Making Something Out of Nothing - Rice Edition

There are fewer things that give me more pleasure than cleaning out the fridge. If you have been reading along for the past few months you will know this is true. There isn’t anything more satisfying than creating a meal out of a handful of ingredients you might otherwise glance over.

Sustainable living has never been cooler and that includes NOT WASTING FOOD. So here we are again for another rendition of MAKING SOMETHING OUTTA NOTHING. A blog I created for Vegan Bowls where nothing is wasted in the kitchen and the recipes always come out tasty, nutritious and dare I say beautiful.

Fried rice has been a weekly dinner in my house and for good reason. I am usually creating recipes daily for clients and what that means is I usually have bits and bobs of leftover veggies, protein that need to get used up by the end of the week. Insert fried rice, the Queen of the leftover!

At first glance you may not think this came out of nothing and therein lies the magic of fried rice. All it IS is leftovers and odds and ends so lets get making some fried rice. Don’t worry if you don’t have my ingredients, get creative and use what you have on hand.

Here's the ingredients that I used:

• RICE & VEGETABLES
• 1/2 block cooked tofu
• 1 cup cooked brown or white rice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 green onion chopped
• 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
• 1 carrot julienned
• 1/2 red pepper julienned
• 2 cups cremini sliced
• 1/2 zucchini chopped
• 2 handful spinach
• 1 cups shaved purple cabbage
• 1 cup kimchi
• toasted or raw cashews
• Sesame seeds
• SAUCE
• 3 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1-2 tsp sriracha
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 2-3 tbsp water

Make sauce by adding all the ingredients to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. If the sauce is too thick add more water. Set aside.

In a large nonstick pan or wok add olive oil, chili flakes, onion and garlic. Saute until fragrant. Add in carrots and mushrooms and toss to combine. Add in remaining veggies, tofu and chickpeas and give a good toss. Season with salt and pepper. Finally adding cooked rice and kimchi. Toss pan (or stir) several times to incorporate all the ingredients. Pour sauce over mixture and stir to coat evenly.

Once done, transfer to bowls and serve with cashews, sesame seeds and a drizzle of sriracha.

Teri-Ann | @terianncarty | www.terianncarty.com

Teri-Ann is a food photographer, recipe developer and yoga teacher from Toronto, Canada. Teri-Ann adopted a vegan lifestyle 9 years ago soon after she got sober and broke free from a debilitating alcohol and drug addiction. She wanted to cleanse her body from the inside out and choosing a plant-based diet was one of the ways she achieved that. Teri-Ann now spends most of her days developing recipes, styling dishes, and shooting photographs for numerous clients as she builds her personal brand.