# Always making too much rice



## inchrisin (Jan 1, 2012)

I recently bought a 25# bag of rice thinking I'll try to get more in my diet.  I have a cheap rice cooker that can make about 3 cups at a time.  I eat about a fist-sized portion for dinner and throw 2 cups away each time I make rice.

Does anyone know a recipe for day old rice that can be reheated for a side or made into an entree?

Thanks!


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 1, 2012)

Only put 1/2 cup of rice in the cooker with 1 cup of water.  That should give you your rice for the day.


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## Andy M. (Jan 1, 2012)

If you can't cook a meal-sized portion in the rice cooker, learn how to cook the amount you will eat in a saucepan.


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## inchrisin (Jan 1, 2012)

It takes 25 min to cook rice in that thing.  It takes several hours of soaking to get that pot clean too.  Surely this doesn't have to be a daily thing for me.


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## Barbara L (Jan 1, 2012)

Refrigerate leftover rice. Reheat by putting it in a strainer and pouring boiling water over it. Or reheat by adding to a dish, such as Spanish Rice.


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## Andy M. (Jan 1, 2012)

inchrisin said:


> It takes 25 min to cook rice in that thing.  It takes several hours of soaking to get that pot clean too.  Surely this doesn't have to be a daily thing for me.




Time to learn to cook rice in a pan-a method in practice long before the arrival of rice cookers.


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## Robo410 (Jan 1, 2012)

Rice keeps in the fridge several days, and it freezes well too. Make fried rice, add to a stir fry or a soup.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 2, 2012)

Make fried rice!!! Seriously, to make Chinese fried rice the first step is to steam some rice. Then heat a small amount of oil in a wok or other similar pan and add the rice, toss it with a spoon until it's heated through and slightly browned. For Asian style you can then add some soy sauce and vegetables and/or meat (cooked chicken, pork, beef or shrimp).

Just google fried rice recipes for a million recipes. I'd rather eat fried rice than steamed rice almost any day! It's also a really good way to reuse left over rice.


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## Whiskadoodle (Jan 2, 2012)

Make rice pudding.    You can reheat it easily for breakfast. Like oatmeal with milk and brown sugar.   Set it in little piles and bake chicken breasts over it like a stuffing.  Stir in some onion or whatever before baking. 

Some fast food restaurant, I think Chipotle,  stuffs their burritos with rice.  I think that's cheating to make the burritos appear bigger.  But at home,  I think it sounds fine to me.  

I have never used a rice cooker,  and I make brown rice and several kinds of white rice.


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## Addie (Jan 2, 2012)

Cooking rice in a saucepan is so easy. Get rid of the rice cooker and cut your electric bill down. A half of cup of rice calls for one cup of water. The ratio is always two to one. But depending how cooked you like your rice, I would add another quarter cup of water. That amount of water will give you some room for error when you first start. And it only takes at most 20 minutes to cook that amount. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover. Do not lift the cover for the first 15 minutes. You lose a lot of heat and steam when you do. Do not stir it until it is done. You can season it right in the pot by adding a bullion cube and a pat of butter at the begining. They will be absorbed by the rice. Fluff with a fork when it is done.


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## Steve Kroll (Jan 2, 2012)

I don't mind having leftover rice. In fact, I sometimes make extra just to have leftovers. It can be used for a lot of things. Besides fried rice, which has been mentioned, you can also blend it with vegetables or ground beef to make a stuffing for bell peppers or cabbage rolls. Or blend it with a can of black beans for a tasty side dish. Or use it to make rice pudding. It's a very versatile ingredient.


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## Zereh (Jan 2, 2012)

I don't have good luck with rice on my stove-top. Never have. I love my rice cooker. The cheap ones make rice just as deliciously as the expensive ones, the biggest different I've noticed is that the more expensive ones can keep the rice @ "warm" for a longer period of time. 

Spray the bottom of the rice-cooker pan with a _light_ misting of olive oil (or use the edge of a towel [or a napkin] to do it); that will eliminate about 99% of the sticking issue.

The best way to re-heat cold rice is to put the rice in a glass dish of some kind and then cover it with a very damp paper-towel. Then nuke it. The moisture on the towel prevents the rice from drying out while being re-heated and it turns out perfectly, tasting just like it was freshly made.

You can also use your rice cooker itself to cook meals with rice  instead of just cooking plain rice. After trying about a hundred different recipes for Spanish rice, this one is my favorite: 

*Spanish Rice*

4 Roma tomatoes (I used a can of fire roasted instead)
2 c chicken broth

Whirl in a blender or with an immersion blender. Add enough water so you have 4 cups of liquid total.


2 T butter
1 onion
2 cloves garlic

Saute until onions are translucent. Add 2 c rice, stirring to coat well. Continue to saute, stirring frequently, until the rice is lightly toasted.


