Everyone has had pork fried rice. Heck, maybe that’s the only kind you’ve ever tried. What people do not realize is how adaptable and forgiving fried rice can be with a plethora of ingredients and almost any vegetable. You need not use those stereotypical peas and carrots to make a delicious fried rice. I wanted to make a quick lunch the other day using ingredients already on hand: leftover white rice from Chinese takeout a few days earlier, spinach, sugar snap peas, onion, garlic, dry vermouth, and soy sauce.

The key to the whole dish is leftover rice. The day after works, but I have used rice that’s been sitting around for three or four days. During the stir-fry process and the addition of vegetables and various liquids, the rice reinvigorates itself and becomes light and fluffy. There is no way you can mess this up, except by using fresh rice– don’t ever do that. There are a lot of recipes online with the actual stir-fry steps, but other than that, add what you want.

This combo here had everything I needed: a green, protein, some crunch, saltiness, and lots of flavor. I love cooking with vermouth in all situations, and this served as an able replacement for rice wine, which I was out of. It was only after I finished cooking that I found a red bell pepper in the fridge. That would have added even more color and crunch. Other great vegetables for your own creation are asparagus, mushrooms, thinly sliced fresh carrots, and even kale in place of spinach. If you’re not watching carbs, this can be a great way to consume veggies by the boatload.