My version of chicken biryani

Biryani is basically Indian style fried rice with meat and vegetables. In this recipe, I took leftover rotisserie chicken and cooked rice and added some frozen vegetables I got from an Indian supermarket near where I live (namely okra, which tastes like a bland version of green capsicum) and of course, spices (mainly cumin, but also pepper and chilli flakes). The great thing about spices is that as long as you never use TOO much, it's always fun to use different spices. Tumeric has a somewhat muddy flavour and is great for filling out the flavour of the hotter spices. Cumin has a very distinctive savoury flavour while not being too hot. Cardamom seeds can also be added to the rice and have their own distinctive, bitter flavour. Of course, it goes without saying that all spices need to be fried in a little oil before the cooked rice, chicken and vegetables are added to unlock their full flavour.

Vietnamese style cold rolls

I had leftover fish curry, so I decided to use some of it to make Vietnamese style cold rolls. I used 30 g rice paper, 50 g rice noodles, lettuce and as much fish as I needed (not much at all). I prepared the rice paper by dipping it into a bowl of boiled water. I made about 3-4 rolls, which was very filling and about 500 calories. I put all the leftover noodles and lettuce in a bowl in the fridge to have cold rolls later. The little container of what looks like sand is actually toasted rice. I think you make it by roasting rice in the oven for a while, then crushing it with a mortar and pestle, though I'm not sure because my Cambodian housemate made it for me. It adds a little satisfying "crunch" to the rolls. Cold rolls has become my favourite way of using up leftovers, mainly those cheap rotisserie chickens I have been getting cheap on the way home via the supermarket late at night.