Discussion A Question for heavy Rice eaters.

Anyone know how to keep food mixed with rice from getting to Dry?

My food budget is pretty tight at the moment, but someone recommended adding rice to my meals; not only can I get a 10lb (4.5kg, about 50 cups) of Jasmine Rice for $6USD, I can use it to "stretch" out other Ingredients by 2-3+ times.
For example, I made meals for the week, yesterday. I added 1 cup veggies, 1 can of Chili and 2 cups of Rice and made enough for 5-6 days, Where normally I might eat 1 can of chili and 1/2 cup of veggies a Day.

But one problem I am noticing with it, is that whatever I DO add to it, the rice has the habit of drying it out. I know the obvious answer would be to keep them all separate (though in the case of the Chili I might add sour cream), but that makes portioning things out alot harder.

 

Do you seal your food with a plastic wrap after you make it or before you refrigerate? You lose moisture if the food isn't properly sealed.

 

So you think it might be a Storage problem, rather than a issue with the Rice itself?

 

There might be a reason in the way the rice is prepared (ie. the rice is dried before eaten or stored but wtf does that?), but otherwise yeah, it might be a storage issue.

And when I say dried I mean patted down and left exposed to air, not getting rid of water from boiling. And if steamed, it should be moist enough

 

I would just add water when reheating the food.

 

It's not the rice.
It's the food making the rice bad.

Else:
But yeah rice love to absorb them stuffs you add. Try some dry cooking options. Fried rice and the likes. Your budget do look pitifully low though so you might need some help there.

 

Properly store your leftovers and/or add water when reheating.

 

Basically what the others said. Store it in an airthight container and reheat with a bit of water. That should most likely solve your problems

 

Cook the rice and the toppings separately. Make sure the topping is 'sausey' like a chili or curry or something(adding a can of beans or tomatoes adds this effect). While the rice is still hot, divide it into different Tupperware containers and add topping to it. Seal the containers before the food cools to keep in moisture. This will let the food still be moist when reheated in microwave.

 

I don't know what to say, but if I might add, eating the rice when it's cold is actually better than when it's piping hot.

 

The easiest way would be to keep them separate from the start, no ?
Then when you're eating, you take from both separate containers.
This of course is a much more viable choice if they're separate parts of the meal, rather than something like risotto where you mix it from the start

 

put it in a separate container from the rice.
or make more sauce

 

Rice porridge at worst? Just saying.

 

Oh and do you freeze rice for storage?

 

Na, I just have it in a Dry bag in a cupboard.

 

The root of the problem is that you eat food, so clearly we just need you to die.

 

Storing it refrigerated helps with mositure and freshness

 

Cooked rice will get spoilt very fast. Eat it piping hot. Only cook when you want to eat them.

When I was a student and broke, I just eat plain rice together with sunny side up fried egg and added a little bit of sweet soy sauce for the taste. For veggies, just stir fry it or something. Or just eat salad.

Keep the rice and dishes in separate container. The rice will soak all the moisture from you dishes, making it soggy and spoilt really fast.

 

It usually is but it could also have to do with your reheating method.

 

i dunno at how to cook rice, only to boil water. which is could be became a failure in 3 out of 10.... *looks away*