15 Best Ways To Upgrade Leftover Chinese

It happens before you know it: suddenly you're too full to finish the Chinese food you ordered for delivery. You know you'll be hungry for it again soon, but having just eaten your fill, will you be ready to dig into the same four boxes you just tucked away in the fridge? Or would you rather transform your leftover Chinese takeout into something entirely different, a dish that gives your usual order a whole new character that livens up what's left of last night's fare?

If you're looking for ways to spruce up your remaining Chinese dishes, there are plenty of possibilities for revitalizing rice, ribs, chicken, and vegetables to make the most of a second round. You can even combine multiple dishes into a whole new creation that helps you get your money's worth out of your original order. From transforming jasmine rice into a sweet creamy dessert to stuffing a sandwich with cabbage and beef, these ideas for how to best use your leftover Chinese are a study in culinary creativity, providing a slate of selections you won't find at a Chinese restaurant.

You may not have ordered soup with your original suite of selections, but the individual items in your fridge may be perfect for serving this new and tasty purpose. Add any remaining chicken from your takeout boxes to your leftover soup and heat it up in the microwave for a quick fix that helps you use up multiple ingredients in one colossal creation. You can also use shredded pork or beef to incorporate more flavor in your resurrected soup.

Heading in the opposite direction, if you have leftover soup that needs a bit of zhuzhing up to return to its former glory, refresh the base with some vegetable or chicken stock and add new vegetables and proteins before heating up on the stove to infuse your fresh mix-ins with the savory flavors of your sweet-and-sour, sweet-and-hot, or whatever your soup of yesterday was. You'll end up with a brand new chicken soup in 20 minutes or one that offers the best of last night's order and today's imaginative new additions.

Change the personality of your leftover ribs by turning them into a BBQ rib wrap with a whole new Western identity. All it takes is a splash of BBQ sauce brushed over your remaining ribs and 15 to 20 minutes in a pan on the stove top to get them to the right temperature. You should shred the meat if it's still on the bone, of course, and toss in any rice and cabbage you might still have on hand as well.

Once your filling is heated up properly and the flavors are mixed together, scoop it out into a fresh flour tortilla, sprinkle on a little more cabbage for crunch, and tuck it all in nice and tight. Add extra BBQ sauce or a squeeze of ranch if you'd like a little more magic. Your finished wrap will taste like a deluxe deli-style creation that comes together in under a half an hour and gives your leftovers a new lease on lunch. Fries on the side are entirely up to you!

It's likely you have the fixings for egg roll fillings among your leftover bits and bobs, so why not grab a package of wrappers and create a whole new batch of egg rolls in your air fryer? With fried or white rice on hand and plenty of meat and vegetables to work with, you can customize your new egg rolls to suit whatever appetite you may be harboring. Spray the wrappers with oil and drop them into a 400-degree Fahrenheit air fryer for 6 minutes, then flip and fry for another 6 minutes to finish them off.

Why stop at just filling your air fryer egg rolls with loose ingredients when you can go meta and chop up existing egg rolls to work into your new egg rolls? Since the texture of your leftover egg rolls isn't likely to be too fantastic on the day after you ordered them, this allows you to work them into a crispy new shell and enjoy them in a whole different way. It's a perfect opportunity to practice folding an egg roll while learning what you love best inside so you can order your next Chinese takeout dinner accordingly.

Step outside the realm of Asian flavors and take your leftovers into a new form by turning them into a casserole like noodle bake. The closest thing to this creation is a spaghetti bake, which uses similar noodles with a marinara sauce pour-over and cheese sprinkled on top. Create your noodle bake by dropping your noodles into a glass casserole dish, then covering them with jarred red sauce, and sprinkle on a mellow white cheese like mozzarella or Monterey Jack. To make your bake more premium, shred any leftover chicken pork or ribs and distribute among the other elements, then pop it into a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven, and bake until the cheese melts and bubbles.

Since your leftover noodles might be a slightly different consistency than spaghetti, you'll end up with a mix of taste and texture that fits somewhere between traditional old world and Asian cuisine. But the overall effect will be delicious enough to justify reworking your takeout carton collection into something brave and imaginative — and something that reunites Italian pasta with its Chinese origins!

A simple way to recycle last night's Chinese dinner is to bring it back to life as an omelet for your morning meal. There are really no limitations on what you can toss into the pan with a couple of scrambled eggs. Everything from rice and vegetables to meat and seafood has a home in what amounts to a full-fledged skillet dish that could be even more satisfying than your initial order. Throw in some cheese and onions for an added savory layer with leftover sweet and sour sauce to add tang, and you'll have successfully resurrected all of those disparate parts into a unified platter.

