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Re: Rice

Postby Lusciouslush » Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:11 pm

Yeah, I really don't get the rice cooker thing - unless, as you say, you were regularly cooking tons of it. I find it so easy to do & get right, plus I like the smell of rice cooking.....!

Like your friend :crossed no problems.

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Re: Rice

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:14 pm

I adore rice salad. My all time favourite is brown rice with lots of (unsalted) roasted peanuts (some with skin on for colour) and sunflower seeds, sweetcorn and a dressing of oil and soy sauce.

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Re: Rice

Postby ZeroCook » Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:22 pm

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I must have been hiding under a rock rice-wise for the past several years as I haven't come across the rice-arsenic issue or at least in a form that would get my full attention. Thanks for the link Stokey. Just spent the last hour looking at all sorts of data out there. I'm thinking it's in there with all kinds of other trace toxins in the food food chain and environment and that the main concern is in the diet of people who eat a lot of rice, like several times a day every day. It's not that's it's not an issue but I feel it's connected to the big picture of what we eat and drink and breathe in in terms of human created or released or dispersed toxins. That.

So, rice.

I love rice. We eat it once or twice a week I'd say, and usually have several types to hand. I use whole long grain (brown) rice as an everyday rice (newly read about arsenic levels notwithstanding now).

I use the steam cook method for most rice, unless it's part of a rice dish like risotto. Steaming gives the best result for non claggy rice I find. A lot of rice recipes that incorporate flavourings, spices, bits, use the steam method anyway. Broadly speaking, just enough liquid is used to cook the rice into separate grains rather than a mush or having to drain cooking water.

And I'm with Stokey about Uncle Ben type of rice - it's the Mothers Pride or white sugar of rice imo - de-everythinged just pure white starch - and there are so many really interesting lovely rice types out there.

I don't usually freeze fully cooked rice - I can't really see the point as it takes up freezer room I'd rather use for other things that freeze well, which I don't think rice does - I'm not mad about the floury texture that happens to frozen rice - grains tend to fall apart as the water expands as it freezes which usually breaks them apart. Part-cooked rice which hasn't absorbed liquid all the way through comes out better imo. I'd do that that for Biryani, for instance - half cook the rice by given timings.

Can't beat plain steamed rice with many Asian dishes - classic plain backdrop for highly flavoured food - basmati is a fave for South Indian, and Persian etc. Chinese or Japanese round grain stickier rice for East Asian, long grain white for Indonesian and SE Asian. I wouldnt freeze plain rice tho.

Biryanis, sushi rolls, risottos, pilafs, South African yellow rice, Mexican Spanish rice.

I do however make and freeze dishes that will be specifically eaten with plain or plainish rice. Great way to make dishes ahead of time in my book. Sky's the limit there.


This is a great pilaf from Madhur Jaffrey - can't find a metric version but it's 400g rice, 60ml oil, 2.4L water - can be scaled down of course as it makes a lot.
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/per ... reen-beans


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Re: Rice

Postby WWordsworth » Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:52 pm

I have never frozen cooked rice, any leftovers are cooled quickly and fried the next day.

I changed my cooking method a couple of years ago. Can't remember where I read it but it is foolproof.

For 2 of us I measure one Paris goblet of basmati.
Tip it into a sieve and pour a kettle of boiling water over.
Tip the rice into a bowl and cover it with cold water.
Leave it for at least 20 mins (sometimes we go for a beer at this stage)
Drain the rice.
Bring a pan of water with salt and a little oil to the boil.
Add the rice, bring back to the boil and cook for 4 minutes.

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Re: Rice

Postby herbidacious » Mon Jul 20, 2020 10:19 pm

I am not a rice fan. Husband is, and he did buy a rice cooker a long while back. I found it while tidying coupboards (husband used microwave ouhces these days :? ) and decided to have a go with it. It is very easy and makes perfect rice. It was also quite a cheap Tefal one.

I just made egg fried rice with it... badly. But I did want to do this some time:

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/f ... otato-feta


(The ginger fried rice.)

