Thai Fried Rice

Author's Note: It is not so much the ingredients in this dish that make it different from Chinese fried rice as the sauce it is eaten with. The main ingredient in this sauce is fermented bean curd, strong cheesy cubes that are available bottled in most Chinese grocery stores, which sell many types of fermented bean curd. The type used here consists of cubes that are doused in a red wine liquid and are bottled as Red Bean Curd or Nam Yee. At Thai grocery stores, ask for red "tao hoo yee".

K's Note: All I could find was Red Bean Curd Sauce, which appears to be the same thing, but already mashed.

DIRECTIONS: Put the oil in a wok or a heavy skillet and heat over a medium flame. When hot, put in the garlic. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the shallots. Stir and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the ginger and the chili. Stir and fry another minute. Put in the cooked rice and mung bean sprouts. Stir and fry for 2 minutes. Make a hole in the center of the rice and break the egg into it. Stir the egg, first in its hole and then, when it sets a bit, mix it up with the rice. Add the salt. Stir and fry the rice for 10 minutes or until it has heated through properly. Stir in the minced Chinese parsley.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and put them in a bowl.

To serve, make a mound of the rice in a large platter. Garnish with the mint and cucumber. Pass along the sauce on the side.