Each month in Well Stocked, our staff shares unfussy recipe ideas that you can call upon any day of the week. Because yes, our editors love to cook, but sometimes we need to get dinner on the table 12 minutes ago. That’s when we look to pantry and fridge staples that can quickly morph into delicious meals. This month, it’s all about leftover rice.
There’s a reason fried rice recipes tell you to start with leftover rice. The time in the fridge allows the cooked grains to firm up and dry out. “[The rice] has crystallized. The starches in it have made it hard,” explains Peking House chef and founder Eric Huang. This is a great thing for stir-frying. When slicked with oil over high heat, the morsels crisp into a textural marvel, jumping a long way from their original sticky form.
That’s one of our favorite ways to use leftover rice, but there are other fish in the sea. Pack down day-old rice in a roaring-hot skillet and you’ve got crispy rice to stretch a salad. Simmer it in bone broth until the grains fall apart and you’ve made short-cut congee. Or cover it in coconut milk instead, let that bubble away, and poof, rice pudding. Limitless options! Read on for our editors’ favorite ways to use leftover rice.
Fridge-clearing fried rice
If I have cooked rice in the fridge—almost always!—it is there to accompany an upcoming dinner. Usually a stir-fry (love this sesame tofu) or curry (love this saag feta). But if I have an awkward amount leftover—often!—I’ll turn it into a fridge-clearing fried rice. Sometimes it’s ripe kimchi and crumbled tofu. Other times it’s scrambled eggs and fresh ginger, based on this cure-all recipe from cookbook author Hetty Lui McKinnon. Her trick is to finely chop the ginger, instead of grating it, so there are spicy-sweet nubs in each bite. It always hits the spot. —Emma Laperruque, director of cooking
You don’t need a lot of ingredients—just a lot of ginger—for this quick comfort food.
Dessert for one
When I’ve got one awkward scoop of rice leftover, I take it as a sign from the universe to make myself dessert. I just toss the rice into a pot and drown it in coconut milk, plus an overflowing spoonful of honey and a pinch of salt. (Any milk you have on hand works.) Let the mixture heat up and break down till it resembles a custardy porridge. Top the rice pudding with whatever fresh, dried, or frozen fruit you have around. My favorite will always be tart cherries. —Kelsey Jane Youngman, senior service editor
Laotian-style crispy rice salad
When I lived in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, I would often order from Rainbow Thai, an unassuming take-out spot. They specialize in heady Northern Thai cuisine, and truly excel with their naem kao tod, a celebration of crunchy-chewy rice mixed with red curry paste, peanuts, and fish sauce. It’s been years since I’ve had the pleasure of ordering from Rainbow, but I’ve been craving those flavors. So I turned to my colleague Shilpa Uskokovic’s Laotian-style version, which uses similar ingredients. The fun of this salad is the playful textures of super-crispy rice made from day-old leftovers. —Joseph Hernandez, director of drinks & lifestyle
This Laotian-style rice salad is crunchy, spicy, sour, and bright. Store-bought red curry paste and skillet-crisped rice keep it fast and weeknight friendly.
Dressed-up crispy rice
I like to use leftover rice as a base for a one-pan meal that I can assemble with kitchen staples. I’ll crisp some smashed garlic and chickpeas in an oil-coated skillet, then transfer to a plate to cool. Back in the skillet with more oil, I spread the rice into one layer and let it crisp. I’ll then break it up into large chunks and flip to brown the other side. Slide the rice and garlicky garbanzos onto a platter, then scatter with chopped dried fruit (dates or apricots, maybe cherries) and chopped toasted cashews. Finish with a few dollops of thick yogurt and a squeeze of lemon or lime. —Rebecca Firkser, Test Kitchen editor
Molten arancini
Leftover risotto is unideal. If not eaten immediately, the lovely creaminess becomes a dense pile of goop with no hope of Cinderella-ing itself back to a luxurious state. I tend to turn risotto (a Northern Italian classic) into arancini (a Southern Italian staple). You just roll the rice into balls, stuff them with mozzarella, and fry until golden. If you happen to devour them with friends (like I do), they’ll be gone in seconds. —Marisa Alia Malanga, research fellow
This is a labor of love that will make other people love you, which is reason enough to give this recipe a try.
Lap cheong fried rice
A container of leftover rice collecting condensation in the fridge beckons one dish and one dish only for me: fried rice. It’s a predictable solution, made less generic by the addition of my all-time favorite add-in: lap cheong. It’s cured Chinese sausage that is fatty, a little sweet, and mouthwateringly savory. I’ll pair the rice and lap cheong with peas, scrambled eggs, and scallions. Quick, easy, and incredibly satisfying. —Li Goldstein, associate newsletter editor
Short-cut congee
I’ve been on a congee kick, making this version for work-from-home lunches. Instead of cooking red rice from scratch, I cut 25 minutes off the recipe by using whatever leftover rice I have in my fridge. I add the grains to a pot, generously cover them with broth (I use water plus a spoonful of Better Than Bouillon), and throw in a couple skinless, boneless chicken thighs. Simmer until the rice is porridge-like and the chicken is tender. (I shred the meat by hand. You could chop it.) Now, toppings! Sometimes butter-fried mushrooms, other times chili crisp and scallions. Each day, a new adventure. —Nina Moskowitz, associate editor, cooking
Congee, a savory rice porridge, works for any meal. For a vegetarian version of this recipe, skip the chicken and use vegetable broth instead.