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Re: Rice

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Jul 21, 2020 9:56 am

2 recipes with rice and potato.
I don't think I've particularly seen that before, although rice has not been on my mind for a couple of decades. And so I've never looked at recipes that feature it.
The only rice dish that really caught me attention in the past was your rice pie one, Zero, back in the day.
Wasn't it a Locatelli one? Did you make it just once, or did it become a regular?

I was 18 when I first tried nutty brown rice, and wondered why you'd ever eat plain white rice again. I could eat a bowl on its own, I found it so delicious.

I confess to cooking rice without salt. Unlike pasta, which demands it, rice seems great without that addition.

Or use a microwave rice cooker which works well for a single portion


I think I'll get one of these. I wasn't so sure about the freezing really, and will give it a miss. I don't really have the room in general.
But the microwave option is probably the way to go, that will suit me. As my 4 ring gas burner hasn't got that much space when I have to add another little pan for 1 x portion of rice.
If I therefore make my rice in advance, it gives me only one go at a reheat, so sometimes I have waste. I know there's ways around this minor problem, but it's just one less thing to think about when I'm cooking.

Herbi, really nice to see a recipe with leaks in it too by the way. Thank you.

& I promise to adios the Uncle Bens, when my tiny box is finished. I was seduced by the 10 mins cooking. Indeed if you forget it's on the hob, it's still OK after 20mins. Strangely it doesn't go to mush - what's that about?

I love the sound of the Persian Pilaf. That's one to make when Tony wants his sausages, and I want something else.

We took my sis and BIL out for a Thai meal for their joint 60th. A really lovely local Thai, that has light sauces and delicious accompaniments.
We ordered plenty of rice, but my BIL was really put out by the vaguely stickiness of the rice portions.
I was rather surprised in all his days of Asian eating out, and takeaway dining, he'd never tried this sort of rice. Which I find absolutely wonderful.

He still talks about the oddness of the rice at the restaurant now.

Anyway, thank you all for your suggestions, all of which have been taken onboard by the absorption method ....

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Re: Rice

Postby PatsyMFagan » Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:55 am

I too have a microwave cooker for rice and find it invaluable. I just pour enough rice into the inner pot, then cover with the required amount of water (usually about half an inch higher than the rice, put lid on, set it for 10 minutes and leave it ... the inner pot also serves as a sieve when the rice is cooked .

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Re: Rice

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Jul 21, 2020 11:01 am

I find it worth putting the rice in the inner colander thing and just rinsing it under the tap, stops it frothing up and overflowing, especially with jasmine rice

If you like the Thai rice you may prefer jasmine to basmati rice

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Re: Rice

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Jul 21, 2020 12:12 pm

I shall get both then.
And will experiment with the inner colander thing.

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Re: Rice

Postby Binky » Tue Jul 21, 2020 12:18 pm

So many good points made here there's nothing left to say. I don't think anyone has mentioned soaking before cooking though. We always soak the rice in cold water for about 20-30 minutes before rinsing off and then cooking by absorbtion method in the microwave.

(OH had a first career as an Environmental Health Officer. He came home with various horror stories about methods of food poisoning, and left-over re-heated rice was a common source. People here seem to know how to deal with it properly, but you have to be very careful and I'm not convinced the mass catering establishments were).

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Re: Rice

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Jul 21, 2020 12:49 pm

I suspect the advent of the commercial rice cooker has made restaurant rice a lot safer

I used to soak rice but now only do so for pilaff as the extra long basmati is so delicate it doesn’t seem to be worth it

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Re: Rice

Postby Amyw » Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:05 pm

Earthmaiden wrote:I adore rice salad. My all time favourite is brown rice with lots of (unsalted) roasted peanuts (some with skin on for colour) and sunflower seeds, sweetcorn and a dressing of oil and soy sauce.



Ooh that sounds really nice and pretty healthy too. Years ago , used to cook lunches for the local rugby team after the match. Went into the kitchen one Saturday and saw a colander of what I thought was rice , leftover from a previos Indian night. Muttering a bit , I went to bin it, only to realise half of it was moving and were maggots. Let's just say the muttering got a lot louder !!

