Vegetable Fried Rice

One of the best things about fried rice is that it's one of those dishes you can throw together using whatever leftovers are in your fridge. When Meatless Monday rolled around, I found a container of cooked green beans, a couple of ears of grilled corn, some broccoli that was nearly past its prime, a limp green onion, and half a red pepper. In the spirit of reducing our meat intake and being thrifty with our food budget, we whipped together a fairly hearty dinner. Use any vegetables that strike your fancy when making your own version; surely this is one of the reasons fried rice was created!

Ingredients

2 cups white or brown rice

4 cups water

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 medium red bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup green beans, sliced

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 cup corn

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame oil

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp chili garlic sauce

2 tbsp honey

1/4 cup chicken broth

Directions

Pour water and rice into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes for white rice or 40 minutes for brown rice.

Heat oil in a wok until it shimmers. Add carrots and broccoli and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add pepper, beans, onion, corn, and garlic, and fry an additional five minutes, or until crisp-tender. Stir in rice, cover, and reduce heat to low.

Whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over rice and mix well. Heat through before serving.

Serves 4.