You slave over a hot stove day  in and day out. You prepare the most nutritious, okay, not nutritious, just delicious dishes for the family almost every day of the week. Each person has his list of faves and hates and so you do your best to cater to the entire family’s demands. Towards the end of the week, however, you have a what-about-me moment and so you decide to stop making the kitchen the center of the universe for that day. They’ll survive, you mutter. After all, you have an abundance of food in the fridge waiting to be microwaved, right? Wrong. Not too long after you decide to unwind with your cup of tea and piled-up newspapers, you hear someone holler “Honey/Mom, there’s nothing to eat!” You rush to the refrigerator, wondering what monster ate your brood’s supply, only to find it still filled to the brim with containers of leftover food. Apparently, leftovers are the untouchables of cuisine. Solution? Put them all together in one more tasty dish — fried rice. So, here it goes:

1. Heat your wok or large frying pan. Pour about 2 to 3 tablespoons of canola oil.
2. Saute some minced garlic and chopped scallion.
3. Put in your leftover meats (roast chicken, kebab, barbecue, pork roast…).
4. Add bits of ham or other cold cuts. Maybe some cooked shrimp too.
5. For color, add peas, carrots, corn and scrambled eggs.
6. Toss in your old steamed rice (or just cook some on the spot).
7. Start stirring the ingredients.
8. Season with soy sauce or salt.
9. Optional for spice lovers: Add a wee bit of chiu chow chili oil (available at oriental stores).

When to stop cooking? Oh, cmon! When everything is hot and all mixed together, of course.

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