If you prefer a fully vegan version of a Chinese omelet, assemble only the grains and veggies from your leftovers and combine them with a plant-based egg substitute like Just Egg to stand in for the real deal. With a little sesame or vegetable oil in the bottom of the pan to add crisp edges and sizzle up all the contents of your omelet, you will never know that hens made zero sacrifice for this filling reuse of your prior evening's takeout treasures.

One of the most obvious options for reinventing your leftover rice is to turn it into creamy rice pudding. Reheating it in milk with a little sugar and some vanilla can give new life to dried out grains that might be unappealing in a savory dish but will be quite at home in a sweet dessert. Just add rice to milk in a pot on a stove and cook until the milk reduces and the rice becomes soft. Depending on your preferred texture, you can let it cook for longer to achieve a more luxurious texture.

The fun of finished rice pudding is that it can take on just about any add-ins to become a more supreme dessert. A sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg lends warm spices that are right at home in the bowl, while the sprinkle of toasted nuts or raisins will add earthy flavor without going too wild. And for a truly deluxe pudding, a spoonful of peanut butter or Nutella or even a drizzle of caramel syrup will hit the sweet spot. If you happen to have a fortune cookie or two on hand, crumble them up and make a crunchy topping to finish it off.

Having vegetable fried rice left over at the end of a Chinese meal means you have an opportunity to create your own veggie patties for future use. To go vegetarian, scramble an egg and add your rice before heating the mixture up in a sauté pan with a ring form or cookie cutter to retain the patty shape as it cooks. It's the perfect size and shape for a hamburger bun if you need lunch or dinner, or use a bagel or English muffin if a breakfast sandwich sounds like a more delicious prospect.

For whipping up a patty that just might become your favorite vegan comfort food staple, you can use white rice, chopped vegetables, and mushrooms to create a similar patty that omits the animal-based ingredients. This technique works better if the rice is soft and a little starchier to make your patty stick together better, which you can achieve by reheating the rice in the microwave with a mug of water for a minute or so. The water will re-steam the rice and give it new softness. Then add your other ingredients and press it into shape before sautéing.

The mellow tones of your usual chicken salad can have a tasty intercultural upgrade if you turn your Chinese leftovers into a hearty chicken salad. It's easy enough to strip remaining chicken from the bone if you have fried chicken pieces, though you'll likely want to remove any skin that's gone soggy to keep the texture precise. Gather up any cabbage, broccoli, watercress or bamboo shoots, and rice of any sort and toss everything into a bowl. Then drop a scoop of mayonnaise, a drizzle of white or apple cider vinegar and a few shakes of your favorite seasonings and mix well.

If your ingredients happen to be sauce heavy or you prefer to take your salad in a more Asian direction, add in a bit of soy sauce and ginger powder or fresh ginger to reinvigorate the spicy, umami combination that features so wonderfully in traditional Chinese dishes. A handful of cashews will add crunch without veering away from the regional profile. You'll end up with a novel picnic-ready nosh that can be served on its own or plopped into rolls for chicken salad sandwiches with a twist.

By definition, pilaf is simply rice that has been cooked in stock or broth rather than water to infuse the grains with savory flavor. With whatever Chinese food you have sitting in your fridge, you're likely to have a head start on a premium pilaf already. Chopped broccoli and pea shoots are perfect vegetable options to keep your pilaf in traditional territory. And of course any chopped up chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp will elevate the flavor and body of your pilaf while using up as much of your remaining Chinese food as possible.

Remember that adding new broth or stock will increase the sodium content of your finished pilaf, so consider diluting it with water to keep the saltiness in check. Once your peel off is cooked, you can crunch up chow mein noodles and sprinkle them on for a crispy finishing touch.

Similar to a tasty Vietnamese bánh mì, your uneaten Chinese elements could be perfect for filling bread. This hack works best with proteins and vegetables; adding rice bread is likely to create a super starchy mash up that could make your textures overly homogenized. Instead, try laying strips of pork or chicken on wheat bread with a schmear of cream cheese or mayo, then add shredded cabbage or other Asian salad toppings and any bean sprouts or mushrooms you might have in your takeout boxes. You'll end up with a more premium version of a deli sandwich with added international kick that can be wrapped up with a little soy sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Take your fusion sandwich even further by incorporating leftover shrimp in a mini baguette or deli roll and add a little hot sauce to create a makeshift po boy sandwich. You'll have the best Cajun Asian arrangement at the lunch table thanks to your handy ways with leftover Chinese bits and bites.

