How David Chang Uses Leftovers To Make His Favorite Breakfast

Sometimes the best breakfast is a simple leftovers concoction. There's very little prep involved, it's one of the easy ways to cut down on food waste, and it can be truly satisfying to use up last night's dinner. You can use leftover french fries for an easy breakfast hash or slice up and pan fry the rest of your steak. Celebrity chef David Chang goes for fried (leftover) rice with just about anything else you care to toss in.

In a YouTube video, Chang explains how to make fried rice using leftover shrimp, scallions, and an Anaheim chile. "The only reason I'm deciding to use [these ingredients] is, if I didn't have any of this stuff, I would just make an egg fried rice." Meaning, leftover fried rice with just a couple of eggs mixed in would be perfectly acceptable, but Chang encourages us to peer into the fridge and see what we have to work with. There's almost nothing easier and quicker than tossing a bunch of ingredients into a hot pan – however bleary-eyed you may be in the morning — and you just need to know a few steps.

Take a look in your fridge and pantry. Onion, garlic, various herbs, kimchi, cooked or raw veggies, leftover steak, pork, seafood, even chicken: It's all fair play in the game of leftover fried rice. It's the perfect canvas for your morning breakfast medley because it picks up the flavors of whatever you add to it, plus day-old rice is a bit drier than fresh so it cooks up nice and crispy. Once you've decided on the ingredients, dice up your aromatics and veggies, cut up your protein into small pieces, and throw them in your sizzling hot, oiled-up pan. A wok is ideal for extra heat, but a regular skillet works totally fine. 

Then it's time for the rice. "Heat's important with cold rice," Chang says (via YouTube). "And if I'm using day-old rice, I really want to heat it thoroughly because it has a property with heat where it makes it less sticky, even if you're using sticky rice." From here, Chang seasons his fried rice with savory salt, a little agave syrup, and soy sauce, but you can use a splash of vinegar, tamari, or liquid aminos. The added sweetness isn't strictly necessary, but a touch of honey or maple syrup could get the job done. For a final coup de grâce, a fried egg or two works beautifully. Chang likes his with runny yolks to coat the rice with some solid umami goodness, but you can mix beaten eggs directly into the rice as you're frying. Breakfast fried rice is a cinch when you follow the David Chang method; just let your fridge decide what's on the menu and, of course, almost no David Chang meal would be complete without a little chili crunch.