Arroz chau chau is a Macanese fried rice whose name echoes the Cantonese word for stir-fry (chao). It marries Cantonese fried-rice technique (wok hei, day-old rice, quick high-heat frying) with Portuguese flavouring of butter, onion and garlic, a combination unique to Macanese kitchens. It is a simple, everyday Macanese dish that perfectly captures the fusion principle: a Chinese technique with a Portuguese flavour hand.
Separate, wok-scented grains of rice in a buttery, golden, onion-sweet glow, faintly garlicky, with a smoky edge from the wok. Eaten as a quick meal, it is savoury, buttery and the everyday fusion of Macau.
Day-old cold rice is stir-fried in a hot wok with butter (the Portuguese touch, replacing the Chinese pork lard), onion and garlic, over very high heat to build wok hei. The butter gives a richness and a golden colour that lard-based fried rice lacks. The technique is Cantonese (high heat, constant tossing, cold rice) but the fat is Portuguese. This swap, lard for butter, is the dish's defining fusion.
Variations
A version with Chinese sausage adds lap cheong. Some include prawns.
On the Palate
Where Arroz Chau Chau sits in the Macanese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 15 min
- 14 min
Heat 2 tbsp butter in a wok until foaming; add 1 diced onion and 4 cloves garlic; fry 3 minutes.
Watch outAdd the aromatics while the butter is foaming, not browned — foaming butter carries the aroma; let it turn brown and it tastes scorched.
- 25 min
Add 500g cold cooked rice; break up the clumps; stir-fry over high heat 5 minutes.
Watch outRice must go in cold and the wok screaming hot — cold grains stay separate and pick up wok breath; warm rice clumps and turns to mush.
- 32 min
Season with 1 tsp salt and a little white pepper.
- 44 min
Push the rice aside; scramble 2 eggs in the space; toss together.
- 52 min
Stir-fry 2 minutes more until every grain is separate and coated.
Watch outIt's done when every grain is separate and glossed with butter and dances loose as you toss it — no wet clumps left.
- 62 min
Serve hot, garnished with chopped spring onion.
