Bacon Garlic Fried Rice

This is the fried rice I grew up with. I was never sure if it was just a Filipino recipe or an adaptation my mother made being in the South (US) but all I know is I've never met anyone that didn't like this fried rice and people always beg me for the recipe. The prep time below assumes you already have left over rice in the fridge, but there's instructions for cooling your cooked rice too.

• Ready In: 23 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 lb bacon
• 5  cups cooked long-grain rice (can use other rice, but long or medium grain rice is all I ever use)
• 6  garlic cloves, smashed and diced (use approximately half a bulb. heavy garlic is necessary for me, but cut back if you like)
• 1 1⁄2 cups  frozen peas and carrots
• 2  eggs, beaten slightly
• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil (optional)
• 1⁄4 cup light soy sauce (or more to taste)
•  salt

Directions

1. Slice the bacon slices cross ways into small slivers. This works well if you keep your bacon frozen. Thaw enough to slice and then just slice off your pieces of bacon across so you have a bunch of thin strips. Fry the slivers of bacon in a large wok or pan and then remove the bacon to drain on a paper towel. Reserve some of the bacon fat, about 2-4 tbsp, or use vegetable oil, or use a mixture.
2. Lightly fry the garlic in the bacon fat/oil in the same pan you fried the bacon. Don't let the garlic get brown. Add the cold rice and the peas and carrots and let it all warm at high temperature and break up the big pieces of rice. It's ok for there to be some clumps of rice remaining. It is important your rice is cold when you start or the fried rice will get gluey and mushy. Day old rice is best, but if you want to make your rice fresh and then fry it, cook the rice and put in a flat baking pan in the freezer to cool for 30-60 minutes first.
3. After about 5 minutes, or once the rice is heated through make a well in the center of your rice. Add your eggs and stir them slightly. I like to cook the egg most of the way through in the well, and then slowly bring in the remaining rice which gives some eggy chunks as well as a light coating of egg on some of the rice. Another option is to lightly fry the scrambled egg separately first and then add it to the fried rice.
4. The last step is to add the soy sauce, crumble bacon pieces over, mix, taste and add salt if desired.
5. This fried rice is surprisingly simple, but really awesome. I always use the frozen peas/carrots, but other veggies can work. Never use canned veggies, and ones that release water (like tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, squash) can be tricky, because your rice can get mushy. Fresh carrots, broccoli, snap peas, bell pepper, frozen/fresh corn have been tried and all work.