By Daisy Polowetzky

You’ve probably come across one of TikTok personality Emily Mariko’s famous salmon-rice bowl videos on your For You Page by now. Mariko’s quarantine-era recipes using leftover rice sparked a viral trend of “Emily Mariko salmon-rice bowls” in kitchens everywhere. Inspired by Mariko, here are five unique recipes you can make with different kinds of leftover rice.   

Garlic fried rice

This recipe requires just two main ingredients – rice and garlic. Garlic fried rice, known as “sinangag” in Tagalog, is a staple in Filipino breakfasts and is traditionally served alongside fried eggs and Filipino sausage.   

Recipe from Panlasang Pinoy 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked white rice (preferably leftover Jasmine rice)
• 5 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 ½ tablespoons cooking oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

1. In a wide pan, heat the cooking oil. 
2. Add the garlic to the pan while the oil is heating up. Be sure that the oil isn’t too hot when you add the garlic. 
3. Stir in the rice with the rest of the ingredients, and then cook for 3 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the salt over the rice, and continue stirring for 3-5 minutes.

DIY Chipotle burrito bowl
Skip the long Chipotle line, and make your own burrito bowl at home with this recipe!

Recipe from One Balanced Life  

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pound chicken thighs
• ½ cup chipotles in adobo sauce
• 2 ¼ cups lime juice 
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups jasmine rice
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• ½ cup yellow onion
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup black beans
• ½ cup roasted corn
• ¼ cup mayo
• 2 teaspoon hot sauce
• ¼ tablespoon cumin
• ¼ lime, juiced
• ½ teaspoon chili powder

Instructions:

1. Blend the peppers, 1 cup of lime juice, garlic, olive oil, cumin, oregano, salt, and water in a blender. This will serve as the chicken marinade.
2. Put the chicken in a bag with the marinade and set aside for 3 hours.
3. In a cast iron skillet, cook the chicken until its internal temperature is 165 degrees.
4. Mix together the rice, cilantro, and 1 cup of lime juice. This is the base of your bowl. 
5. For the sauce, combine the mayo, cumin, remaining lime juice, chili powder and your favorite kind of hot sauce.
6. Chop and sauté the peppers and onion in a skillet, until tender. 
7. Rinse the beans 
8. Prepare the corn based on the package if frozen, or shuck and boil fresh corn.
9. Put the bowls together with all of the prepared ingredients and enjoy your homemade Chipotle treat!  

Chicken and rice soup

There’s nothing better on a cold winter’s day, or when you’re feeling under the weather than a bowl of hot chicken soup.

Recipe from all recipes  

Ingredients:

• 10 cups chicken broth
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• ¼ cup snipped parsley
• ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• ¾ pound chicken, cut into cubes
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Lime for garnish

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven, add the chicken broth, onion, celery, carrots, parsley, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. On low heat, let the broth simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the onion and celery are softened. 
2. Add in the chicken, and stir until the middle is not pink anymore (about 5-10 minutes). Take out the bay leaf.
3. Incorporate the rice and lime juice, and cook for 1 more minute. At this point,  the rice grains should be separated. Feel free is garnish with lime slices for an extra boost of flavor! 

Stuffed tomatoes

While peppers are most people’s go-to for stuffed vegetables, stuffed tomatoes are just as delicious and easy to prepare.

Recipe from smitten kitchen 

Ingredients: 

• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon coarse or Kosher salt
• 6 medium-to-large tomatoes
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• ¼ medium or ½ small onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 9 tablespoons arborio or another short-grained starchy rice
• A few tablespoons chopped parsley, oregano, or slivered basil 
• Handful of breadcrumbs (optional)

Instructions:

1. While preheating the oven to 350 degrees, lightly coat a baking dish with olive oil.
2. To prepare the tomatoes, slice the tops off, and scoop out all the tomato insides into a non-aluminum bowl. Salt the cavities of the tomatoes and turn them upside down on a plate to drain.
3. To prepare the reserve, place the tomato flesh and juices in a food mill or blender until pureed (the mixture should still be chunky). In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir in the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes, stirring until the onion is softened. Add and cook the rice until the rice is slightly toasted. With the heat reduced to medium-low, incorporate the tomato puree and let it simmer. Salt the mixture, and simmer with a lid for 10-15 minutes.
4. To reassemble the tomatoes, stir in your chosen herbs into the tomato and rice filling. Stand the tomatoes up in a baking pan, and fill them 7/8 of the way full with the tomato and rice mixture. Coat with breadcrumbs that you can drizzle lightly with olive oil if using, or you can replace the tomato lid on each.
5. Bake the tomatoes for 30 minutes.

Lettuce wraps

If your favorite lettuce wrap recipe has started to get boring, add some fun texture with leftover rice!  

Recipe from Easy Chicken Recipes 

Ingredients: 

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 ½ tablespoons chili garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ medium onion chopped
• ½ red bell pepper chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger or ½ teaspoon ground
• 8 ounces water chestnuts 1 can, chopped
• 1 pound ground chicken
• Cooked rice
• Butter lettuce leaves
• Chopped cashews
• Sriracha
• Chopped green onion

Instructions:

1. Spoon the chicken and rice onto the lettuce leaves. Garnish the wraps with cashews, sriracha, and chopped green onion.
2. Mix the sesame oil, brown sugar, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce in a bowl.
3. In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, and cook until softened. Add the garlic, ginger, and water chestnuts and cook for around 2-3 minutes.
4. Begin cooking the chicken, breaking it up while it heats up. Once it is no longer pink in the middle, combine and stir in the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, allowing the extra liquid to reduce for a few minutes.