Every now and then I miss Chinese takeout. I miss the pork fried rice and that great salty taste of it. I miss the sesame chicken and the sauce that coats the rice perfectly. While Sarasota has a lot of good places to eat, good Chinese take out isn’t here. Or at least I haven’t found it.

To combat this issue, I decided to make my own fried rice the other day. I call this “leftover fried rice” since it was made entirely of things I had in the pantry (rice and sauce ingredients) and leftovers in the fridge that I needed to do something with (tofu, scallions, carrots, peas).

I did consult my usual internet sources – NY Times Cooking, Minimalist Baker, Two Peas and Their Pod, Oh My Veggies, etc., but I just didn’t see anything that was exactly what I wanted, or that didn’t require me to go to the grocery yet again.

So … leftover fried rice.

Recipe:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1/2 contains firm tofu, pressed
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/3 cup diced carrot
• 3 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon peanut or almond butter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• cornstarch
• olive and sesame oils

Cut the tofu into pieces, about 1/3 inch or so. Press to remove water, then coat in cornstarch.

Heat 1 teaspoon sesame and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When pan and oil is hot, add tofu and fry until crisp on all sides. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and return pan to heat.

Beat eggs and add to pan with remaining oil. Cook, stirring constantly until you have soft fried eggs (under cook these a little since you will be returning them to heat at the end). Remove eggs and put aside with the tofu.

Heat another 1 teaspoon sesame and 1 tablespoon olive oils in pan over medium heat. Add carrots, scallions and garlic to pan, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for three to five minutes, then add peas and cook 1-2 minutes more.

While vegetables (or tofu) are cooking, make sauce. Combine, peanut butter, honey, chili garlic sauce and soy sauce. mix well. Adjust seasoning as needed – I added a little more soy for salty.

Add 1 tablespoon of sauce to pan with vegetables and mix. Add rice and stir together so vegetables are distributed through. Add 1/2 of the sauce and mix to coat the rice. Let sit over medium heat for a few minutes to get the rice crisp on the bottom. Add tofu and egg, mix again, and the add remaining sauce and mix one more time. Allow to heat through 1-2 minutes.  Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.