Autumn Fried Rice

Old, cold rice is usually the recommended base of good fried rice, and from there it is really all about your imagination....or what else is left over in your fridge. When you're cooking for two, you are often left with some weird amounts of leftover dishes and ingredients, which never really add up to a real meal unless you eat all your leftovers from various meals in one sitting. Fried rice is a solution to that. This autumn fried rice combination was the result of leftover lap xuong that I purchased to make xoi; one lonely beet and some kale that I used in a seasonal meal I made for Tyler's parents; rice I made a few days ago to go with some Trader Joe's frozen teriyaki chicken when I was lazy; a soy dipping sauce I made for some dumplings; and some leeks that I had leftover from this breakfast casserole. Who knew all these things would taste amazing together?!

The hiccup in this recipe is the soy dipping sauce -- I don't remember the proportions I used. It's a mix of soy sauce, water, white sugar, chili sauce (tuong ot), white vinegar, and sliced ginger.  Other than that, this is pretty straightforward (and so seasonally tasty!).

(makes 2 hearty servings)

1 bunch of kale, stems removed and chopped

1 golden beet, peeled and chopped (chopped firm persimmons might be great too!)

1 lap xuong sausage, halved and sliced 

1 egg

1 tbspn. water

Salt + pepper 

1 leek, light green/white portion chopped

1/2 white onion, chopped

1/2 tbspn. vegetable oil, plus a little more to fry the egg 

About 3 cups of cold leftover rice (it just depends on what you like your ratio of rice to be in comparison to the other ingredients, or however much rice you have on hand)

Beat the egg with 1 tbspn. water and a pinch of salt. Heat a little bit of vegetable oil in a pan (or wok). Pour the egg in and cook in one layer, like a pancake. Flip once. Remove and set aside to cool. 

Heat 1/2 tbspn. vegetable oil in the same pan. Add the lap xuong and cook until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to soak up the oil. Add the leeks and onion to the pan and sautee until translucent. Add the beets. Cook for about 5 minutes, until almost the desired doneness. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the kale and sautee until wilted. Add the rice, breaking it up and tossing it with the vegetables. Slice the egg into strips. Add 1/4 cup of the soy sauce mixture and toss until everything is well coated. Add more soy sauce to taste. Top with freshly ground black pepper.