Rice

Last week I wrote a little about cooking rice with a rice cooker and how much easier it is to use one as compared to cooking rice on the stove top - but, what do you do with the leftover rice.
According to The Japanese Kitchen by Hiroko Shimbo, “When rice becomes cold, its grains are no longer sticky, because of a structural change in the glucose chain. This makes the rice perfect for use in stir-frying or rice soup. Day-old rice tends to become lumpy, so you may have to break it up with your hands before using it. Rinsing freshly cooked rice in cold water also reduces stickiness.”
I also read in my Rice Cooker/Food Steamer that you can reheat cooked and then refrigerated rice with the steamer part by adding a certain amount of water to the bottom and placing the rice on top and turning it to “cook” - so check your instructions that came with the cooker to see if you can also warm up leftover rice.
A few years ago, when I was living in Hysham, I had a Japanese exchange teacher live with me for a few months and we would cook rice very often. We differed in what to do with the leftovers. She would pour green tea over hers and eat it with some kind of picked seaweed. I would make rice pudding with mine. The first time I started to make Rice Pudding she couldn’t believe it, she thought I was joking until I showed her a recipe for it in a cookbook. That was also one of my father’s favorite ways to eat leftover rice. He would just pour milk over his and put on some sugar, raisins and cinnamon but you can also use an actual recipe! One that I found in the Jackson Hole Cooks! cookbook follows. I know, I know, it does not use “leftover” rice - but it still looks really good!

Danish Rice Pudding

2 c. milk
2 c. light cream or half-and-half
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. long grain white rice
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
2 ozs. almond paste, crumbled
3 1/2 ozs. blanched, slivered almonds (approximately 1 cup)
1 c. whipping cream, stiffly whipped
2 T. sugar
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Generously butter 1 1/2 qt. lidded casserole. Set aside.
Mix milk, cream, sugar, salt and rice together in a large bowl. Pour into buttered casserole dish and bake, covered, for 1 hour.
Remove dish from oven, stir well, then return to oven and bake uncovered for an additional hour.
Remove pudding from oven and skim off milk skin that will have formed on top of the mixture. Discard skin.
Pour mixture into bowl and add crumbled almond paste and vanilla. Mix thoroughly to blend.
Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap so skin can’t form and allow to cool for 20 minutes before placing in refrigerator to thoroughly chill, at least one hour.

Chicken Fried Rice
http://allrecipes.com

Chicken, rice, soy sauce and shredded egg stir fried together. This is a very simple recipe. It is easy, but tasty! Note: Never use rice that you have just cooked.
makes 2 to 4 servings
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 c. cooked white rice, cold
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 c. cooked, chopped chicken meat
In a small bowl, beat egg with water. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add egg and leave flat for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from skillet and cut into shreds.
Heat oil in same skillet; add onion and saute until soft. Then add rice, soy sauce, pepper and chicken. Stir fry together for about 5 minutes, then stir in egg. Serve hot.

Creamy Chicken and Rice
http://allrecipes.com

4 c. cooked white rice
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 c. cooked, shredded chicken breast meat
12 ounces processed cheese food (eg. Velveeta), cubed
2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. butter
2 c. crushed buttery round crackers
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Spread rice in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish; set aside.
In a medium saucepan melt butter or margarine and stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk, bouillon granules, seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper. Stir all together and bring to a boil. Let simmer and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; add chicken, cheese and sour cream. Stir until cheese is melted. Mix all together and pour mixture over rice.
Melt 1/2 cup butter or margarine in saucepan and toss with crushed cracker crumbs. Sprinkle crumb mixture over casserole. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

Bacon Fried Rice
http://www.ifood.tv

5 cloves Minced garlic
1 C. chopped green onion
1 C. chopped Red bell pepper
1 C. green peas
1 C. thinly sliced bacon   
3 T. Soy sauce
1 t. Black pepper
4 c. Cooked rice
1 Large Egg
3 T. Vegetable oil
2 T. Spring onion (for garnish)
1. In a pan, heat oil and saute the bacon strips.
2. Throw in the garlic, bell pepper and rice. Stir fry or toss the wok to cook evenly.
3. Add the green peas and mix it in.
4. Drizzle the soy sauce and give a few flips to the rice.
5. In a bowl, crack open an egg and beat it.
6. Make a well in the wok and drop in the beaten egg. Stir it in the rice.
7. Garnish with spring onion and serve hot. Print this post