Fried Red Rice

After the chicken and rice, I still had quite a lot of rice left (despite having a guest over). I had considered just eating with some lemon juice on it, as well as that Japanese rice seasoning, as I'm wont to do. But then I realised if I did that I'd have nothing to talk to you guys about, and that just didn't seem like a very nice thing to do. Don't want to y'all, since I'm prone to neglecting you for rather large spans of time on occasion. Plus, j threw out a second challenge, and this fit nicely into it. This challenge is for a full meal that costs $5 or less. I made it barely under $5, but it would've been cheaper without the bacon.

Anyway, this a primarily a pantry meal, and a super simple one at that (see a theme this week? My class is MADNESS!). There's a little fresh produce in it, but it's mostly comprised of canned stuff. This is also really easy to veganise, simply by removing the bacon (but increase the oil in that instance). Hope you enjoy!

2 cups leftover rice (any kind; mine just happens to be red, you should use more rice if you want it to be the more dominant ingredient) - $0.25, maybe
3 slices of chopped bacon (yum) - $0.50
1 small tomato, cut into strips or diced - free from the garden
1/2 cup sliced celery - $0.10
1 onion, sliced - $0.33
1 carrot, sliced - $0.07
1 can each: bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, baby corn and bean sprouts, drained - $2.68 total
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans (navy, great northerns, cannelini, whatever you have and like) - $0.25, cooked from dry
small squirt sriracha - $0.05
1 tablespoon each: sesame oil, hoisin, rice wine vinegar, lime or lemon juice $0.65 total
soy sauce to taste (in place of salt) $0.10

Heat a large pan, then add sesame oil and bacon. Fry until bacon is crispy. Add carrots, celery, onion, sriracha, and hoisin, cooking for about 5-7 minutes. Then add beans, cans of food, vinegar, citrus juice and cook another 5-7 minutes. Add rice and soy sauce, then give another 5-7 minutes. Add tomato and cook 2 more minutes. Serves 4-6.

Total cost: $4.98
Per serving cost: $1.25 - $0.83