# Leftover Cooked Rice



## CarolPa (Mar 12, 2014)

I have a cup of white rice and about 2 cups of brown rice that I overcooked for another dish.  What can I do with it?  I would like to make some type of side dish, maybe with vegetables mixed in, similar to rice pilaf, but I know that rice pilaf starts with raw rice.


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## Andy M. (Mar 12, 2014)

Chinese fried rice.


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## Dawgluver (Mar 12, 2014)

No question, for me it would be pineapple or raisin fried rice.  You can also freeze it for another time.  Rice pudding.

When you say overcooked, do you mean cooked too much in quantity, or cooked to mush?


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## GotGarlic (Mar 12, 2014)

Definitely fried rice. I love this site for easy Asian-inspired recipes: http://www.steamykitchen.com/148-vegetable-fried-rice.html


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## Andy M. (Mar 12, 2014)

I made this recipe last night.  It's a winner in our book.


*Chinese Pork Fried Rice*​   2 Tb             Dark Soy Sauce
  2 Tb            Light Soy Sauce
  3 Tb            Oyster Sauce
3 Tb            Dry Sherry
  2 Tb            Peanut Oil
  2 tsp            Ginger, grated
2 tsp            Garlic, grated
  ¼ C            Carrots, shredded
  ¼ C            Onion, sliced
[FONT=PC&#47749]½[/FONT] C            Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
1 Ea             Egg, scrambled
  1 C            Chinese Cabbage, shredded
  1 Lg            Chinese BBQ Boneless Spareribs, diced
3 C            Day-Old Cooked Rice (1 C raw)
  1 C            Bean Sprouts
  [FONT=PC&#47749]⅓ C            Peas[/FONT] 
  [FONT=PC&#47749]½[/FONT] C            Scallions, chopped

  The day before preparing the recipe, cook the rice in 1[FONT=PC&#47749]½[/FONT] cups of boiling salted water for 18-20 minutes.  Do not add oil to the water for the rice.  Turn off the heat and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.  Fluff the rice and refrigerate until needed.  If you cook the rice on the same day you make the fried rice, after cooking and resting the rice, fluff it and spread it onto a half sheet pan.  Place the rice in the freezer for 30 minutes then store in the fridge until needed.

  Combine the soy and oyster sauces and the sherry and set aside.

  Heat a wok then add the oil and heat it as well.

  Add the ginger and garlic and heat briefly until aromatic.

  Add the carrots, onions and mushrooms and stir-fry.

  Make a well in the middle of the wok by pushing the cooked veggies up the sides of the wok.  Add the egg to the center of the wok stir until cooked.

  Add the cabbage, pork strips, rice and the mixed sauce.  Toss together until any rice clumps are broken up and the sauce evenly colors the rice.

  Add the sprouts, peas and scallions and toss together to combine all the ingredients.

  NOTE:  If you sub a raw protein for the spareribs (chicken, pork, shrimp), marinate it in the sauce mixture, drain and reserve the sauce for the recipe, stir-fry the protein, then proceed with the recipe.  Heat the marinade/sauce to boiling before using it in the recipe.


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## CarolPa (Mar 12, 2014)

Andy M. said:


> Chinese fried rice.




That is a great idea!  I've eaten it out, but never made it myself.  Looks easy enough, even for me!  Thanks!


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## Andy M. (Mar 12, 2014)

Once you chop, shred, slice and measure all the ingredients, it cooks up in just a few minutes.


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## CharlieD (Mar 12, 2014)

Andy M. said:


> Chinese fried rice.



No, not if it is overcooked, it will be yukky.


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## Dawgluver (Mar 12, 2014)

This one was good:
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/fried-rice-a-la-dawg-88982.html

If your rice is cooked to mush, it might be best used as rice pudding.


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## CarolPa (Mar 12, 2014)

Dawgluver said:


> No question, for me it would be pineapple or raisin fried rice.  You can also freeze it for another time.  Rice pudding.
> 
> When you say overcooked, do you mean cooked too much in quantity, or cooked to mush?




No, I cooked too much, but I've been known to overcook it at times!  LOL


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## Dawgluver (Mar 12, 2014)

CarolPa said:


> No, I cooked too much, but I've been known to overcook it at times!  LOL



Whew!  Then fried rice would be my vote!