Those of you that remember Hollow Legs blogger Lizzie/ schmoofaloof , excellently Asian cook ? I always remember her saying she's never cooked rice apart from in a rice cooker . Pretty good company to be in

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Re: Rice

Postby karadekoolaid » Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:08 pm

I don´t soak rice - never have. Rice is so quick and easy to cook that I fail to see the point of adding another process; at least, the way I cook it.
I´ve also never, ever come across any cases of rice poisoning, not even when I first cooked rice and put 1Tbsp of salt instead of 1 tsp in it.... When I have excess rice, it goes straight into a tupperware and into the fridge for the next day.

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Re: Rice

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Jul 21, 2020 2:26 pm

Yes, I noticed in Zero's link to Madur J's recipe she has 30mins of soaking the rice first.
I cannot say I've seen that before. It might be one of those instructions that people used to do (like salting aubergines - which I always do, but some people do and some people don't)
With lentils it makes a lot of difference. Puy lentils are plumper when soaked for 30mins.

Amy - that made my skin crawl :shock:

Clive, that rice will have been real salty like. :tongueout

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Re: Rice

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Jul 21, 2020 4:17 pm

Amyw wrote:Those of you that remember Hollow Legs blogger Lizzie/ schmoofaloof , excellently Asian cook ? I always remember her saying she's never cooked rice apart from in a rice cooker . Pretty good company to be in


Lizzie got one of her dishes into the Observer's 20 best Noodle dishes this week - Seafood Ho Fun with Egg Gravy

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/m ... -egg-gravy

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Re: Rice

Postby Binky » Tue Jul 21, 2020 9:03 pm

It was a tip from Madhur Jaffrey ( the one about soaking the rice).

She was doing a book signing at a branch of Borders and had mentioned soaking to a friend of ours who was in the queue getting his copy of her book signed. We've always done it since then.

It's really no trouble as the soaking can be done as you chop and prepare the other ingredients.

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Re: Rice

Postby Pampy » Wed Jul 22, 2020 12:56 am

I soak it too - I find that it reduces the cooking time.

Re maggots - there was a bit of a kerfuffle a year or so ago when a batch of Morrison's own microwave pouch rice had maggots in it :vomit
If I ever use the pouches now, I always give the rice a really good inspection!

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Re: Rice

Postby Gillthepainter » Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:32 am

Bleeeurgh!

I microwaved my rice (to go with chilli), yesterday. To perfection. 6mins. Beep Beep Ping!
I probably don't even need to buy a special microwave rice tub. The small amount I'm making did fine in one of those soup reheater cups with a steam vent in the lid.

In fact, I have a microwave fish tub, that has a colander inside which I can try.
It might be more like steamed rice, that you mentioned Zero.

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Re: Rice

Postby Badger's Mate » Wed Jul 22, 2020 9:46 am

We've encountered more sorts of rice in the last few months as others have done the shopping. Typically we'd have long grain brown plus short grain white. I've noticed that (unspecified) risotto, sushi and pudding rice are all short grain Italian and I wonder if they're the same stuff marketed differently. Obviously if it's labelled Arborio or Carnaroli I'd expect those to be different from one another. Anyway, we've had boil in the bag and all sorts recently. Currently there's a biggish bag of Basmati on the go.

My understanding is that B. cereus is quite rare, certainly outbreaks of it poisoning anyone are in the UK. I think it's unlikely in a domestic setting as the small quantities cooked cool quite quickly and can be put in a fridge. Large amounts in a warm commercial kitchen could feasibly be at the dangerous temperature range for several hours. Greater awareness and control would reduce the risk but the rice does have to be contaminated in the first place, of course.


ETA

We've got a microwave rice cooker and the IP. I've used both but tend to cook rice in saucepans. The base of the former is used daily to make porridge.

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Re: Rice

Postby Pampy » Thu Jul 23, 2020 5:45 pm

Just thought of a Spanish rice dish that I used to make quite a lot - arroz con pollo - there's loads of recipes on t'internet.

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