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Rice

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Rice

Postby Gillthepainter » Mon Jul 20, 2020 12:41 pm

I'm new to rice,
& currently I cook a half cup of Uncle Bens for 10mins.
Each time I want rice, I simmer one portion for me (this way, it's about as easy to make as putting toast on really).

But how do you make and prepare rice in advance please? And do you put it portioned in the freezer? Or how long would you leave it cooked in the fridge before use?

Any rice dishes you would like to share, too?

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Re: Rice

Postby Suffs » Mon Jul 20, 2020 1:09 pm

When I did a catering H&S course it was impressed on us that a lot of food poisoning is due to rice which had been precooked and not chilled properly, and rice salads left out in wedding marquees on warm days.

Always chill rice quickly if cooking ahead of time.

I rarely cook rice before I need it. As you say, it’s so simple to cook it as you want it. :D

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Re: Rice

Postby Pampy » Mon Jul 20, 2020 1:31 pm

I sometimes cook a batch to freeze in individual portions so I've got some for those can't cook/don't want to cook/need something fast days. Always frozen in individual portions so you can just grab a single portion and reheat. I use the microwave to reheat, either defrosted if I've remembered to take it out of the freezer in advance, or from frozen. The most important things are to cool and freeze it as quickly as possible, as Suffs said, and reheat it until it's piping hot.
If it was cooled quickly, I'd keep it in the fridge until the next day.

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Re: Rice

Postby chihuahua8 » Mon Jul 20, 2020 1:53 pm

Several years ago I had a dog who had tummy problems and I found that she was fine with cooked brown rice. As she was very small, as chihuahuas are, I used to batch enough for a couple of weeks. When the rice was done, I spread it on a tray, cooled rapidly, then froze it.
once frozen, bang the tray to break up the rice grains, the pour into a box, then into the freezer.

The other idea is to buy the packs of ready cooked, use half and freeze the rest.

JeanT

Sorry Pampy just noticed that you've posted almost the same idea.

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Re: Rice

Postby Lusciouslush » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:02 pm

We have rice in one form or another at least once a week - usually basmati or jasmine, sometimes wild rice but I always cook at least double the amount I need to store in the fridge for making a fried rice/ nasi goreng dish a few days later - it really is the only way to make a decent fried rice - ice cold & starchy straight out of the fridge, the grains separate nicely & it never becomes too soft & mushy.

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Re: Rice

Postby Seatallan » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:16 pm

I tend to freeze left-over rice just so I have some ready for Nasi Goreng. I freeze left-over cooked spaghetti/pasta too, and use it up in home made minestrone.
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Re: Rice

Postby karadekoolaid » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:20 pm

Saturday I made risotto, with asparagus.
Last Thursday I had some leftover curries with Basmati.
We eat a lot of rice here, but I can´t remember a time when we froze it. It´s always cooked from scratch.
Any leftovers are bundled into the fridge straight away.
I make rice like I make pasta. A pot full of boiling water, toss in the rice and, exactly 15 minutes later (for parboiled rice) it´s ready. Basmati usually takes about 10.

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Re: Rice

Postby Lusciouslush » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:31 pm

Seatallan wrote:I freeze left-over cooked spaghetti/


Left over spaghetti is a good sub for noodles & keeps for ages in the fridge doused in oil ( I usually use chilli or evoo ) in a sealed plastic bag - just turn it over every couple of days to unsettle the oil.

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Re: Rice

Postby Suffs » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:31 pm

I cook my Basmati rice as follows:

2 measures boiling salted water
1 measure rice, rinsed

lid on, bring back to boil, turn heat to lowest and leave for 5 mins then turn heat off and leave undisturbed for 10 mins. By this time the rice will have absorbed all the water and be cooked. Fluff with a fork and serve.

If I’ve cooked more than I need it is immediately spread Into a single layer on a baking tray ... covered with a clean tea towel and put on a shelf in the fridge until chilled and then into lidded plastic container and fast frozen.

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Re: Rice

Postby scullion » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:42 pm

i, too, try to cook just enough for the meal or more if i know it will be eaten the next day, put in the 'fridge as quickly as possible (when cool enough). if i cook too much and know it isn't going to be used the next day it goes in the freezer.
rice usually has bacterial spores which aren't killed on boiling but which can grow and proliferate on nice moist rice, causing a nasty form of food poisoning.

ps. unlike suffs, i boil in more water than is necessary (to lower any arsenic levels) and test after 8-10 mins, just before it's done i turn the heat off for it to finish cooking.
Last edited by scullion on Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Rice

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:48 pm

Same as most have said. Cook and chill immediately then freeze in individual portions or keep in fridge for up to a couple of days for salads or to fry etc. It is supposed to be reheated thoroughly and not more than once.

I used to cook whole packs of rice at once and freeze in individual portions. I found it took up a lot of precious freezer space and, unlike bought frozen rice, sometimes was slightly soggy when reheated.

