{Celebrate China} Versatility of Fried Rice

I love the versatility and flexibility of fried rice!  I admit I am somewhat new to cooking it, and I have absolutely no idea why I waited for so long.  It's the best "throw all of your leftovers together" side dish without needing any measurements for anything.  I had 2 cups of rice (maybe a tad more) in the fridge from a couple days ago, that I wanted to use up.  I also had some frozen and fresh vegetables - the perfect combination for vegetable fried rice.  I'm sure many of my readers are much more seasoned at whipping up fried rice, but if you aren't, let me tell you how easy it is!  Here are the ingredients I used, with no real measurements:

"Day old" rice

Sesame oil

Fresh minced garlic

3 eggs

Fresh chopped carrots

Frozen peas, thawed

Soy sauce

Fresh chopped green onions

Cracked pepper (white pepper might be better)

I heated up several tablespoons of sesame oil in the wok on medium heat (it's more oil than you think).  I threw in some fresh minced garlic (I thought about fresh ginger too, but didn't feel like chopping it up) and let that cook up for about a minute, and then I threw in 3 scrambled eggs.  After they cooked up, I mashed them into small pieces and then added in the fresh chopped carrots to cook a bit.  After a few minutes, I threw in the old rice and mixed everything together, still on medium heat.  Then I fold in the thawed peas.  After they were mixed, I added soy sauce to taste, along with a bit more sesame oil for flavor.  I threw in the chopped green onion and cracked some pepper over the rice.  I mixed everything together, adding a bit more sesame oil and soy sauce for flavor.  If you are a salt person, now would be the time to add that too.  And then time to eat!  Mmmmm, hao chi!

I am looking forward to creating a crab fried rice at some point with a bit of Old Bay.  And I've been pinning some other fun ideas as well, the possibilities are simply endless!