What to do with leftover rice?

[FeChef]

13 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Does the reheated rice really have as good a texture and flavor as rice held at temperature in the Zojirushi?

 

I would imagine it would get dried out overnight if held at 135F+ (to prevent it from going bad) unless that Zojirushi machine has a seal feature maybe it wont dry out. I know my rice cooker only vents but its not top of the line. 

Edited June 19, 2021 by FeChef (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

18 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Proper pilaf is not made with leftover rice. The point is to cook the rice in a stock with spices so that it soaks up the flavours. Pre-cooked rice won't do that.

Side by side against a from-scratch pilaf, probably not, but heated slowly with a well seasoned liquid, some butter tossed in because why not, it warrants a spot on a dinner plate.   

[JoNorvelleWalker]

32 minutes ago, FeChef said:

I would imagine it would get dried out overnight if held at 135F+ (to prevent it from going bad) unless that Zojirushi machine has a seal feature maybe it wont dry out. I know my rice cooker only vents but its not top of the line. 

 

The only time I have found my Zojirushi next day rice to be somewhat dried out is if I try to keep just a couple tablespoons.  Still eatable, however.  Other than that -- more than day old rice is comparable to freshly made.  The Zojirushi has a seal because it is a pressure cooker.

 

[FeChef]

11 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

The only time I have found my Zojirushi next day rice to be somewhat dried out is if I try to keep just a couple tablespoons.  Still eatable, however.  Other than that -- more than day old rice is comparable to freshly made.  The Zojirushi has a seal because it is a pressure cooker.

 

Then i stand corrected. I guess if you can hold the rice at a low temp that wont over cook the rice, and not let the rice spoil, the you essentially are doing the same as sous vide. More power too you, but rice is cheap, i would not go through all that trouble.

[Duvel]

17 minutes ago, FeChef said:

Then i stand corrected. I guess if you can hold the rice at a low temp that wont over cook the rice, and not let the rice spoil, the you essentially are doing the same as sous vide. More power too you, but rice is cheap, i would not go through all that trouble.

It is no trouble at all; after all this is what the Zojirushi was designed for. Prepare and keep rice ready for consumption for several meals. If you eat rice with every meal, and have yourself, kids and spouse not necessarily at the table at the same time, it makes a lot of sense to have that feature. And the expectation of the local (Japan) population on their rice is high, so you can expect the product to be as close to perfect as possible.

 

BTW: unlike @JoNorvelleWalker’s Zojirushi I only have the standard model (not the pressure cook version), which is sealed only with a double-lipped silicon gasket. No issues with drying out either ...

[JoNorvelleWalker]

44 minutes ago, FeChef said:

Then i stand corrected. I guess if you can hold the rice at a low temp that wont over cook the rice, and not let the rice spoil, the you essentially are doing the same as sous vide. More power too you, but rice is cheap, i would not go through all that trouble.

 

$9.12/kg.

 

[FeChef]

34 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

$9.12/kg.

 

Can you post that in american measurments? I usually go to my local Asian market and buy a 20lb bag of High end rice. It doesnt cost me more then $20 so $1/pound.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 minutes ago, FeChef said:

Can you post that in american measurments? I usually go to my local Asian market and buy a 20lb bag of High end rice. It doesnt cost me more then $20 so $1/pound.

 

$9.12 US dollars per kg.

 

[FeChef]

1 minute ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

$9.12 US dollars per kg.

 

Had to google that. So $9 per 2lbs. So $4.50/lb. Kinda pricey from what i buy.

[Duvel]

17 minutes ago, FeChef said:

I usually go to my local Asian market and buy a 20lb bag of High end rice. It doesnt cost me more then $20 so $1/pound.

I think maybe the term “high end rice” might not really apply here ...

[weinoo]

If I recall, the Zojirushi manual does mention to add a few Tablespoonfuls of water to the rice if you're gonna use the extended keep warm function. Which makes sense.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

If I recall, the Zojirushi manual does mention to add a few Tablespoonfuls of water to the rice if you're gonna use the extended keep warm function. Which makes sense.

 

At least for my Zojirushi the manual suggests adding a tablespoon of water per bowl of rice before reheating.  That is after having used the keep warm functions.  I had not been doing this.  I also saw that Zojirushi recommends holding rice longer than 12 hours only if you have a pressure model rice cooker (as I do).  My Zojirushi is supposed to hold leftover rice up to 24 hours.

 

I noticed my model, NP-NVC18, has been discontinued and replaced by the NP-NWC18.  The new version allows greater control over keep warm temperatures.

 

Even so, I've held leftover rice in the Zojirushi longer than 24 hours and found it perfectly OK in terms of taste and texture.  How long leftover rice is safe is an entirely different question.

 

[kayb]

Or, if you're not in the notion for any of the leftover uses mentioned above, try this.