I love a simple recipe that clears out the fridge! This recipe makes great use of both leftover rice and veggies. I always keep my leftover rice cause I know I can easily make fried rice. Just add some leftover white rice to a skillet along with veggies and eggs, and in a short time you have a delicious and savory meal! Previously cooked rice works best because it makes the fried rice firmer, but freshly cooked rice can also be used.
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 cup Chopped White Onion
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 package Stir-Fry Vegetables
- 1 Green Onion
- 2-3 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 cup White Rice (previously cooked)
- 4 Eggs (2 of the eggs are optional)
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
- Salt
- Pepper
Recipe
- Add vegetable oil to a large sized skillet or wok, and heat over medium-high heat.
- Chop onion (if not already chopped), garlic, and green onion, keeping the white and green parts of the green onion separate.
- Once the pan is hot, add onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add stir-fry vegetable package to pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add chopped garlic and green onion (white parts only) to pan and cook for another minute.
- Move vegetables to one side of the pan, and add the rice to the empty side of the pan. Break up the rice with your spatula (if stuck together) and add the soy sauce. Continue cooking for 3 minutes, stirring the rice and vegetables together in the last minute.
- Repeat process with eggs: move the vegetable/rice mixture to one side of the pan, and crack two eggs on the empty side of the pan. Using the spatula, break the yellows and scramble the eggs. Cook until the eggs are firm, about 3 minutes, then combine with the rice and vegetables.
- Stir in the the ginger, salt, and pepper. Serve with a sunny-side up egg (optional) and the leftover green onions. (Note: to make the eggs, crack an egg in the emptied skillet over medium heat, adding some more oil if needed. Cook until the whites are firm and the yolk still runny, about 5-6 minutes.)
Detailed Steps
Fried rice can be as simple as leftover rice and soy sauce, but I like to make it more filling (and more like the fried rice bought in restaurants) by adding various vegetables and eggs. If I have any leftover vegetables in my fridge, like carrots, broccoli, or onions, then I will use those up. Otherwise, if I have leftover rice and not the vegetables, I buy a package of stir-fry vegetables. You can typically find one in the produce section, and I prefer buying a package instead of an assortment of vegetables to 1) save time, and 2) not buy more vegetables than I’m going to use. Buying whole vegetables is cheaper, but if you know you are not going to use all of them, then it becomes wasteful.
Steps 1-3: As you can see in the picture on the left, I like to keep the green and white parts of the green onion separate so that I can use the green parts as garnish later.
Steps 4-5: Notice the difference in color of the veggies on the left (before cooking) and on the right (after cooking). The veggies will still be firm, but slightly softened for easier eating.
Step 6: As you can see, my rice came out as one big square! Be sure to break it apart into smaller chunks when cooking.
Step 7: The eggs will cook quickly because of the high heat, so be sure to scramble them as soon as you crack them in the pan. You can also scramble the eggs in a small bowl before adding them to the pan. I normally prefer to pre-mix my eggs when making scrambled eggs, but when making fried rice, I like the large pieces of cooked white and yellow bits (feels more like “fried rice” to me).
Step 8: I think the ginger adds an extra flavor note to the dish, but if you don’t have ginger around, feel free to omit it!
Adding an extra eggs on top is completely optional. I think almost every dish benefits from a fried egg (especially this dish where the rice and vegetables soak up the runny yolk!), but I recognize that I REALLY like eggs. If you’re not a big egg fan or if you want to limit the amount of eggs you consume, leave this part out (the dish will still be great!). To cook sunny-side up eggs, I carefully crack the egg in a pan over medium heat, being sure to not bust the yolk. While the egg is cooking, cut slits into the whites surrounding the yolk to prevent air bubbles and to prevent uncooked whites from pooling by the yolk. The egg will be ready when the whites are cooked and no longer runny, but the yolk is still soft. If you prefer to have a cooked film over the yolk (like an over easy egg), then choose one of the following methods: splash hot oil over the yolk while cooking until a film develops, put a lid over the pan while cooking so the trapped steam will create a film over the egg, or flip the egg over when ready and remove after 30 seconds.
The Sampler 