fried rice

Fried Rice – The Perfect Way to Use Up Leftovers

My eldest reminded me we hadn’t had fried rice in a while. I had some leftover barbecued London broil to use up so this seemed like a good combo. I’ve made friend rice before with leftover or raw chicken, pork, and flank steak. It always comes out great!

Cook up some rice, about 1 to 1.5 cups raw. You want about 3 cups cooked rice. If you have less than that leftover, use what you’ve got. (Note: Rice freezes well for fried rice, since it is better if it’s leftover and a little dryer anyway. Just make extra one night and pop a few cups in a freezer bag for your next batch of fried rice.)

Heat a bit (2 Tbs) of oil in a large frying pan. Put in some sliced or shredded carrots, celery, onion–whatever you have around. Cook on medium until just softened, stirring frequently. Throw in a bit of sugar, soy sauce, salt and pepper and stir. Add the raw or cooked meat and cook or heat through. Throw in a can of bamboo shoots if you have them. Add other leftover vegetables like corn and peas if you have them.

Mix up an egg or two and 1 Tbs of milk. Here you have a choice.

If you like little strips of egg for fried rice, remove everything from the skillet, make sure there’s enough oil or butter so the egg won’t stick. Pour the egg in and cook it without stirring, so it lays flat, then flip it just once. Fold or roll the egg up and put on the cutting board and cut into strips.

Add the cooked rice to the pan and fry for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Some people like to remove the vegetables and meat, add a bit of oil, fry the rice, and then mix back in the vegetables and meat.

Put the cooked egg top of the rice and serve. Or if you’re in a hurry and a bit lazy like me, just add the raw egg to the rice and cook until done, stirring frequently.

My children will eat almost any vegetable this way. And leftover meat does not feel like leftovers when it’s presented so differently.


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12 responses to “Fried Rice – The Perfect Way to Use Up Leftovers”

  1. […] you can stretch that meat even further by making meat a more minor part of the meal, like with fried rice or stir […]

  2. […] got 1 and 1/2  leftover pork chops to go into some fried rice or salad or burritos for lunch or dinner another day.  Or a grilled sandwich. Might be packed for […]

  3. […] fried rice or lo mein with leftover meat of any kind (or just […]

  4. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I tried making it with peanut oil. No veggies, just rice. After a few minutes I threw in aome left-over honey-glazed ham. Added Soy and a pinch of sugar, and to my suprise, it wasn’t half bad. Not like the restaraunts, but not bad!

  5. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    omg… the secret to making fried rice like the chinese restaurants is the way you prepare the rice.
    make more rice than normal and chuck it in the freezer(u can use the rice after a week and it will still taste like restaurant rice)
    when u cook make sure the flame is high…and DO NOT KEEP TOSSING!!!

  6. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    In a small bowl mix together: soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce and hoison sauce. After you have fried the vegetables and the rice, then add the soy sauce mix.

  7. DrWu Avatar
    DrWu

    Um it says very plainly to fry the rice for a few minutes…

  8. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I had no idea how to cook Fried rice, until found this website, thank you very much..

    single male, melbourne Australia

  9. Ellen Avatar
    Ellen

    I edited the post after the first comment, as I had actually neglected mentioning when to add the rice! The dangers of not having an editor….

  10. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    hey anonymous, did you read the recipe? It says exactly when and how to cook the rice.

  11. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I have made fried rice that tasted almost exactly like the chinese resturants. Cook some rice in a pot with some salt and butter mixed in, but maybe not quite as long as normal. Get a LARGE pan or wok to give yourself enough room to cook. Fill the bottom of it with sesame seed oil and spread so no part of the pan is not covered. It is key to use sesame seed oil. Put the rice in the pan in one big lump and pour plentiful amounts of soy sauce and sesame seed oil on top of it. You may also wish to add leeks and some cooked meat. Make sure that your pan is large enough that there is room in it with the rice in there too. Fry for a while, spreading and reclumping occasionaly. Every so often, pour more oil, and LARGE AMOUNTS OF SOY SAUCE onto the rice. Break a whole egg and put it into the unused portion of the wok. Break the yoke and mix up the egg with the spatula. The egg will cook very quickly. Break it up with the spatula and mix it with the rice. Continue to cook as you did before, adding more soy sauce and oil. Add enough soy sauce so the color of the rice looks good. Cook till done. I know this recipe is very rough, but this worked for me.

  12. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    It seems your recipe has one fry everything except the rice? Why do I see this in every recipe I see for fried rice? Every time I follow these recipes, all I seem to get is “fried vegetables mixed with white rice that is merely warmed up and flavored with soy”. It certainly NEVER comes out like the Chinese place makes across the street.

    Randy G.

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