Room temperature product: Kwong Cheong Tai Aged Superior Soy Sauce 640ml

The secret to its dark color is aromatic "dark soy sauce"

Dark soy sauce, known as Lao Chou (老抽) in Singapore, is a specialty of the region. It's made by adding caramel to a rich, dark soy sauce, giving it a thick consistency and a very dark color. However, it has a mild saltiness, strong sweetness and richness, and its aroma intensifies when heated.

Recipe Ingredients (serves 1-2)

• Cold rice…300g (cooked rice spread on a tray to cool, then covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight)
  ●Ground beef…30g
  ●Finely chopped onion…1/6 of an onion (30g)
  ●Egg yolks…3
  ＜Seasonings＞
  ●Aged Dark Soy Sauce…1 tbsp
  ●Soy sauce…1 tsp
  ●Sugar…1 tsp
  ●White pepper…a pinch
  ●Vegetable oil…1 and 2/3 tbsp
  ●Scallions (finely chopped)…4 stalks (10g)
  ●Pine nuts (quickly fried in plenty of oil)…1 and 1/2 tbsp (15g)

Instructions
1. Stir-fry ground meat and onion to bring out flavor and aroma.
Heat a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat, add vegetable oil, and stir-fry the ground meat. When the color of the meat changes, add the onion and stir-fry quickly until fragrant (restaurants use a ladle to stir-fry, but for home cooking, a wooden spatula is easier).

"Render fat from the ground meat and bring out the sweet aroma from the onion. We'll then distribute this highly flavorful and aromatic oil throughout the rice."

2. Turn off the heat temporarily, add egg yolks and mix roughly, then add cold rice.
"Using only egg yolks instead of whole eggs results in a fluffier texture and richer flavor. In restaurants, the egg yolks are stir-fried until half-cooked before adding the rice, but for home cooking, it's fine to add the rice immediately after adding the eggs. It's important to thoroughly coat the rice with the egg."

3. Stir-fry until everything is mixed and becomes fluffy.
Turn the heat to medium-high, break up any clumps of rice, and stir-fry until the egg is evenly mixed throughout.

"There's no need to rush; it's important to stir-fry carefully and thoroughly. By the way, in restaurants, we stir-fry it all at once over high heat."

4. Add seasonings and stir-fry.
Add Aged Dark Soy Sauce, soy sauce, and sugar in order and stir-fry until the entire dish is uniformly colored. Add white pepper and scallions, stir-fry quickly, then serve on a plate and sprinkle with pine nuts.

"Soy sauce burns easily, so if you're not used to it, you can turn off the heat or lower it before adding. Using Chinese dark soy sauce gives a delicious color and luster to the appearance, and adds depth to the flavor. This seasoning is also used in other dishes such as sweet and sour pork, braised pork belly, oyster sauce stir-fries, and braised shark fin."