Chinese in Costa Rica cooks world's largest fried rice

Costa Ricans of Chinese descent set a world record Tuesday by cooking the world's largest amount of fried rice in celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

To make the fried rice, some 735 kg of rice were used, along with 260 kg of chicken, 130 kg of suckling pig, 120 kg of ham, 20 kg of Chinese sausage, 80 kg of eggs, 53 kg of chives and 35 kg of sweet pepper.

The record was certified by Ralph Hannah, an inspector with the Guinness World Records organization, while huge crowds gathered to enjoy the Chinese staple.

The record-breaking dish was prepared in San Jose's Chinatown by members of Cost Rica's Chinese Community Association as part of their celebrations marking the arrival of the Year of the Snake.

"We are very proud to say that the world's largest fried rice was cooked today in Costa Rica, because not even in China has a similar amount of rice been cooked simultaneously," association president Isabel Yung told Xinhua.

Yung said all the ingredients and cooking utensils were from Costa Rica and the rice was prepared by Chinese-Costa Ricans from various Chinese restaurants.

China's Ambassador to Costa Rica Song Yanbin hailed the record and said the communal effort helped promote a greater understanding of Chinese traditions and culture among Costa Ricans.

The Mayor of San Jose Johnny Araya said he was pleased his city hosted the Guinness record and praised the initiative of the Chinese community for taking on the challenge.