Sardine Fried Rice

I was nineteen years old when I was deployed as a management trainee in a prestigious hotel in Singapore. That was actually part of our out-campus on-the-job training as a final requirement in our senior year in college. So I stayed in Singapore independently for one year and I had my fair share of experience when it comes to Singaporean cuisine.

It was said that Singapore is the melting pot of flavors in Asia. I could attest to that since people in different nationalities frequently visit the place all year round. To cater the growing number of people and foreigners, more food service establishments opened in the country. Hotels always have fancy restaurants and bars to offer their clients, malls are jam packed with different restaurants and above all they also have their very own “Hawker Centers” which turned out to be one of their cultural attractions as it offers different variety of cuisines. In fact, I admire how the Singaporean government managed to keep all the local food vendors in just one area, and it sure helped keep the environment spotlessly clean.

 I was really lucky our dorm was just a few blocks away from a hawker center and I could just drop by and buy instant food after a very long tiring day from work. Most of the time, I order “Nasi Goreng” which is the Indonesian and Malay version of our very own “Sinangag” (Filipino fried rice). It’s actually added with fried anchovies, sausage and egg at the side. It might surprise you but they also have what they call as the “Yeung Chow” fried rice which comes with a chili sauce and when I am very hungry, and want to pig out, I chow on their western influenced fried rice which is topped with pork chop, fried eggs and french fries.

In this post, I’d like to feature our very own “Sinangag” (Filipino version of fried rice) but with a slight twist. What makes this fried rice special is the addition of spanish sardines which gives a mild and natural taste to the day old rice and makes a perfect match for red tomatoes and salted eggs.

Make your day!!!

Sardine Fried Rice

Author: Tet Dacillo

Ingredients

5 cups day old (leftover) rice

1 bottle (230g) Spanish sardines, drained and crushed

2 pieces salted eggs, shells removed

4 medium red tomatoes, seeded and quartered

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium red onion, minced

3 tbsp cooking oil

salt to taste

Procedure

Heat oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat then sauté garlic and onions until it turns golden brown and translucent. Add sardines and rice and stir continuously until well blended. Season rice with salt and continue stirring until rice becomes slightly moist and soft. When it’s done, remove pan from heat. Serve fried rice in a bowl and top with salted eggs and tomatoes.