Add the 4 c of broth / tomato / water mixture along with:
1 t kosher salt
1 bay leaf
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, diced fine
2 T tomato paste

Cook until the rice is done.


A favorite addition is some smoked kielbasa-type sausage (like linguica).


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## Aunt Bea (Jan 2, 2012)

It is good for breakfast!

Reheat it add some milk, spices, raisins and a sprinkle of sugar!


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## Zhizara (Jan 2, 2012)

I only cook for myself, but I usually make a double batch of rice (2 cups rice 4 cups liquid).  After cooling, I spoon into zip type baggies, and flatten out for freezing into dinner size portions. 

Easy to reheat in the microwave.


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## taxlady (Jan 2, 2012)

Steve Kroll said:


> I don't mind having leftover rice. In fact, I sometimes make extra just to have leftovers. It can be used for a lot of things. Besides fried rice, which has been mentioned, you can also blend it with vegetables or ground beef to make a stuffing for bell peppers or cabbage rolls. Or blend it with a can of black beans for a tasty side dish. Or use it to make rice pudding. It's a very versatile ingredient.



Same here, except I don't like stuffed bell peppers and I detest cabbage rolls.

I always want to have some in the freezer. It's so nice to be able to have unpolished rice ready in 5 minutes. To reheat it, I nuke it or steam it - yes in a vegi steamer or colander.


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## CharlieD (Jan 2, 2012)

Many good advises here. Really, why would you make 3 cups of rice if you are only eating no more than a cup? Use a small pot, if you have non-stick even better. Or warm up the leftovers next day. Chinese fried rice recipe specifically calls for using day old rice, for example.


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## danpeikes (Jan 2, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> Make fried rice!!! Seriously, to make Chinese fried rice the first step is to steam some rice. Then heat a small amount of oil in a wok or other similar pan and add the rice, toss it with a spoon until it's heated through and slightly browned. For Asian style you can then add some soy sauce and vegetables and/or meat (cooked chicken, pork, beef or shrimp).
> 
> Just google fried rice recipes for a million recipes. I'd rather eat fried rice than steamed rice almost any day! It's also a really good way to reuse left over rice.


I agree use the leftovers for fried rice.  You  can add any protein or veggies.


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## CWS4322 (Jan 3, 2012)

Addie said:


> Cooking rice in a saucepan is so easy. Get rid of the rice cooker and cut your electric bill down.



Being on Time-of-use electricity has made me much more aware of how much energy things use, of course, running the house on a generator for 12 days also made me aware of these things. And having just enjoyed 6 days out of the last 9 days on "cheap" power (before TOU rates), I really miss being able to be "unaware" of power rates. Fortunately, I only cook for 1 most of the time and I'm in the city Wednesday and Thursday nights this week. And, I really hate TOU--it penalizes those who are at home (whether working, caring for children, or retired) during the day. It also makes it really hard for people to cook from scratch because the rates don't change to lower rates until 7 p.m. Most people want to eat before that or have something ready when they come home. I see it as being counter-productive re: trying to encourage people to eat better...

When this was implemented in April 2011, my goal for 1 year was to to see if I could keep my energy costs around the same as they were before TOU rates. I figured this would be a sufficient length of time to alter life-long behaviour patterns. A friend put a water holding tank on his woodstove, routed the warmed water to a hot water tank (it was a little more complicated than that). His electricity bill has dropped by $30/month since doing this. He used to have his hot water tank on a timer. Now, he complains that sometimes the water is too hot and he has to run a bucket off. He's thinking of rigging up a solar means of warming the water for the summer months. 

For example, I wanted to take 1/2 of the pork loin I had left from Saturday and cook it and freeze it for another time. I checked to see if (a) 10 hours on low in the crockpot, (b) 5 hours on low in the crockpot, or (c) ~2 hours at 325 in the oven would use less energy. Given the consumption rates for the crockpot and oven/hour/setting, the crockpot on low for 10 hours would be more expensive than either (b) or (c) with (b) being slightly cheaper and more energy efficient. Cooking rice in a saucepan would be more energy efficient than using a rice cooker. 

I have found that rinsing the rice under hot water until it runs clear helps. I also bring the water in the saucepan to a boil, add the rice, stir, and then reduce to a simmer, cover, and don't peak for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, let sit for about 5 minutes, fluff with a fork. If I want rice for a pilaf, I reduce the water slightly--instead of 2 c water to 1 c rice, I use 1-3/4 c water to 1 c rice.


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## Fabiabi (Jan 3, 2012)

I think the general measurement is one coffee cup of rice per person. As for recipes for leftover rice, I make a hot and sour soup to go with rice.


