Leftover Holiday Ham Fried Rice
We love fried rice, or stirfry, whatever you'd like to call it, around our house. It's such an easy way to toss in whatever veggies and meats you have around the house all into one dish with some yummy rice for a great dinner. Every time we've tried this dish, with different ingredients each time, it's always been amazing.
So I was thinking, "why would it be any different with our leftover ham?" With rice, egg, butter, garlic, organic soy sauce, teriyaki, and some sort of meat and veggies, how much easier could it possibly be? So I went digging in our refrigerator for any vegetables that we still had that would go well with ham. I found an onion, an orange bell pepper, a pear, and an acorn squash. Awesome!
Our leftover ham had been cooked in honey, oranges, and apples, so it was already super sweet and falling apart. (I'll have to give you the recipe for this amazing ham we made for New Years.) It was so easy to find the right flavor I was looking for, because we created this to mimic the garlic chicken and rice flavor from Benihanas. They put tons of garlic and butter in their rice which makes it taste just amazing.
By adding in all of our other ingredients, along with organic soy sauce and teriyaki, we make it our own. I promise that this will be the most amazing dish you have ever made. You'll have to make it again and again.
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked rice
- 3 cups water, (to cook the rice)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup leftover ham, chopped
- 1 large yellow onion
- 4 cups any veggies
- 1/4 cup organic soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
- 1/4 cup garlic powder
- 1/2 cup real butter
Instructions
- Begin by adding your 2 cups of uncooked rice and 3 cups of water to a rice cooker (or your Instant Pot for 10 minutes) and set to cook.
- Mine takes about 20 minutes to fully cook the rice, so I make sure to set it about 20 minutes ahead of when I'll need it.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, crack your 2 eggs and add a couple of tablespoons of milk, if you wish, to help them scramble together.
- While your eggs and rice are cooking, chop all of your veggies on the side.
- Make sure to keep moving your eggs so they don't burn. If you need to, turn the heat down a bit so you have time to chop in between stirring your eggs.
- Now, in a large saucepan with sides, dump all of your veggies with a tablespoon of butter or so, and cook them down on about medium heat or so. You'll want to cook everything until your veggies are soft.
- Don't forget your eggs. When they are done, turn off the heat and set them aside.
- When your rice is done, unplug the rice cooker and let it set awhile while you are cooking your veggies.
- When your veggies are just done, you'll want to add your leftover ham. The ham is already cooked after all, so all you're doing is mixing it into your veggies and letting it all warm up and meld together for a few minutes.
- Once ready, dump it into a medium bowl on the side so you can start your rice.
- Add your cooked eggs on top of your veggies and ham.
- In the large saucepan where you cooked your veggies, add your cooked rice, and turn the heat on your stove up to high.
- Add in your organic soy sauce and teriyaki sauce to your rice and mix well. You'll also want to toss in the rest of your butter and your garlic powder as well and mix it in with the rest.
- We're cooking the rice on high to crisp it up and essentially "fry it." Cook for about 5 minutes or so before turning the heat down a tad to medium high heat.
- At this time, add in your veggie, meat, and egg mixture and mix thoroughly.
Nutritional Information
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 cup | |
| Calories | 400 |
| Calories from Fat | 144 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 16 g | 25% |
| Carbohydrates 46 g | 15% |
| Fiber 4 g | 16% |
| Protein 17 g | 34% |
| Cholesterol 193 mg | 64% |
| Sodium 800 mg | 33% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
I really think the squash and pear really complemented the sweet ham flavor in this dish. We've used just about every vegetable we can think of in our past fried rice dishes, every kind of meat we've ever had in this house, and sometimes, we even throw in fruit, like we did this time.
I've always suggested that my readers take my recipes and make them unique. What fun is a recipe if you have to follow it to the tee every time?! So try it like I suggest one time, but then, once you understand the sauces and flavors, get creative. Try pork and sweet potatoes. Yummy!
I suggest beef and snow peas, or chicken, water chestnuts, and even beets. It sounds strange, but you'll find that some of the most interesting combinations end up tasting the best. We haven't made a bad fried rice (stirfry) dish yet. Each one has been different, but unbelievably incredible. Just writing down this recipe makes me want to make some more fried rice tonight.
Maybe I'll try tossing in some sweet potatoes and an apple next time. Yummy!
Side note: Since making this dish the very first time, we changed ingredients to healthier versions, and have even changed our pans. We no longer use non-stick because of the toxic qualities. We have switched all of our ingredients to either their natural versions, or to organic, and now only cook with stainless steel.
Isn't that what cooking is all about, learning, growing, and trying new techniques and ingredients?
© 2014 Victoria Van Ness
