Why Adding Soy Sauce To Fried Rice Isn't A Good Idea

When folks use the best kind of rice for a bowl of fried rice but don't season it as assertively as perhaps they should have, soy sauce can come to the rescue in a pinch. It adds a robust umami flavor to the dish, just like sprinkling MSG on tomato toast, yet you want to employ a steady hand as it is incredibly salty. However, Doris Yuen, co-owner of the James Beard-nominated Chinese restaurant MAKfam in Denver, Colorado, warned us against adding soy sauce to fried rice when ordering the dish from a restaurant.

MAKfam has also garnered recognition from the Michelin Guide in the form of a Bib Gourmand. Suffice it to say, Yuen knows a thing or two about building flavor in her cuisine, since quality restaurants generally serve meals meant to be enjoyed as they are rather than encouraging diners to augment it with condiments. "While it isn't considered rude to add soy sauce to fried rice, it might be a salt bomb if the rice is already seasoned or flavored," she said.

Still, there are always exceptions to every rule. "If this is the way you like to eat it, and we have the condiment available, we will give it to you," Yuen assured us. However, she doesn't want a meal that's been carefully prepared to be ruined. "Now if the condiment requested didn't match the dish, we will politely offer you something that might be a better match."

Soy sauce can take properly seasoned fried rice and turn it into a dish more emblematic of a salt lick, but that's not to say there aren't other condiments that can elevate the flavor. Instead of salty umami, think more along the lines of adding some warmth. "Any kind of chili oil can add depth of flavor to fried rice," Doris Yuen said. The level of spiciness it contributes varies based on the type of chilis used to make it, but it has more than just heat to offer your dish. It also lends smoky notes and a hint of sweetness that complements the other flavors in fried rice.

Yuen shared a specific recommendation that somewhat mimics the savoriness of soy sauce without contributing extra salinity. She said, "Personally, I love adding MAKfam's house-made XO chili sauce, which contains dry scallops, shrimp, and pork, [to] fried rice because it adds another level and layer of umami to the rice!" The XO chili sauce is featured on the Fancy Wun Tun Tong at MAKfam, a chicken and shrimp dumplings dish, but it can also be ordered as a side if you want a little kick with your fried rice. You can also buy a bottle to spice up your own rendition of fried rice at home.