American fried rice (Thai: ข้าวผัดอเมริกัน, RTGS: khao phat amerikan, pronounced [kʰâ(ː)w pʰàt ʔāmēːrīkān]) is a Thai fried rice dish with "American" side ingredients like fried chicken, ham, sausages, raisins, and ketchup.[1] Other ingredients like pineapples and croutons are optional.
Alternative names | ข้าวผัดอเมริกัน |
---|---|
Type | Thai fried rice |
Course | Rice dish |
Place of origin | Thailand |
Associated cuisine | Malaysia, Thailand |
Serving temperature | Hot |
Main ingredients | Ketchup-fried rice, processed meat, sunny egg, raisins |
The origin of American fried rice has a number of tales, anecdotes, urban legend, and related stories. Most of those stories are related to either American troops or their culture. Currently, there are three major tales and hypotheses about the origins of American fried rice:
All of the cooking techniques and ingredients using in the American Fried Rice are similar to the dish called "Mexican Rice" in Southern United States. Mexican rice cooked or fried rice grains with tomatoes or ketchup. Mexican rice often served with variety of dishes, such as fried eggs, fried chicken, crispy bacon.
Mexican rice recipe for the first time appeared on a daily menu recipe in the Newark Evening Star and Newark Advertiser on June 2nd, 1910. According to this recipe, Mexican rice is accompanied with frankfurter. However, Mexican rice was paired with several other dishes after that. Mexican rice is presumed to be in Thailand via the American soldiers who stationed here during the Cold War. Mexican rice would eventually become the ancestor of the American fried rice in Thailand.American fried rice in Malaysia and southern Thailand have different versions that have been modified from the original version. Usually it replaces the side dish of "bacon" or "ham" with Thai red meat (Malay: Daging masak merah ala Thai). This change was made because the Thai Malays and Malaysian Malays communities are Muslim.