasted like gelatinous underarms. The smell was so pervasive, the entire floor reeked of it. Office workers wrinkled up their noses in dismay. I denied any involvement. Who would have thought there was something more odorous than kim chee?

And yet, we're still friends. Thankfully, Fran didn't bring any duck eggs today, but the delicious recipe for her famous fried rice. She and her husband, the Silent One, eat this for breakfast at least once a week. Since Fran is a souper douper award winning teacher, she went above and beyond and sent along step-by-step photos. Enjoy!

WONG'S ALL IN ONE PAN FRIED RICE


In the islands, fried rice is a favorite local dish. It satisfies our love of rice as the predominant starch consumed daily -- easily at breakfast, lunch, dinner and even for snack! Fried rice is a wonderful conglomerate of the best of island flavors because it pleases the taste buds of our many cultures. Best of all, it is made in one frying pan, wok, or dutch oven. Although the rice, egg, and green onions are the basic foundation of this recipe, the meat, and sometimes, the vegetables, provide an infinite number of ways to prepare this dish. Here are some of the favorites, which you can use alone, or mix and match:

CHINESE:  Lup cheong (Chinese sausage), char siu (red roast pork) or roast pork.
KOREAN:   Kim chee (spicy, pickled cabbage, cut into small pieces)
IRISH:  Canned corned beef (add about 1/3 to 1/2 of the can)
AMERICAN: Sausages of all kinds, ham and spam (islanders have a love affair with SPAM), some frozen peas, a little canned corn.
PORTUGUESE: Portuguese sausage (either mild or hot)!
HAWAIIAN:  Kalua pork (shredded pork that can be made in the oven using a smoked seasoning)
FISH LOVERS: Canned salmon (about 1/3 to 1/4 of a can) seasoned with a little garlic salt. Add salmon into the beaten egg, then fry together.
VEGETARIAN: Top the rice with small blocks of tofu, which you can lightly cook first in oil and season with oyster sauce or soy sauce.

Many households use whatever is in the fridge, combining various leftovers into the dish. The best thing about fried rice is that it's a great way to make a new meal using what you already have -- all you need is a little imagination!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked rice
3-4 large eggs
green onions (about 5-6 stalks or add according to taste)
meat (of your choice, cut in small pieces)
veggies are optional (kim chee, canned corn, frozen peas)
cooking oil
1-2 T oyster sauce (season to taste), or soy sauce
slight sprinkle of Hawaiian sea salt (optional)

Steps:

Cut meat and green onions into small pieces.




Crack and beat eggs (if you're using canned salmon, add it before cooking eggs).
Add about 1 T milk or water to dilute the eggs.


Add 1-2 T vegetable oil to a large frying pan and heat.
Add eggs and scramble.

Break the eggs into small pieces as you cook, using your spatula.


Add the meat and green onions.

Stir fry them together.

Add veggies, if desired.

Gradually stir in the rice (precooked) with the ingredients. Cook until rice is soft.


When everything is mixed, season with oyster sauce or soy sauce.

Serve hot.

*With your tummy full, you'll need something to read. Here are Fran's Hawai'i-related book recommendations:

Picture books:

The Musubi Man: Hawai'i's Gingerbread Man, by Sandi Takayama, pictures by Pat Hall (Bess Press, 1997).
How Maui Slowed the Sun, by Suelyn Ching Tune, pictures by Robin Yoko Birningham (University of Hawai'i Press, 1988).
The Story of Chinaman's Hat, by Dean Howell (Island Heritage, 1990).
A is for Aloha, by U'ilani Goldsberg (Sleeping Bear Press, 2005).
The Three Little Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark, by Donivee Martin Laird (Barnaby Books, 1990).
How the B-52 Cockroach Learned to Fly, by Lisa Matsumoto, pictures by Michael Furuya (Lehua, Inc. 1995).
Sumorella: A Hawai'i Cinderella Story, by Sandi Takayama, pictures by Esther Szegedy (Bess Press, 1997).

For middle grade readers:

The titles of Graham Salisbury, especially Blue Skin of the Sea (1994), Eyes of the Emperor (2007), and Under the Blood Red Sun (2005), all published by Laurel Leaf paperbacks.

           
Thanks, Fran and Jack!!