Kamaboko Fried Rice: 20 Min Yakimeshi Recipe
If you have leftover rice, it’s yakimeshi time! Add the kamaboko from your freezer and you almost have the complete dish already.
Leftover sushi rice is the best, so if yesterday was sushi day or you’ve made some nice onigiri balls, you’re good to go.
Here’s how to make it.
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Kamaboko Fried Rice Yakimeshi Recipe
Ingredients
- 3½ cups Japanese short grain rice stale will work best
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2½ ounces ham
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- 4 tsp soy sauce
- 2 scallions chopped
- 12 slices kamaboko fish cakes (or narutomaki will do as well)
- 2 tbsp beni-shoga pickled ginger
Instructions
- First, start by crumbling the cooked rice with your hands, so it's nice and loose.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the vegetable oil and tilt the pan to ensure it’s completely coated. You don't want any egg or rice sticking to the pan.
- Add all of the eggs and allow them to be cooked a bit, evenly across the pan, then scramble.
- Add the crumbled rice to the egg before it becomes cooked. Use a spatula to break up any clumps.
- Add the ham and kamaboko and toss the rice around to distribute the ingredients evenly.
- Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top, then toss the rice again to make sure both seasonings are distributed and to keep it from sticking.
- Drizzle soy sauce on the edge of the pan and toss the rice to ensure it’s coated.
- Add your sesame and scallions and toss one last time to combine everything.
- Serve it in a bowl with a little gari pickled ginger on top and you can immediately eat it.
Cooking tips
- Day old rice works best to make yakimeshi, and any fried rice dish. It’s not a coincidence this is a leftover day style dish.
- To give this recipe a protein boost, add an extra egg.
- Putting the rice in the egg beforehand will coat the rice, making it less sticky and easier to work with.
- The soy sauce is put on the edge of the pan, as this caramelizes the sauce instantly.
- Two spatulas can be used to mix the ingredients, but tossing them in the pan is a more efficient way to cook.
Favorite ingredients
Unlinke Chinese style fried rice which is made with long grain rice, yakimeshi is made using short grain rice. This makes yakimeshi a little more moist and sticky than most types of fried rice.
My favorite short grain rice to use is this one from Nozomi which has a great texture to it:
I usually make sushi or another dish with it like my favorite onigiri recipes, and then use the cooked leftovers for yakimeshi.
For the beni-shoga, I use this Shirakiku jar (a brand you’ve probably seen before on the site). It’s called kizami shoga, which is the same red pickled ginger but with a quicker pickling process:
Beni-shoga substitute for yakimeshi
You can always substitute beni-shoga with gari, which is also pickled ginger but a little on the sweeter side, but you probably don’t have that either.
A little kimchi will do as well, although that’s a lot more spicy than a Japanese recipe calls for.
If you don’t have any of those, don’t worry. Just skip the beni-shoga and the dish will be delicious anyway.
How to store leftover kamaboko yakimeshi
If you have any leftovers, store them in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Reheat in a pan over medium heat until warmed through.
You can also freeze the leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as above.
Conclusion
Leftover day has never been this good with this amazing yakimeshi with kamaboko recipe. You’ll want to make it every day!
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Read for freeJoost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.