Chicken Fried Rice

I love fried rice.  Its comfort food to me.  But I'm a little opinionated about how it should be prepared...sort of. 

For me, fried rice must have a few specific basic elements.  Once those elements are in place, the recipe can be varied to suit different tastes, preferences, and moods.  This means that when I make fried rice, I almost never make the same recipe twice.  I like to change it up depending on what I happen to have on hand or what I am in the mood for.  However, the recipe always starts the same way.

Here are the "essentials":  long grain white jasmine rice, eggs, carrots, lots of fresh ginger and garlic, and lots of soy sauce.

Anything else is just a bonus.