Sometimes there’s nothing I crave more than a giant bowl of rice. Rice with something lusciously saucy like syrupy chicken. Or sticky rice delicately flavoured by its snug lotus leaf casing.  Or, in my opinion, the holy grail of rice dishes that fires up my appetite like nothing else can: fried rice.

My ultimate fried rice is made with jasmine, which has a delightful daan nga mouthfeel. Translated literally, this means ‘bouncy teeth’. Jasmine rice is perfect for fried rice because whilst the grains are loose enough to allow the seasonings to distribute evenly, this variety also has a slightly tacky and al dente bite.

And now for the seasoning. If I had to make the most basic (but still perfect!) fried rice, I’d simply use a little dark soy, a splash of light soy and a sprinkle of sugar. If I have them in the kitchen, I’ll crack in an egg or two and toss through some sliced spring onions. I guarantee that this combo will hit the spot, every single time.

But sometimes I want to take the dish to new heights, to make it feel more opulent and special. That’s when the roast pork and prawns will come out to create Yangzhou fried rice, or when some bacon will be fried off first so its oils can flavour the grains with that irresistible bacony savouriness. This is the beauty of fried rice: you can pretty much add whatever you like!

So in that spirit, one day I looked inside my fridge for inspiration and decided to add some tom yum paste to my wok. And my word, was the result next-level-delicious. Suddenly each spoonful of fried rice transported me to bustling street market in Thailand. An intoxicating medley of smells, smoky hot woks, and fresh seafood. The best part of tom yum is the tanginess from the lemongrass, which sings in perfect harmony with the the spicy, salty and sweet notes.

You could make your own paste for this dish, but I’m cheerful about using a pre-made one. While some pastes can lack the pizazz and punch of freshly made versions, nowadays you can get absolutely fantastic pastes from brands like Mae Ploy. On weeknights, the promise of being able to turn out something so delicious with the help of a little blob of pre-made paste is just the incentive we need to get cooking when we could so easily chuck a pizza in the oven instead.

Finally, you may have heard that fried rice is best when using rice that has been cooked the day before and then cooled. This is to prevent it from getting sticky when frying, as the precooked and cooled grains are slightly drier and can therefore separate more easily. However, that requires a bit of forward planing which just doesn’t jibe well with sudden cravings and ‘what-do-I-have-in-the-fridge’ situations. That’s why most of the time, say 90%, I just make fried rice using freshly cooked rice. With a few little tricks and tips, grain separation is no issue. Check them out in the recipe below!