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## CharlieD (Mar 12, 2014)

Too much is never a problem in my house.  Leave it overnight in the refrigerator. It will make even better fried rice next day.


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## cave76 (Mar 12, 2014)

The cook books that I have (written by Chinese cooks) say that for fried rice you ONLY use leftover rice! They're very explicit in that. 

Another use is to make congee/jook/rice porridge using it. It's sorta the Chinese version of chicken soup for what ails you. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want. It's delicious.


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## Andy M. (Mar 12, 2014)

cave76 said:


> The cook books that I have (written by Chinese cooks) say that for fried rice you ONLY use leftover rice! They're very explicit in that...




If you can cook it the day before and refrigerate it, that's the way to go.  If you can't plan that far ahead, cook it the same day, spread it out on a half sheet pan and stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes or so.  You'll get the same results.


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## CarolPa (Mar 12, 2014)

I didn't know it should have been refrigerated.  Mine had been cooked early this morning and the leftovers just sat at room temp.  It turned out pretty good considering it was not planned and I didn't have all the ingredients I would have liked to put in it.  I just made it with vegetables, no meat.  I sent some over to my daughter who eats chinese often, and she just texted me that it is excellent and she wanted to know if I made it.  

Why does it need to be refrigerated?


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## Andy M. (Mar 12, 2014)

Rice is a major source of food borne illness if not properly stored.  It should always be refrigerated, the same as other cooked foods.


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## taxlady (Mar 12, 2014)

CarolPa said:


> I didn't know it should have been refrigerated.  Mine had been cooked early this morning and the leftovers just sat at room temp.  It turned out pretty good considering it was not planned and I didn't have all the ingredients I would have liked to put in it.  I just made it with vegetables, no meat.  I sent some over to my daughter who eats chinese often, and she just texted me that it is excellent and she wanted to know if I made it.
> 
> Why does it need to be refrigerated?


I don't always refrigerate cooked rice. If you don't, it will start to grow mould after a couple of days, depending on how dry it is.


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## CarolPa (Mar 12, 2014)

Andy M. said:


> Rice is a major source of food borne illness if not properly stored.  It should always be refrigerated, the same as other cooked foods.




Well then why not just cook the rice and make the fried rice right away?  What's the purpose of making it the day before and refrigerating it.  I guess that's what I meant.


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## Andy M. (Mar 12, 2014)

When the rice is cooked then cooled it has a different texture from freshly cooked rice.  Your end result will be much better if you do this.


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## Dawgluver (Mar 12, 2014)

Andy M. said:


> When the rice is cooked then cooled it has a different texture from freshly cooked rice.  Your end result will be much better if you do this.



Yes.  Refrigerating it kind of dries it out and separates the grains.  Freshly cooked rice will give you fried rice mush.


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## GotGarlic (Mar 12, 2014)

All cooked foods should be refrigerated after two hours at room temperature. Bacteria growth is most rapid at temps between 41 and 140F.

This is specific to rice: http://food.unl.edu/safety/bacillus


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## CarolPa (Mar 14, 2014)

I think my fried rice turned out good without refrigerating the rice and my daughter loved it.  DH wouldn't try it.  He's not into fried rice.  I think what I liked about it the most was it was mostly brown rice.  I just started liking it lately.  It has more taste and a little bit of crunch compared to white rice.  Since it's supposed to be the healthier choice, DH won't get near it.  Healthy=tastes bad.  

I had originally made the brown rice and was going to use it in my stuffed cabbage rolls.  Since DH is always in the kitchen, nosing around to see what I'm making, he wouldn't not let me use it in the cabbage rolls, so I had to make white rice, too.  I did make about 15 cabbage rolls for myself with the brown rice and just put them on one side of the roasting pan so I would know which ones they were.  The rest I made with white rice.  That's why I had so much rice left over and I didn't want to waste it.  IMO, I could not really tell the different in the ones made with brown rice, but I knew they were healthier.  If I could have made them without him watching he never would have known it was brown rice. 

Some people put raw rice in their cabbage rolls, but I have always cooked the rice first.


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