Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Fried rice from leftovers


Picky is an eager shopper. He likes to buy two of every impulse buy. When I had him order dinner for us yesterday when I was running errands, he ordered double of all the appetizers. So, today I have a dozen extra large jerk-style chicken wings looking at me. No problemo.

Fried rice is one of my favorite things to make with leftovers. You can use steak, (beef or tuna), shrimp or shellfish, chicken, or keep it vegetarian. I shredded up the leftover chicken wings and added them to these ingredients:


oil
broccoli, chopped
carrot, chopped
green onion (you can use white or yellow)
grated ginger
diced garlic
a scrambled egg
your leftover protein
cooked rice (I use 1 cup uncooked to make 2 1/2 or so cooked)
sesame seeds
soy sauce
toasted sesame oil

These ingredients are very flexible. Even the rice can be substituted with soba noodles, or spaghetti in a hitch. Any of the vegetables can be switched out for others. Squash, sugar snap peas, sweet peas, cabbage, bean sprouts, and many other veggies work well. If I plan the meal out ahead of time, I sometimes have a can of water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and those yummy straw mushrooms, but last night I didn't. This is by no means an authentic formula. If had something called fish sauce in the house, I think Picky would throw it away.

I added the ingredients into a hot wok in the order shown. letting each cook a minute or two, or longer if needed. (For example, I was using raw broccoli, so that took a few extra minutes). I deglaze the pan each time with a little soy sauce, but I usually have to add a little more at the end. If I start the rice then start prepping the ingredients, the rice is done by the time I need it. I just scoot the veggies over in the wok and scramble the egg right there. If your protein is precooked, you can add it late just to warm it, and this is a super quick meal.

2 comments:

jendajen said...

Man! I never thought of this as a potential useage for leftover meats. Grand idear.

MomTFH said...

Thanks lots! I will be posting my leftovers plus pasta with cream sauce recipe next time I make it, I am sure.