fried rice

We had some leftovers in the fridge, but not enough to make a full meal, and part of our new initiative (due mostly to being broke on account of that whole college thing) is to not waste any food at all. So tonight I decided to give this whole 'fried rice with leftovers' thing a whirl, and see how it came out. I started with some garlic that's getting on in age, and I threw in the chopped carrots right at the outset so they would cook through. Then in went half a can* of French cut green beans and some Vidalia, followed by the leftover teriyaki-marinated venison backstrap we grilled last night, and finally three scrambled eggs and of course the rice itself. The whole shebang got a liberal helping of both soy and teriyaki sauce, along with some powdered mustard seed I found mixed in to our spice rack from God knows when.

The result was not bad, although it needs work. It felt a little bland; we wound up adding ground black pepper to the finished product which rounded it out nicely. Next time I want to start with a nice chili oil or such to add some zest - what I really wish I'd had on hand was some sort of horseradish.

The rice itself could've cooked longer (but everything else was quite done) - I had assumed since it was still quite warm it could go in last, but maybe I'll put that in right after the uncooked ingredients next time. Also I didn't make it with the normal liberal splash of olive oil, because I assumed it would get plenty enough in the wok, and I think that might have been the wrong choice - I think the extra lubrication would've worked wonders.

Still, I found it acceptable, and Erin enjoyed it to the point where she claims to be looking forward to eating the remnants for lunch. (Leftover leftovers? The mind boggles.) It was also pretty easy. I could see this turning in to a regular thing in our household for leftover disposal.

* Yes, I know. Canned green beans are gross. And who the hell eats canned green beans in the middle of summer? My girlfriend, that's who. I don't understand it either.