Irene’s Refrigerator Clean-Out Fried Rice

As part of our partnership with Oxfam America to produce a video accompaniment to our Winter 2020 Climate issue, I invited chef and anti-food waste crusader Irene Li of Mei Mei in Boston and the Food Waste Feast blog into my home kitchen to show us how make something delicious out of food that may have otherwise gone to waste. Using a combination of ingredients found in her refrigerator and mine, Irene made two full meals from sludgy scallions and herbs, a package of almost-moldy stoneground local corn tortillas, a tiny container of Wednesday’s leftover pork tenderloin-sweet potato supper, some dried out Indian takeaway rice and a few very tired-looking vegetables. The fried rice below was a go-to for Irene and her siblings while growing up in Brookline, a version of which (Farmer’s Market Fried Rice) appears in their award-winning cookbook, Double Awesome Chinese Food.

Use your imagination and the contents of your crisper drawer and Tupperware to make the most out of the food you already have, before going to the grocery store. For more suggestions on how to use up leftovers and how to safely eat food that looks beyond its prime, see our handy EB’s 12 Tips to Reduce Waste in the Home Kitchen.

Serves 4–6

¼ cup safflower or other neutral oil, divided
½ head Napa cabbage or other wilty, bitter green like Savoy, kale or chard, shredded
2 droopy carrots, left unpeeled and sliced into coins
½ a lonely onion, chopped
any leftover meat (like roasted pork tenderloin, or steak, chicken, turkey, lamb) or even deli ham (or both), diced
any leftover roasted or steamed vegetables (like Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, broccoli, green beans, peas), chopped
1 bunch past-their-prime scallions, peeled and trimmed of anything sludgy or dried-out tough parts, chopped
2–3 cups leftover takeaway rice (or freshly made if you don’t have any leftovers on hand)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
to serve: lime or lemon wedges, hot sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, chopped cilantro—anything you like

In a large nonstick skillet heat half the oil and add the cabbage, carrots and onion. Sauté, stirring constantly, until charred and crispy at the edges. Season with salt and pepper, add the diced meat and sizzle until heated through and beginning to brown.

Scrape the cabbage-meat mixture into a bowl. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and pour in the rice, breaking apart any clumps. Sauté, stirring, until crispy, about 3 minutes. Add the leftover cooked vegetables and the scallions, sizzle to warm through, then return the cabbage-meat mixture to the pan and fold into the rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve like Irene does: with a little sauce bar, maybe some lemon or lime wedges, a squeeze of sriracha, some ketchup or soy sauce, a shower of cilantro—whatever you like.

This recipe appeared as an online exclusive in February 2020.