The beauty of this recipe is that you can put more or less anything into it, in more or less any quantities. It is the single best way we know to use up everything in your refrigerator. Because fried rice is Asian in origin we tend to stick with flavours from the East. But we’re not purists, and the goal here is to use things up. We’ve included the dregs of pomegranate molasses, pesto, horseradish, and all sorts of other oddities and it is always different and always delicious.
In fact, the main drawback to this recipe is that the first couple of times you make it you will decide it’s the best thing you’ve ever eaten, and you will feel sad that you can’t possibly recreate it. Do not worry! You are stressed enough by this move, and we will take care of you. Why are we so sure? Because the things you keep in your fridge are the things you like, so however inauthentic, each iteration will be some version of yummy. Just follow our simple guidelines below (and don’t put in anything that’s in your fridge because you hate it…)
Serves four or maybe six, depending on how much of everything you put in, and takes roughly 30 minutes to make.
You Will Need
- Nothing beyond the essential kitchen equipment.
- Oil: A neutral one is best but anything including olive oil or even butter will do in a pinch.
- A pile of vegetables: ideal are onions, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, peppers, cabbage, carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces. You can use previously cooked vegetables; just add them later. The same goes for frozen vegetables especially peas and spinach. Avoid uncooked beets and aubergine/eggplant as they take too long to cook.
- A couple of handfuls of a protein, or more than one, previously cooked: tofu, chicken, beef, pork – really, anything at all including in already-seasoned dishes. We often add a quarter pound of shrimp (.125kg), cooked or not. Chop these small too. Already-cooked beans work, better than you’d think.
- Two or so cups of previously-cooked rice. This recipe has been so valuable to us in emptying out various refrigerators over the decades that we either order Chinese/Indian food in order to ensure leftover rice or cook our own several days before making it.
- Vinegars, condiments, ideally including soy sauce, hot sauce, mustard, and some form of vinegar.
- Any spices, fresh or dried, with an Asian edge to them. Or, if you are feeling brave or desperate, any spices at all.
- Salt to taste and lots and lots of black pepper.
- 2-3 eggs.
- Fresh herbs, scallions/spring onions, and/or nuts (toasted if you can) to serve.
Directions
Heat the oil to medium-hot in the biggest pan you have (a wok or sauté pan is perfect). Chop the uncooked vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Add them roughly the order in which they cook: onions first, then denser vegetables like carrots, peppers, and later softer or thinner vegetables like mushrooms; hold off on any greens until later. Sauté, stirring regularly, for anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes, until they are mostly but not entirely cooked.
Toss in the proteins, cut small, and other cooked things, and continue to stir and cook for about another five minutes. Add the rice, frozen vegetables, and any greens, chopped fine. Once the food starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, add liquid condiments and stir everything to mix.
At this point you will realise that your biggest pan isn’t quite big enough and things will get messy. Slop all of the food back into the pan and keep up the stirring every two minutes or so; you’re nearly done! Add salt, pepper and the herbs and spices (chopped fine) at this point. The rice mixture may begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. This is actually good news, as it will give the dish a pleasing crunchiness; you can flatten some rice against the bottom of the pan with the back of the spoon if you want to encourage this. Don’t worry if it doesn’t though: sometimes there are more liquids than others.
Break the eggs and throw them in, scrambling and mixing with everything else. It should take between two and four minutes to cook them depending on how hot and how full the pan is and how close they get to the heat. You will either end up with ribbons of egg or, more likely, the egg will disappear and everything else will simply become stickier. When the eggs are cooked and you’ve tasted bits of things here and there and they are all hot, you’re done. Serve with nuts and/or fresh herbs.
The pictures from this version feature onion, broccoli, red pepper, celery, bok choy, button and oyster mushrooms, braised chicken thighs, frozen peas, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, hot sauce, coriander, paprika, and chives and cashews. The next day we heated it up in a pan again and added rocket and roasted cauliflower.
Give it a whirl (even if you aren’t moving) and tell us about your favourite variations on last day fried rice!
