Cantonese fried rice (chao fan, 炒饭) is a preparation in which day-old rice is stir-fried in a blazing-hot wok with eggs, protein, vegetables, and soy sauce to produce a rice with distinct, separate grains, wok hei aromatic complexity, and a well-seasoned, slightly smoky flavour. The technique differs from the Yangzhou style primarily in the egg technique — many Cantonese fried rice preparations coat each grain of rice individually with beaten egg before stir-frying (the 'gold-wrapped-silver' or 'egg-fried-rice-in-advance' technique), producing a rice where every grain has a thin egg coating that crisps slightly in the hot wok.
The egg-first technique (蛋包饭 dan bao fan style): Beat 2-3 eggs. Mix the day-old cold rice with the beaten eggs in a bowl before cooking — toss vigorously to coat every grain. When this egg-coated rice enters the smoking-hot wok, the egg sets almost instantly around each grain, creating a scattered distribution of egg across all the rice. The sequence: Heat the wok to maximum. Add 3 tbsp oil (more than you think necessary — the oil is what separates the grains and produces the characteristic individual-grain texture). Add the egg-coated rice. Spread in the wok. Allow it to sear without stirring for 30-45 seconds — a crust develops on the bottom. Break up and toss vigorously. Add the protein and vegetables. Toss. Season with soy sauce (added to the sides of the wok, where it caramelizes before mixing with the rice), white pepper, and sesame oil.
Grace Young, Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge (2010); Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking (2009)