Fried rice is my great go-to dish for lots of different leftovers. Small amounts of cooked leftover veggies can be used up in this dish as well as unused raw veggies that are lingering in your fridge. You can also add  leftover meat as well as shrimp. It’s a very forgiving dish. Here’s my recipe from a recent night:

2 eggs

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 small onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups cooked brown rice (you can use any kind of rice)

3 tbsp tamari sauce (or soy sauce)

2 tbsp stir fry sauce

1/4 cup cooked carrots, sliced thinly

2 scallions, chopped

1/4 cup chopped broccoli

2 baby bok choy heads, thinly sliced

1/2 cup frozen peas

Scramble the eggs then cook in 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Remove from the pan. Add the remaining oil with the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the rice. Stir and then allow it to cook several minutes, stirring again and again letting it just sit for a few minutes. This allows the rice to brown and gives it some crunch. Add the tamari or soy sauce and stir fry sauce.

The next step is to stir in any uncooked veggies you are using. Let these cook until they soften, then stir in your cooked veggies. Cook until everything is combined and the raw veggies are cooked through. Stir the egg back in and serve.

You can use raw or cooked veggies in this recipe, so it’s great not only for leftovers, but for figuring out what to do with that little bit of a raw vegetable that isn’t enough to feed the whole family with.

Other possible ingredients in this: cooked diced chicken, cooked diced pork, cooked diced beef, cooked or raw shrimp, sliced or chopped zucchini, rutabaga, turnip, parsnip, snow peas, bean sprouts, diced green beans, thinly sliced Napa cabbage,or  thinly sliced mushrooms.

You can also add some grated ginger for some added zing. It’s a very flexible dish, perfect for using up all kinds of things that are lingering in your fridge!