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## CharlieD (Jan 3, 2012)

Fabiabi said:


> I think the general measurement is one coffee cup of rice per person. As for recipes for leftover rice, I make a hot and sour soup to go with rice.


 
care to share your recipe of hot and sour soup?


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## roadfix (Jan 3, 2012)

As mentioned above, Fried Rice.  We always end up with plenty of left over rice.  We use them plain the next day or use them for fried rice even several days later.


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## FrankZ (Jan 3, 2012)

Fabiabi said:


> I think the general measurement is one coffee cup of rice per person. As for recipes for leftover rice, I make a hot and sour soup to go with rice.




Which coffee cup?  I have little ones for espresso and large ones for lattes.


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## CharlieD (Jan 3, 2012)

I think generaly doctors recomend a regular size cup of a side dish per dinner, rice included. But you are of course correct Frank.


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## justplainbill (Jan 3, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Being on Time-of-use electricity has made me much more aware of how much energy things use, of course, running the house on a generator for 12 days also made me aware of these things. And having just enjoyed 6 days out of the last 9 days on "cheap" power (before TOU rates), I really miss being able to be "unaware" of power rates. Fortunately, I only cook for 1 most of the time and I'm in the city Wednesday and Thursday nights this week. And, I really hate TOU--it penalizes those who are at home (whether working, caring for children, or retired) during the day. It also makes it really hard for people to cook from scratch because the rates don't change to lower rates until 7 p.m. Most people want to eat before that or have something ready when they come home. I see it as being counter-productive re: trying to encourage people to eat better...
> 
> When this was implemented in April 2011, my goal for 1 year was to to see if I could keep my energy costs around the same as they were before TOU rates. I figured this would be a sufficient length of time to alter life-long behaviour patterns. A friend put a water holding tank on his woodstove, routed the warmed water to a hot water tank (it was a little more complicated than that). His electricity bill has dropped by $30/month since doing this. He used to have his hot water tank on a timer. Now, he complains that sometimes the water is too hot and he has to run a bucket off. He's thinking of rigging up a solar means of warming the water for the summer months.
> 
> ...


Don't you have a wood burning cook stove?


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## FrankZ (Jan 3, 2012)

CharlieD said:


> I think generaly doctors recomend a regular size cup of a side dish per dinner, rice included. But you are of course correct Frank.




Oh I have some of those too.. well.. which regular size?


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## CharlieD (Jan 3, 2012)

Hey don't start with me, I cannot stand the standard measuring system, it makes no sense what so ever. The whole world is using Metric; it is time for the States to switch. Even the British who came up with that nonsense are using metric nowadays.


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## FrankZ (Jan 3, 2012)

The US is a metric country... the US is a metric country... the US is a metric country.  (If we say it enough it will actually be true).

And don't get me started on the British with their liters of gas they go miles with to get a pint of beer and and grams of peanuts.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 3, 2012)

I too wish we could switch to the metric system, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. The US had a plan to go metric when I was in college and now I've had my entire career and retired and there's still no progress in going metric. I sometimes wonder if the US is waiting for the world to recognize the error of their ways and go off the metric system. It's embarrassing to be the only significant country in the world not on the metric system. In fact the US may be the _only_ country not on the metric system.


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## CharlieD (Jan 3, 2012)

I think I read somewhere that there was some other small country still using it.
I say our president should give money to the switch instead of the banks. Imagine how many people will have to be hired to do the job, the paper work, etc. Economy will jump 100%, we will start producing products that Europians will want to buy for a simple reason that the products are in metric. I really think I am onto something here...


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 3, 2012)

Fabiabi said:


> I think the general measurement is one coffee cup of rice per person. As for recipes for leftover rice, I make a hot and sour soup to go with rice.



That's cooked rice, correct?


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 3, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> That's cooked rice, correct?



Yeppers, pretty certain. Perhaps somebody can back me up on this cooking lore:

one cup of uncooked rice = three cups of cooked rice


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## Addie (Jan 4, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> I too wish we could switch to the metric system, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. The US had a plan to go metric when I was in college and now I've had my entire career and retired and there's still no progress in going metric. I sometimes wonder if the US is waiting for the world to recognize the error of their ways and go off the metric system. It's embarrassing to be the only significant country in the world not on the metric system. In fact the US may be the _only_ country not on the metric system.


 
You know those signs outside banks and other buildings that give the temps? Well when we were trying to convert to metric, they were showing temp in metric only. So many people were ging inside and asking what the real temp was. They then switched to giving the temp in metric first and farenheight second. That didn't work either. We simply didn't like the change and were not willing to even try. We do not care of recipes that are given in metric. That is why you hear cooks form other countries give their measurements in mectric and decimal. That is if they wish to go global.