I sometimes wonder how we survived all those buffet rice dishes both hot and salads. I don't touch either nowadays.

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Re: Rice

Postby scullion » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:54 pm

Earthmaiden wrote:I sometimes wonder how we survived all those buffet rice dishes both hot and salads.

i think some people didn't!

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Re: Rice

Postby Suffs » Mon Jul 20, 2020 2:57 pm

I’ve never liked rice salad .., thank goodness

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Re: Rice

Postby Suffs » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:06 pm

We only have rice two or three times a month, if that ... I won’t worry too much about the arsenic.

À propos of that ... I remember an elderly life model at art school ... she told me that she had been found abandoned as a newborn on the steps of a ‘foundling home’. She never knew who her parents were. Later on she was found to have higher than usual levels of arsenic in her body. On hearing her history, doctors suggested that her mother had probably attempted to abort her using arsenic. She was a very handsome woman and lived to a very ripe and very healthy old age. Not that I’m suggesting we should go out and eat arsenic :shock: ;)

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Re: Rice

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:27 pm

First, please step away from the Uncle Ben’s and get some good rice with better flavour and texture

I have four kinds of rice in the kitchen - extra long grain basmati, jasmine and brown basmati all I think are currently the Laila brand, which comes in black packets and seems to be good value for money. All of these I cook by the absorption method similar to Suffolk, though I start with cold water and simmer for 10 minutes or 20/25 for brown. Or use a microwave rice cooker which works well for a single portion. No salt in jasmine rice for Chinese food of course, there’s enough salt in the soy.
The fourth rice is in a jar labelled Arborio but it actually contains Morrison’s generic risotto rice which is pretty good.

I have frozen cooked rice quite often, and recently read that Ken Hom makes fried rice directly from frozen, so next time I cook jasmine rice I’ll do that. I made brunch rice last week - egg fried rice with bacon and tomato as well as the usual soy and spring onion.

I am not personally concerned by arsenic in rice, it’s present in many other grains too and levels available in foods on sale are low enough for most adults not to be affected - here’s some info
https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritioni ... vntH5Nxp_0

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Re: Rice

Postby Lusciouslush » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:30 pm

Suffs wrote:I’ve never liked rice salad .., thank goodness


Snap! Me neither :thumbsdown
But black rice in a spikey salad with a good dressing is a different animal altogether! :thumbsup

I think I might have read/watched too many Miss Marple's - If I think of arsenic & I then immediately think of laudanum....... :?

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Re: Rice

Postby Suelle » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:32 pm

I find it really difficult to cook a single portion (50g dry weight) of basmati rice by the absorbtion method, which is what I prefer, so I cook three or four portions and freeze in bags as single portions. (I usually match it to the number of curry or chilli portions I'm making, so that each portion has a helping of rice with it to make future use easier)

It can be thawed and reheated in a couple of minutes in the microwave, with no loss of quality.

The important things are cooling quickly and reheating thoroughly, whether it's been frozen or kept overnight in the fridge. I'd never keep cooked rice for more than 24 hours.
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Re: Rice

Postby Pampy » Mon Jul 20, 2020 3:38 pm

I'd add draining it thoroughly to that, especially if it's going to be frozen. If I'm going to cook some to freeze, I make it very slightly underdone as I find that reheating it thoroughly finishes it off.

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Re: Rice

Postby jeral » Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:23 pm

Yes to undercooking slightly if intending to freeze; squeeze one grain twixt thumb and finger and a tiny bit of hard middle remains.

Yes to one day only in the fridge here but mostly any excess goes straight into the freezer as tomorrow's plans might change. So, forked lightly into lidded plastic pots. Reheated from frozen by blasting in microwave with a tablespoon or two of sprinkled water and lid left loose for 3-5 mins until truly hot.

Absorption method here for basmati, but instead of rinsing I drown it with boiling water, boil rapidly stirring gently for exactly one minute then strain the starchy water and douse with boiling water. Then a new kettle of boiling water (2 to 1 rice volume), simmer on lowest heat covered for 5 mins, heat off, left undisturbed for up to 10 mins.

Rice has to go in the fridge (not freezer) if intended for fried rice which must be cold. For that, I put a soup plate in the freezer to chill then fork the rice thinly on that to cool under cling film, then straight into fridge.

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Re: Rice

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Jul 20, 2020 5:42 pm

Of course if you really take to rice, the answer is a rice cooker, most people I know who cook rice more or less daily have one. You just have to measure reasonably carefully as they cook until absorption is complete

I had a friend, originally from Hong Kong, I shared a flat with her years ago, she had both catering and nutrition qualifications, and she often did get a bit annoyed with the emphasis on the dangers of rice, pointing out that like most Chinese tots she’d been brought up on reheated rice, and had suffered no ill effects

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