As published in Detroit Lawyer

By Andrew Malec, Ph.D.

Repurposing Leftover White Rice into a Fantastic Fried Rice Dish!

Do you ever have leftover rice from Chinese takeout? Are you one of those people that stares at the container of leftover rice in the refrigerator until you throw it out? Well, good news! Leftover rice is perfect for making fried rice. The reason leftover rice works so well is because refrigerating the rice allows the grains of rice to dry out so that they will not stick to each other when stir-frying the rice, which provides a great texture for fried rice.

I recently ordered some Chinese food and wound up with a quart of leftover white rice. So, I decided to make a curry fried rice. This dish is great to make because it is quick and it allows you to clean-out your refrigerator and use what you have on hand. Since I am continuing to have an abundance of eggplant, basil, and Thai red chilis from my garden, I decided to use these fresh ingredients, along with the addition of some yellow curry powder, turmeric, onion, carrot, pineapple, cashews and eggs.

The sweetness from the carrot, pineapple, and cashews provides a nice contrasting flavor against the spiciness of the yellow curry and earthy undertone of the turmeric. And the addition of the onion, as well as the cashews, provides a nice crunchy texture to the dish. Adding fresh sliced Thai red chili and torn basil leaves provides an additional level of fruity spiciness and herbaceous finish to the dish.

This is a fantastic meal to make and a great utilization of leftover white rice. If you are so inclined, please give this a try. Enjoy!