Use-It-Up Fried Rice
Along with banh mi and tacos, fried rice is another go-to for repurposing leftovers. It’s easy to make a luxurious mound of cơm chiên, as long as you remember a few points: To ensure grains that don’t gum up, use dry-ish, cooked rice (it can be made up to 3 days in advance). Make the rice up to 3 days ahead, or prepare a fresh batch and let it cool completely on a baking dish.
Add-ins such as meat and vegetables should be cut into smallish pieces so they’ll distribute well among the grains; you want every bite to be exciting. Avoid adding too much liquid seasonings or wet ingredients to the pan, or they’ll overhydrate the grains instead of just lightly coating and seasoning them. Employ lots of heat and cook quickly (line up the ingredients near the stove, so you can dump them into the pan). Cook in two batches when doubling the recipe.
This fried rice can be taken in many directions. Keep it sumptuous with your choice of add-ins and rich egg, or emphasize just one of them. Omit both for a great simple fried rice to pair with other dishes. You can always enliven things with spicy vinegar in the Notes, which has more ideas.