One of our staple dishes I resort to whenever we have leftovers is fried rice. It’s a dish that we make to use up leftover veggies and meats we have on hand… and the rice we use is always cold. That’s key for perfect fried rice, just like what you’d get at Chinese restaurants and how my parents made theirs for their catering business. 
Here’s my recipe for fried rice:
Here’s my recipe for fried rice:
1 cup leftover meats – pork, chicken, beef, seafood
1-2 eggs
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 onion finely diced
3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped vegetables (fresh or frozen)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1-2 tablespoons light or dark soy sauce
1-2 cups prepared rice, cold (or day old)
In a hot skillet or wok, heat oil.
Add garlic and onions & stir.
Add leftover meats of your choice, chopped up in bite sized pieces.
Stir fry meats until you get them a bit crispy.
Push the meats aside and crack eggs into the pan.
Scramble the eggs into the pan until cooked.
Add cold rice over the eggs & meat into the pan, making sure to crumble it in your fingers. (Dumping a large chunk of rice is not going to work here. You need to crumble it so it separates nicely).
Add salt, pepper, onion & garlic powders and soy sauce; toss.
Allow the rice to heat up and absorb the spices and soy sauce, tossing to help it along.
Add the fresh or frozen veggies and toss into the rice.
Continue cooking it all on high heat until rice is heated through and veggies are cooked.
Add garlic and onions & stir.
Add leftover meats of your choice, chopped up in bite sized pieces.
Stir fry meats until you get them a bit crispy.
Push the meats aside and crack eggs into the pan.
Scramble the eggs into the pan until cooked.
Add cold rice over the eggs & meat into the pan, making sure to crumble it in your fingers. (Dumping a large chunk of rice is not going to work here. You need to crumble it so it separates nicely).
Add salt, pepper, onion & garlic powders and soy sauce; toss.
Allow the rice to heat up and absorb the spices and soy sauce, tossing to help it along.
Add the fresh or frozen veggies and toss into the rice.
Continue cooking it all on high heat until rice is heated through and veggies are cooked.
I used leftover grilled chicken and some frozen veggies for lunch and served this with some homemade eggrolls – which I’ll be dedicating a whole post to in a couple of week. I’m teaching an eggroll class so I’ll save the details and recipes on making eggrolls then!
Mmm, I love fried rice but have never attempted to make it at home. I’ll definitely try it now!
Brilliant. We just had an episode with our new fridge: it attempted to massacre all food left inside (okay, the temperature was set set too high, but I’m convinced it’s a malicious fridge), so we ended up with a lot of leftovers that we had to use FAST. This would have been a great idea! I’ll hold onto it for next time. Yum!
Yum! I love fried rice…but it’s one of those things I never think to make. Thanks for the reminder!
As usual- looks wonderful!
Yum! I have been looking for a great fried rice recipe…can’t wait to try it. Thanks!
Dang, why did I have to open this post up when I’m hungry? This looks fabulous!
Between you and Amber, I am definitely craving fried rice now! Looks delicious!
Looks delicious, and I love how you used garlic powder and fresh cloves for extra flavor.
What a great way to use those left overs! That’s always a challange for me. Now I have a solution. Thanks, Joelen. I’ll have to try your recipe.
RYC: Ooooh, only a true WCer would recognize that potato deliciousness! Mmmm…I’m kinda sad there aren’t leftovers.
Beautiful photo Joelen!
The fried rice looks super yummy!
This looks delicious! I love fried rice and have been wanting to make it for a while now. I’ll have to look to this recipe when I get around to making it!
I love fried rice! I can’t wait to see your eggroll post! : )
That’s it, I’m making fried rice for our lunches next week!
I have never made fried rice at home. I’m saving this recipe for when I have some rice leftover!
that looks so beautiful and good. Fried rices and pasta tosses are a staple in our house for clean out the fridge days- so are fritattas.
I love being creative with left overs…. love fried rice too!!!
That looks so good. Thanks for the great idea!