How can I reuse or recycle leftover cooked rice?
Despite eating rice multiple times a week, John and I have a bit of a mental block when it comes to actually making the amount we need. We usually play it safe and over-estimate, thinking we can have it with leftovers or use it to make fried rice or the like the next day. Given we both eat lunch at home a lot these days, we’re pretty good at using it up but sometimes it accidentally gets left out of the fridge overnight – or forgotten about in the fridge for a couple of days.
I’ve heard some horror stories about cooked rice being a great home for bacteria so we’re always cautious about using it after a couple of days or if it’s been left out of the fridge but it seems such a shame to just bin it. Because of the bacteria thing, I think the non-culinary re-use might be limited but anyone got any suggestions or at least ways of disposing of it more usefully that flinging it in the bin?
And anyone got any good recipes for using it up when it is still in edible condition, that aren’t just rice pudding or a misc fried rice dish?
Best Suggestions
- Reduce: Only cook as much as you need – find a cup or bowl that’s a perfect portion size and use that to measure it out each time.
- Reuse: Store cooked rice in the fridge and use it to bulk out soups, stuff peppers and other veg, or to make fried rice.
- Recycle: Plain cooked rice can be composted or put in a wormery. Avoid composting if you’ve cooked it with fats or sauces though as that might attract unwanted vermin.
- See the comments below for more suggestions and ideas
(Photo by lazysheep1)
Keep it in a tupperware box in the fridge and eat it for dinner the next day. Thats possible for any foods you have left over.
Yes cooked rice can be dangerous when it is left at room temperature for too long.
My class has just examined some agar plates innoculated with cooked rice in health science classes at university. The cooked rice tested had been left at room temperature for 1 day. When the plates were examined growth of bacillus cereus was found. This bacteria’s spores can survive the cooking process and will germinate on cooling to room temperature. The toxins formed can either cause diarrhoea or vomiting. These toxins survive further cooking processes.
Try to eat fridge stored rice within a day. Never eat cooked rice that has been stored at room temperture for a while. Keep an eye on your local sushi shop as sometimes I wonder about how long the product has been sitting there in questionable coolers. They never seem very cold to me. I try not too think about it too much because I love Japanese food!
I understand. However, was the rice water salted? Most food storage recommendations do not account for acidity or pH in general. Many foods can be preserved without refrigeration for varying lengths of time by the addition, most commonly, of salt or vinegar. Any answers out there?
Only just thought of this! A good way to use day old fridge rice is to add it to your vegie soup as a yummy filler. Makes a thin soup thick and hearty.
i make sourdough bread and all the leftover rice and other grains go into it. delicious.
i wonder if brown rice is as bad to leave out – with it’s husk it seems a bit less exposed. then again it actually has nutritional value which bacteria appreciate too.
I totally agree with adding it to soup as an extender , its also great in meatloaf, compost it, reheat w/ a little additional water and add some tex mex spices to it and put in tortillas w/veggies and beans yum !!If your into home brewing ad it as an adjunct grain , also freeze
any leftovers and when you have enough make sake
peace
Cooked rice can be put out for the birds but be careful about putting too much out as it could attract pigeons and vermin.
Recycle this and other vegetable scraps with a worm composting bin. Easy!
Make fried rice!
INGREDIENTS:
* 1 green onion
* 2 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon salt
* Pepper to taste
* 4 tablespoons oil
* 4 cups cold cooked rice
* 1 – 2 tablespoons soy sauce
PREPARATION:
Wash and finely chop the green onion. Lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper.
Heat a frying pan and add 2 tablespoons oil.
Add the rice. Stir-fry for a few minutes, using a wooden spoon to break it apart. Add the eggs. Cook, stirring, until they are only lightly scrambled.
Stir in the soy sauce as desired.
Stir in the green onion. Serve hot.
RICE PUDDING
Mix the leftover rice with some milk, an egg, some raisins, a bit of cinnamon, and suger to taste. (Quantities depend on how much rice you have.)
Bake it in the oven till it sets. (It’s like a baked custard) You could probably do it in the microwave and save some energy.
Eat hot or cold. Keeps well in the fridge.
But DO NOT fire up the oven just for one pudding. Save the leftover rice until the next time you have the oven on.
