MANILA, Philippines?With the high cost of rice these days, we shouldn?t waste even a grain of it.

Here?s a way to make your leftover rice not only palatable but really delicious. You can serve this with viands like tapa or longganisa. Or you can eat it on its own.

2 tbsp cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
? head garlic, minced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
4 ? c cooked rice
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tbsp kecap manis
1 tsp light soy sauce
? tsp salt

Heat cooking oil in a wok and saute onions and garlic until fragrant. Add red bell pepper and saute until peppers are slightly tender.

Stir in rice and mix until rice becomes slightly reddish (from the color of the bell pepper).

Pour in eggs and mix well. Season with kecap manis, soy sauce and salt. Serve warm.

Makes four to five servings.

Cook?s tips

Kecap manis is an Indonesian sauce that?s slightly thicker than soy sauce. It?s also sweet, rather than salty.

Light soy sauce has a much lighter color than ordinary soy sauce. It?s available in the Oriental food section of large supermarkets.

Metro supermarket in Market! Market! has a good supply of Oriental ingredients. The light soy sauce sold there is made in Thailand. They also sell kecap manis.

Freshly cooked rice tends to be too sticky. It?s better to use rice that?s not been newly cooked. Day-old leftover rice will do fine.

Serving suggestion: Top with sliced scrambled eggs.