Case of the leftovers: Mushroom eel fried rice & sauteed greens

As the Leftover Queen, I really outdid myself this time. I made fried rice with leftover fried rice. I've already been eating my last batch of fried rice for more than a week, but I still had so much more left. And because it's Thanksgiving this week, I needed to empty my fridge before going back home to New York for a week. I had collard greens and baby oyster mushrooms, left over from making pork belly chili, and eel because unagi. 

If you know me, you know I can't eat a meal without vegetables, so naturally I made greens in the best way I know: stir-frying. I was kind of hesitant at first because every time I've ever had collard greens, it's been braised (see: Coca Cola braised collard greens , gomen). But now that I've had them sauteed, I will definitely do this more often. It takes about an eight of the usual time, and they're both crunchy and tender. 

Enjoy the recipes, enjoy the holidays, and treat your leftovers responsibly! 

Mushroom eel fried rice (serves 2)

2 cups leftover white / brown rice 

3 tbs peanut oil

4 oz unagi 

1 cup baby oyster mushroom, chopped

2 tails scallion, diced 

1 knob of fresh ginger, diced 

6 cloves of garlic, diced 

2 tbsp dried silver fish

1 tbsp dried shrimp fry

2 eggs, beaten 

1 tbs roasted sesame seeds

1 tbs rice wine 

1 tsp sesame oil 

1/2 tsp Cajun spice or sea salt 

1. Place peanut oil on a wok on high heat. Once hot, sautee silver fish, shrimp fry, garlic, ginger, and whites of scallion scallion until lightly browned. 

2. Add mushroom, eel, and sesame seeds. Once sizzling, add rice wine. 

3. Add rice and Cajun spice and stir-fry until rice is fragrant and individual grains, about 5-7 minutes.

4. Mix in the two beaten eggs and keep the rice moving in the wok until the eggs are fully cooked and dispersed throughout. 

5. Remove the fried rice from the heat and mix in sesame oil. 

6. Top with scallion greens to serve. 

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Sauteed greens (serves 2)

1/2 lb collard greens, chopped

1/2 red onion

2 cloves garlic 

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 tbsp white wine

1/2 tsp Cajun spice 

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Brown onion and garlic. 

2 Add collard greens. Once color starts to turn bright green,  add white wine and spice and keep stir frying until tender (3-5 minutes)