(Leftover) Rice: a Food Staple

There is always rice available in this house. Growing up in an Asian household made me accustomed to white rice accompanying almost every dinner. And when there were leftovers, we often opted to nuke individual portions plain, or turn whatever remained from the previous night's dinner into fried rice. Back in my non-vegan days, my family's Hawaiian background dictated that SPAM-and-egg fried rice maintain its proper place at certain Sunday breakfasts. Otherwise, it was chicken fried rice. I've obviously moved past the meat-n-eggs thing, but every now and then I crave fried rice, and more often than not I have the leftover cooked grain that is just perfect for it.

Here, I used baked tofu (a tangy lime-cilantro version I baked myself) to make the dish more meal-worthy. Thai chili peppers from the backyard--my plants are finally producing--add just a little bit of spice.
Spicy Fried Rice with Baked Tofu (printable recipe)
Serves 2 to 4

1 1/2 to 2 c cooked rice
1 c seasoned, baked tofu, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 small carrots, sliced on a diagonal
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 large onion (or 1 small onion), chopped
2 Thai chili peppers, scored lengthwise
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp to 1 T vegetable oil
shoyu, to taste (up to 2 T)
salt and pepper, to taste
green onion (optional)


Heat the oil in a large pan over medium setting, until hot but not smoking. Add the carrots, bell pepper, onion, and chilies. Cook until somewhat softened, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add the garlic and baked tofu, stirring frequently and cooking until the tofu is heated through and lightly browned. Remove the chilies. Add the rice and combine well, then add 1 T shoyu. If using white rice, the addition of the shoyu should make it a light brown. Sprinkle in more shoyu if necessary. Stir and cook until everything is heated through. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped green onion and serve hot.