LEFT OVER RICE

Ingredients

• 150 grams left-over meat, or ham or bacon (Use whatever cooked leftover meat you have on hand — roast meat, ham, or bacon all work well. If using bacon, it can be raw.)
• 1 medium onion (A standard yellow or brown onion works best here.)
• 1 tablespoon oil or fat (Use a neutral cooking oil, lard, or bacon drippings. Just enough to lightly coat the pan.)
• 2 cups cooked rice (Day-old cold rice works best as it fries up more easily without clumping. Freshly cooked rice will work but may be a little sticky.)

Instructions

1. 1Place your left-over meat (or ham or bacon) on a clean chopping board. Using a sharp knife, chop it into small, bite-sized pieces roughly 1–2 cm in size. Peel the onion by cutting off the top and bottom, slicing through the skin, and pulling it away. Cut the onion in half through the root, then chop each half into small dice. Set both aside, ready to cook.
2. 2Place a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the oil or fat and let it heat up for about 30 seconds until it shimmers (but does not smoke). Add the chopped meat and onion to the pan. Spread them out in an even layer and let them cook without stirring for 1–2 minutes so they start to brown on the bottom. Then stir and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and translucent and the meat is browned all over. This should take about 4–5 minutes total.
3. 3Add the cooked rice to the pan with the browned meat and onion. If the rice is clumped together, break it apart with the back of your spatula as you add it. Stir everything together well so the rice is evenly mixed with the meat and onion. Spread the mixture out flat across the pan and let it sit without stirring for 1–2 minutes so the rice can begin to brown and crisp on the bottom. Then stir, spread flat again, and repeat this process for a total of about 5–7 minutes, until the rice is heated through and you can see patches of golden-brown colour on the rice and meat. Serve immediately.