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## Addie (Jan 4, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> Yeppers, pretty certain. Perhaps somebody can back me up on this cooking lore:
> 
> one cup of uncooked rice = three cups of cooked rice


 
I don't see how that can be when it takes two cups of water for that one cup of uncooked rice. Maybe 2.5 cups due to the swelling of the rice.


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## CWS4322 (Jan 4, 2012)

justplainbill said:


> Don't you have a wood burning cook stove?


Not yet--researching making an outdoor one--it would not work to cook indoors on a wood burning stove when it is 30C with a humidex of 100!


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## taxlady (Jan 4, 2012)

Addie said:


> You know those signs outside banks and other buildings that give the temps? Well when we were trying to convert to metric, they were showing temp in metric only. So many people were ging inside and asking what the real temp was. They then switched to giving the temp in metric first and farenheight second. That didn't work either. We simply didn't like the change and were not willing to even try. We do not care of recipes that are given in metric. That is why you hear cooks form other countries give their measurements in mectric and decimal. That is if they wish to go global.



Metric is decimal (it works by tens). People in the US use US measure. People in the British Commonwealth used to use Imperial measure. The liquid measure wasn't the same in those two systems.


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## Steve Kroll (Jan 4, 2012)

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but about 10 years or so ago I  began making wine as a hobby. Since many of the books I learned from  reference metric measurements, I decided to swallow my US pride and  learn it. Maybe "re-learn it" is a better phrase, since we had this  stuff in grade school. Anyway, I'm glad I did. It really is much easier  to use than our antiquated system and I, for one, would welcome the  change.

By the way, in response to another post, the British haven't fully converted to metric in practice.  They are just as stubborn as we are. Although gas is sold by the liter, everything over there is still  measured in miles (just watch "Top Gear" sometime and you'll see what I  mean). And I know quite a few Brits, albeit mostly my age or older, who  also live by the inch and foot, and prefer Fahrenheit over Celsius.

And just try walking into a pub and asking for 0.57 liters of beer, rather than a pint.


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## CharlieD (Jan 4, 2012)

Steve Kroll said:


> And just try walking into a pub and asking for 0.57 liters of beer, rather than a pint.


 
Ah, that's a funny one.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Jan 4, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> one cup of uncooked rice = three cups of cooked rice



Rice expands as it cooks. It does not solely depend on the volume of rice plus the volume of water.



Addie said:


> We simply didn't like the change and were not willing to even try. We do not care of recipes that are given in metric.



That's it right there. Most Americans do not wish to go metric. People don't like change. It does not matter that the metric system is easier to use. It's unlikely that more than a few people ever give it any thought at all.

I'd switch in a second if I could, but I've accepted that it won't happen in my lifetime. In the mean time I can think and speak in metric if whenever I have dealings with international people, which isn't very often.


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## CharlieD (Jan 4, 2012)

As far as rice trippling I think it is a very common acurance.


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## taxlady (Jan 4, 2012)

Steve Kroll said:


> I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but about 10 years or so ago I  began making wine as a hobby. Since many of the books I learned from  reference metric measurements, I decided to swallow my US pride and  learn it. Maybe "re-learn it" is a better phrase, since we had this  stuff in grade school. Anyway, I'm glad I did. It really is much easier  to use than our antiquated system and I, for one, would welcome the  change.
> 
> By the way, in response to another post, the British haven't fully converted to metric in practice.  They are just as stubborn as we are. Although gas is sold by the liter, everything over there is still  measured in miles (just watch "Top Gear" sometime and you'll see what I  mean). And I know quite a few Brits, albeit mostly my age or older, who  also live by the inch and foot, and prefer Fahrenheit over Celsius.
> 
> And just try walking into a pub and asking for 0.57 liters of beer, rather than a pint.



There are only two things that are difficult about metric.
1) Getting used to Celsius for temperature
2) translating back and forth between metric and some antiquated, bizarre system.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 5, 2012)

I use both systems equally, depending on the recipe I'm reading.  My scale has both at the click of a button.  No need to re-learn anything.  But if you ask me to do the conversion formulas, I will hide in the closet.


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## Addie (Jan 5, 2012)

PrincessFiona60 said:


> I use both systems equally, depending on the recipe I'm reading. My scale has both at the click of a button. No need to re-learn anything. But if you ask me to do the conversion formulas, I will hide in the closet.


 
I am right behind you in the closet. Anything to do with numbers, and I run.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 5, 2012)

Addie said:


> I am right behind you in the closet. Anything to do with numbers, and I run.



Only because they won't let me take off my shoes to help count...


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## Claire (Jan 21, 2012)

I'm firmly in the fried rice camp.  I always make too much on purpose.  One Sunday morning at a camp with some Hawaiian friends, I won all the locals over by making fried rice for breakfast.


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