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    Home ยป Recipes ยป All Recipes ยป Quick Meals

    Leftover Fried Rice Recipe

    Published: Dec 18, 2020 ยท Modified: Jan 7, 2021 by Pailin Chongchitnant ยท This post may contain affiliate links

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    Fried rice is the ultimate way to use up any kind of leftovers, not to mention all the odds and ends of vegetables lingering in your fridge. After an extravagant Christmas or Thanksgiving meal though a plate of humble, comforting fried rice is just so satisfying. And even better when it can use up the leftover roast!

    A plate of fried rice with cucumber and lime on the side

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    Fried rice variations are endless, so be sure to check out some of my most popular fried rice dishes here!

    • Crab Fried Rice
    • Tom Yum Fried Rice
    • Pineapple Fried Rice
    • Kimchi Fried Rice
    • Salted Fish Fried Rice

    Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

    This recipe is part of the 4 Ways to Thai Up Your Leftovers article, and be sure to check that post out for 3 other leftover ideas!

    All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success! And if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!


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    A plate of fried rice with cucumber and lime on the side

    Basic Thai Fried Rice with Leftover Roast

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
    • Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
    • Prep Time: 15 mins
    • Cook Time: 10 mins
    • Total Time: 25 minutes
    • Yield: 2 servings
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    Description

    This is a basic egg fried rice recipe that can be adapted to any kind of meat and veggies, and is especially good for using leftover meats.


    Ingredients

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    • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
    • 5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
    • 2 eggs
    • 375g (2ยฝ cups) cooked rice
    • 1 Tbsp soy sauce, preferably Thai (use a bit less if you have drippings)
    • 2 tsp fish sauce
    • A few tablespoons of any juice/drippings from your roast if you have any (optional)
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • ยผ tsp white pepper
    • 130g leftover roast, shredded or chopped
    • 2 green onions and/or a few sprigs of cilantro
    • Cucumber slices for serving
    • Lime wedges for serving (optional)

    Notes:

    When your roast is sitting in the serving pan you may have some juice pooling on the plate. Keep this juice and add it to the fried rice for extra flavour! If this juice is quite salty, reduce the soy or fish sauce a bit.

    When cooking rice for fried rice, wash the rice at least 3 times until the water runs clear, then use a little bit less water to cook than you would normally do (I do a 1:1 ratio for jasmine rice). If you have time, spread the rice out onto a plate to let it dry out a bit.


    Instructions

    1. Heat oil and garlic in a wok over medium heat and stir until the smallest pieces of garlic start to turn golden.
    2. Add the eggs, scramble slightly, then let them set about halfway before stirring to break up the pieces.
    3. Turn heat up to high then add the rice, soy sauce, fish sauce, meat drippings, sugar and pepper and toss to distribute the sauce evenly.
    4. Once mixed, add the meat and continue tossing for about 2 minutes to heat through, occasionally letting the rice sit without stirring so it can toast and develop flavour.ย 
    5. Once the rice is dry and some of the grains are toasted, turn off the heat and toss in fresh herbs.
    6. Plate and top with more fresh herbs. Serve with cucumber slices and a lime wedge if you wish. Enjoy!

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    Comments

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    1. BH says

      December 23, 2021 at 9:57 pm

      Simple and balanced. This recipe is outstanding! The only better fried rice I have had is the Hot Thai Kitchen Salted Fish Fried Rice.

      Reply

    Sawaddee ka!

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    A grid of 4 images of Thai dishes that use leftover roast. With text: 4 Thai recipes for your leftover roast"