Quick Fried Rice

Do you have leftover rice in your fridge? Then this is a great recipe for you!

What if you don’t have any leftover rice? Well, here’s the thing... Fried rice is great for using up leftover rice. The downside? If you don’t have any leftover rice, then you need to plan in advance so that you can make some “leftover rice.”

Why can’t you just make fresh rice? Well, fried rice needs to be made with cold rice. This ensures that the rice doesn’t stick together and become a complete glob of rice when cooking. So, if you don’t have leftover rice, don’t worry. Just plan ahead so that you have time to cook some rice, cool it completely, and then let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours until it is completely cold.



As for the recipe, it is imperative that you have all your veggies cut and your egg beaten before you start cooking since this recipe takes less than 10 minutes to cook. This makes this a great dish for entertaining, since you can prepare everything in advance and then slip into the kitchen for just a few minutes before dinner. It also makes a speedy after work meal, since the prep is easy and the cook time is minimal.

Also, once you master the technique, you will find that the fried rice possibilities are endless! You could make plain egg fried rice, chicken fried rice, sausage fried rice, mixed veggie fried rice… the list goes on and on. Just dice up whatever you have in your fridge, and voila!

And from now on, I’m sure you will start making extra rice on purpose!

Quick Fried RiceServes 2

1/4 cup of Pancetta, cubed (or thick bacon cut into small pieces)
1 bell pepper (any color), diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 cup green peas, thawed
1 egg, beaten with a 1 tsp oil, 1/4 tsp Salt and 1/4 tsp White Pepper
2 cups left over cold rice, separated
Cooking Oil

Heat 1 tsp oil in a large, non stick pan over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and stir a few times. Add garlic, onion, and bell pepper and sauté until just soft but still crisp to the bite. Remove the veggies from the pan.

Turn the heat up to high. Add another tsp of oil to the pan and wait until it is smoking hot. Add the cold rice, ensuring that it is completely broken up. Stir continuously until rice is hot (about 3 minutes).

Push the rice to one side of the pan and add the egg to the other side. Stir the egg quickly until soft scrambled. Then incorporate the egg with the rice. Add the peas. Then add the veggies back into the pan.

Stir and serve.