Cheeseburger Fried Rice

All the diner-burger flavor — beef, cheddar, pickle, ketchup — folded through hot rice instead of a bun

⏱ 25 min · easy · 🍽 serves 4

Ingredients

• 10 oz flank or skirt steak, very finely chopped (no ground beef on hand, this does the job)
• 2 cups cooked jasmine rice, cold or day-old
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp diced dill pickle (or relish)
• salt and black pepper

Steps

1. Chop the steak fine on a board — near mince, not slices — season with salt and pepper.
2. Melt half the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chopped steak hard, 4-5 min, breaking it up as it goes, until it's crisping at the edges. Tip out onto a plate.
3. Same skillet, rest of the butter, onion and garlic in, 2-3 min until soft.
4. Push everything to one side, pour beaten eggs into the cleared space, scramble soft, then fold through the onions.
5. Add the cold rice, breaking up clumps with the spatula. Stir-fry 3-4 min until it's separate grains and starting to catch a little at the base of the pan.
6. Return the steak to the pan. Add ketchup and soy sauce, toss everything through until glossy and evenly coated, 1 min.
7. Off heat, scatter the cheddar over the top, cover with a lid for 1 min so it melts into pockets rather than stirring it in.
8. Fold through the diced pickle at the last second so it stays crunchy. Taste — it'll want more black pepper than you think.