Agreed w/ Regina — leftover rice (especially if stored in the ‘fridge) makes EXCELLENT fried rice. :))
You can add a bunch of water to your cooked rice and cook it again, then you can add things like left over chicken, spinach, eggs, really whatever is laying around the fridge and you can make a nice porridge that is especially warming in these cold months. It can make an excellent breakfast or dinner.
Cool any leftover rice quickly by rinsing with cold water . Drain well then keep in fridge for 3 days and use for any of the above meal suggestions or freeze instead (don’t keep in fridge first though!). It can be heated from frozen in microwave or frie, if you stir to make sure it is all properly heated. I often cook double the amount cause if you put rice into boiling water, simmer for about 10 mins then turn off the heat leaving lid on you get perfectly cooked rice and it saves energy too.
Let it dry out a bit, then put it in a blender and grind it into flour. Mix smoothly in cold water, then simmer until thick. Makes a good all-purpose paste, especially for joining porous materials like cardboard.
Instead of grinding, you can just cook it until mushy, let it sit overnight, and press it through a cloth.
Scott,
That sounds like the start of a recipe for Saki. Just add a bit of yeast or stale, mouldy bread, some interesting water, and let’er ferment. You could probably do it in the toilet bowl. If it goes off, just flush it away.
If this doesn’t appeal, just spread the muck on your walls, texturize with a broom or rake for an interesting new designer finish. If you cook some carrots or peas with it, you don’t even need to paint it.
The possibilities as a caulking compound are endless.
D’ya think we’re onto something here?
Not many of the suggestions had to do with rice that has already hit its limit but I have one. Spread it sparcely on a cookie sheet and let it dry in an oven set on low until it is completely dry. Seal it in a plastic bag, removing as much air as possible. Sew a pouch from a soft thin fabric like brushed cotton. Keep the rice packet in the freezer and when your eyes are tired or you feel strain, pull out the packet, put it in the pouch and place on your face. It feels wonderful!
You can also use it as a hot pad by nukeing the dried rice (not in the plastic) to heat it up, place in the pouch and place on an ouch.
Sounds odd but: Rice and yogurt!
It is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Even if my stomach is killing me, I can always eat this. I would suggest heating up the rice a bit before mixing with the yogurt because it can get a weird consistency in the fridge.
Hubby and I only eat brown rice, but use it for everything we use white rice for (in cooking). If you have a baked ham bone (even with a little meat on it is better), throw it in the crock pot (I freeze our baked ham bones and use them within a couple months). Add a little chopped onion and a quart of canned tomatoes (I say quart because we always can our own tomatoes during the summer) and some water. Let this simmer in the crock pot most all day. Then within a couple hours of dinner, add the leftover rice and a small potato or two that you have peeled and cut into small chunks. Season to taste (salt and pepper). We have named this Granny King Soup because hubby’s grandmother made this. I always make homemade biscuits to serve with this hearty soup.
i make a beef tomato soup with rice, you could make the soup and add the cooked rice right before serving
Use it to stuff peppers! Just mix it with you favorite spices and cheeses and stuff it into a pepper and cook it in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Concerning storing cooked rice… My friends from Singapore cook large amounts of rice once a week, put it in the fridge and then use it for stir fries and that sort of stuff all week. They survive.
Our cold frame was too cold and damp to be successful last year. Overwinter the compost in it has gone green on top. Can we use/compost it?
Rice is so cheap, I think it’s best to just bin it.
It’s not worth eating something loaded with bad bacteria. Is it any wonder so many now have IBS and bloating guts.
You are what you eat!
You can find tons of dog treat recipies on the web and create some dog biscuits with the leftover rice… or give them to someone else who has a dog. They don’t have to be cute bone-shaped masterpieces… the dog will NOT care!
Make a traditional Norwegian dessert: Whip some real cream with a little sugar, mix in the rice, and eat with raspberry sauce.
Mashed up, it makes a nice paste for gingerbread houses.
Take it to a wedding ,and then hurl it at people as cheap confetti or even better maybe bag it in freezer bags freeze it and thaw it out when you want to eat it
Use it to replace the crust in a quiche. It sure is different but a good healthy alternative.