I’m not in the habit of telling people what to do. I’m a firm believer in people making their own decisions and their decisions being none of my business and always being respectful of other people’s choices.

Until now.

I hate to be forward…but I feel very strongly about you having this shrimp fried rice for dinner. And then again for breakfast. And then you should tell your husband that there’s none left and that you’re very sorry and you’ll make it again soon and then polish the rest of it off during your lunch break.

But like I said, it’s none of my business.

Growing up, my favorite restaurant was a family-owned shop called Thai Pepper that would make the most incredible beef fried rice. I would eat there so often – at least four times a week – that I would walk in and they would know exactly what I would order! It was the same thing every time: spicy beef fried rice and an egg drop soup. They would finish my sentence before I could get it out and we’d all have a laugh. I was so predictable. One day, I walked up to the counter and ordered the pad see yew and everyone in the restaurant stopped what they were doing.  The kitchen workers stood there gaping at me and all you could hear was the clanging of a pan that had dropped to the floor, while customers sat frozen and terrified, their forks midair.

Okay, so I made that last part up, but you get where I’m going with this, right? That (1) I can ramble on and on about any topic you give me and (2) I really like fried rice.

The key to having good fried rice is to make sure that your rice is cold before cooking. Warm or room-temperature rice can result in a soggy, chewier texture, so if you know you’ll be cooking fried rice, try to make your rice the night before. It’s also best to use long-grain rice, as shorter grains tend to be softer. It’s easy to substitute any protein you want for this recipe – beef, chicken, or pork – or double up on vegetables if you’re cutting out the meat. Serve alone or with a stir fry (we had ours with an easy beef and broccoli stir fry!), and just so you know, it also pairs perfectly with an egg drop soup.