Like many New Yorkers, I love Chinese take out. Naturally, when you order food instead of making it yourself, you often have leftovers. I seem to always have several containers of leftover Chinese rice, which can taste like dried pine needles after an hour. Bored of throwing out countless containers of untouched rice, I decided to experiment and make a fried rice dish using ingredients I had in my fridge.

I happened to have onions, carrots, and celery--the holy trinity of food often referred to as mirepoix--leftover from a ragu recipe. In a cast iron skillet, I sauteed the diced mirepoix in canola oil until the vegetables were crispy. Then I added the container of rice and a few splashes of soy sauce and sesame oil. Once the rice was evenly covered in soy and began crisping in the skillet, I added an egg and stirred diligently until the egg was cooked and distributed. Before I plated the rice, I drizzled a little more soy sauce and added a few dashes of red pepper flakes.

To accompany my dish, I added chopped leftover teriyaki salmon, and asparagus and snap peas sauteed in sesame oil. It was a huge hit. But don't feel the need to add more. The fried rice is great as it is.