As with just about any other foodstuffs, wrapping up your leftover Chinese elements in a tortilla will result in a hearty wrap that can have as many different characteristics as you want. Fried rice is a perfect base for adding black beans and shredded cabbage to achieve a Latin Asian fusion mix, while shredding leftover ribs or chicken will give you the perfect protein foundation for a traditional burrito with a scoop of refried beans and a sprinkle of cheese.

For the plant eaters in your house, vegetable fried rice with bean sprouts and shredded cabbage with carrots will tuck nicely into a flour tortilla that just needs a swoosh of teriyaki to become a vegan Asian wrap. And of course, if you have shrimp or fish leftover, you can conjure up a Baja wrap with a little crema and a dash of cumin to get the party started. It's the perfect second life to give your Chinese leftovers for next day's lunch without having to start from scratch.

Coastal cravings call for you to turn your leftover shrimp into a chewy gooey quesadilla with a stroke of Chinese flair tucked in among the cheese. As long as you have cheese and full size tortillas on hand, you can make sure that your remaining crustaceans are put to good use. And you don't have to have any culinary experience to get the process underway. Simply heat up a pan and layer tortilla inside, then sprinkle in your favorite cheeses and lay your shrimp on top. Heat until the cheese is melted and the tortilla is nicely browned, then fold in half, and slice into wedges to enjoy. If you need a little more flavor, you can incorporate any leftover cabbage or rice as well.

Because your Chinese leftovers are likely to be colder than the tortilla, they may heat up slower than your overall quesadilla. To make sure nothing burns, give your shrimp 30 seconds to a minute in the microwave to bring them up to a more workable temperature before adding them to your cheese-topped tortilla. Leftover packets of sesame dressing make an excellent drizzle or dipping sauce, too.

Haul out the street size tortillas or crunchy taco shells and whip up a Chinese taco bar that gives your remaining elements a new and clever purpose. Many of the elements in the most popular Chinese dishes overlap with Latin ingredients in tacos, which makes the shift simple and sensible. Take whatever tickles your taste buds and slice it small enough to fit into taco shells or street taco-size tortillas. Cabbage and rice make excellent sprinkle-ons to top your beef, pork, or chicken fillings. Incorporate nontraditional vegetables like bean sprouts and broccoli to infuse your tricky tacos with tempting new dimensions.

Though cheese and tomatoes aren't part of a standard Chinese menu, these ingredients merge wonderfully well with the existing slate of elements in your leftover collection. For the distinctive sauce to dress it all up with, combine a scoop of mayonnaise or sour cream with soy sauce, garlic powder, and a drop or two of chili oil for a tangy cross-cultural spread to pull everything in the shell together.

If you've never made your own Asian noodle salad before, you're missing out on one of the premium homemade dishes in life. It's a fresh blend of cabbage, broccoli slaw, and crushed ramen noodles topped with a ginger soy dressing that can even include shredded chicken if you have some in your leftover collection. Not only is it full of incredible taste in textures, it comes together in minutes and it can make use of several of your leftover dishes to get rid of them in one tasty swoop.

If you have wet noodles on hand, you can create a soft salad in similar fashion. Simply drain the noodles as best you can and stir them into your shredded cabbage with a handful of fried wonton or chow mein noodles to add crunch. Give it a drizzle of soy sauce and a little sprinkle of sugar and serve it as a side dish everyone will think is brand new.

How about combining your Chinese leftovers into an old-fashioned chicken and rice casserole? It's a quick and easy way to revitalize your refrigerated selections in one big dish that's hearty enough to serve the whole household. With chicken, rice, and steamed vegetables like broccoli and carrots as key ingredients, you're bound to have enough components to use without having to do more shopping, though you will need a can of cream of mushroom or chicken soup to hold the casserole together. If you're up for a bit of home gourmet creativity, a handy chicken casserole recipe will help you make a sauce of cream and white wine in place of the soup.

Though your casserole is bound to be delicious and ready to eat as soon as it emerges from the oven, it's also the sort of dish that can be frozen for future use. Rather than digging right in, consider storing it for some time down the line to get ahead of the dinner rush on a night when Chinese takeout isn't on the menu — not in its original form, at least.