Glo's Sausage Fried Rice

This is an easy to prepare fried rice dished passed down by my Japanese mother. You won't find anything like it in the restaurants. Every time we have a family get-together or a covered dish luncheon at work, I am always requested to bring this rice. Being half Japanese, my family would eat this rice as the main part of our meal. Most people would make this as more of a side dish. This recipe makes a lot, so feel free to cut down on the quantities. The beautiful lady in the picture is my mother who I lost to cancer in 2002.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

• 1  lb pork sausage
• 8  eggs, scrambled
• 3  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1⁄2 head cabbage, cored and shredded
• 3  carrots, chopped
• 6  cups cooked white rice, MUST be chilled
• 1⁄4 cup soy sauce (to taste)
• 1 (14 1/2ounce) can bean sprouts, drained
• 1⁄2-1  cup frozen green pea
•  ground black pepper
• 3  green onions, chopped

Directions

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until evenly browned. Drain, and remove sausage from the pan. In the same pan, scramble the eggs, stirring frequently until cooked through. Remove eggs from pan and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a very large skillet or electric skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Stir fry the cabbage and carrots just until the cabbage has wilted. Add the cold rice, and fry, sprinkle some soy sauce over the mixture and break up clumps in the rice. (Rice must be cold or the dish will come out gummy.) Mix in the sausage and sprinkle some more soy sauce over all. Stir in bean sprouts and eggs, mixing well so there are no big chunks. Gently mix in the peas. Season with pepper, and stir in green onions just before removing from the heat. Add more soy sauce, if desired, to taste, and serve. This dish reheats well in the microwave.
3. Tip 1: To save time, instead of chopping up cabbage and carrots, you can buy a 16 oz. package of coleslaw mix which has the cabbage and carrots already shredded.
4. Tip 2: If you are using the quantitites listed above, it would be easier if you break it down into 2 or 3 batches. This makes enough fried rice to fit into a large crockpot. I place the rice in a crockpot to keep it warm for cookouts.
5. Tip 3: This recipe is very versatile. You can add, leave out or change ingredients according to your taste. Instead of sausage, this rice works well with chicken, beef, shrimp, etc. If you like you can add water chestnuts or bamboo shoots. A great way to use up leftovers.