Pork Fried Rice

The source describes this as the African version of the Chinese takeaway dish, and that is a fair summary of what it is: a Chinese format cooked with a West African hand. Pork belly is simmered with garlic, ginger and a bouillon cube before frying, which is not how a Chinese kitchen would do it, and the bouillon cube in particular is the marker. Fried rice itself originated in China during the Sui dynasty and has spread into more cuisines than almost any other dish. In its simplest terms it is cooked rice reheated with oil, and every version is a variation on that. West Africa has its own established branch of it: Nigerian fried rice is parboiled in seasoned meat stock and coloured with fried rice spice, and it is a genuinely distinct tradition. The technical rule is the same wherever it is made. The rice must be cold. Four cups of cold cooked rice is what this recipe specifies, and warm rice releases steam and surface starch that turn the whole thing into a sticky mass. Beyond that: high heat, a wok, and everything prepared before anything goes in the pan. The egg is cooked separately as a thin omelette and cut into pieces, which keeps it in distinct ribbons rather than scrambling through.