I really love to cook, but every once in a while I need a break, and my go-to take-out choices are Pizza and Chinese Food.  In our house, there’s rarely any pizza left over, but it seems every place we go for Chinese food loads us up with a lot more rice than the food calls for.  How many times have you had to through out up to a pint of rice after it turns to stone?!

Well DON’T DO IT!  First of all, it’s a simple matter to reconstitute that rice.  Simply spread the rice out in the bottom of a microwave-safe container, drizzle it with a little water, cover it, and then microwave it on high for 2 minutes.  Like magic, you’ll have fluffy moist steamed rice!

Steamed rice is pretty boring, however it makes a great starter for a quick meal like fried rice.  For a great change of pace, try this Japanese version of fried rice shared by Noriko and Yuko on there wonderful blog JapaneseCooking101.com.  In their words:

Yakimeshi is Japanese fried rice with egg, meat, and vegetables.  Yakimeshi is something your mom makes from left over rice and ingredients she already has in the house.  Other than rice and egg, there are no particular ingredients you need to use.  Yakimeshi is quick and easy and also a very economical food you can make for your family or yourself.

If you are from a country where people eat rice as a staple food, you know some fried rice dish like Yakimeshi there.  China has Chow Fan, and Indonesia has Nasi Goreng.  There is always a day or two day old steamed rice in the kitchen of any Japanese household, and it needs to be eaten in some way.

Here’s a sample recipe made up of simple ingredients that you can throw together within minutes to make Yakimehsi:

  • 1/4 brown onion
  • 2 slices ham
  • 4 shrimp
  • 2 green onions
  • 1 Tbsp oil
  • 2 cups steamed rice
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • white pepper
  • 1 tsp Soy Sauce

Head on over to Noriku’s and Yuko’s wonderful blog here and watch their wonderful video detailing how to throw it all together.  ENJOY!!