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We cannot avoid the times when we cook leftover rice, and if we know how to preserve cold rice, we will avoid waste and the rice will still be as delicious as when it was cooked.
Rice is the main source of starch in the Vietnamese diet. Most people eat rice every day in their family meals, and sometimes it is difficult to avoid overcooking rice. If you know how to store cold rice, you will maintain its quality and safety. If stored incorrectly, cold rice will not only be less delicious but also harmful to your health.
According to consultants from the Japan Agricultural Cooperative Federation - a unit that regularly shares knowledge about the use of agricultural products, improper storage of cold rice in the refrigerator will cause the quality of starch to deteriorate and the taste will also be worse. They suggest the correct method to store cold rice as follows: First, cook the rice until it is soft, then let it cool and divide it into servings, put it in a lidded box or a zip-lock bag and freeze it in the refrigerator.
Before the meal, you take the lunch box out to defrost and reheat it in the microwave, the rice will be fragrant and soft as usual. If you have leftovers from this meal, you absolutely must not put the rice in storage for a second time because then the rice will become gelatinous, lose nutrients and be bad for digestion.
The correct way to preserve cold rice helps ensure the quality and flavor of the rice (Photo: Istock)
Experts from the Japan Agricultural Cooperative Federation say that cold rice can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-6 days after cooking and up to 6 months in the freezer.
Some notes when preserving cold rice
- Store cold rice in a clean, sealed zip bag/box, and do not let salty foods get in.
- Never store rice a second time.
- When you take out cold rice to use, you need to check it again to see if there are any signs of spoilage, mold or anything unusual. If the rice does not have a strange smell, it is still fine to use. If the rice is unusually sticky, it could be a sign of bacterial invasion, so throw it away instead of using it.
- Rice that is too dry or hard should not be kept for use because the quality and flavor have decreased.
- Reheat with rice cooker:Using a rice cooker to reheat rice is the most convenient and popular way; but if you just pour the rice in and plug it in, the rice will dry out.
To fix this, you can use the steaming method: Put the cold rice in a bowl and place it on the steaming rack, pour a little water into the rice cooker, close the lid and press the "cook" button. Wait a moment for the rice cooker to turn on and you will have a bowl of hot and delicious rice. More simply, you just need to pour the cold rice into the pot, add a little water, press the "cook" button, wait about 5 - 10 minutes for the keep warm button to turn on.
-Microwave heating:To save time, heat cold rice in the microwave. To keep the rice from drying out, put an ice cube in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, punch a small hole to let the steam escape, then adjust the oven and turn it on.
Preserving and freezing rice helps save time - cooking many meals at once - or taking advantage of leftover rice, however, you should only apply it if you are really busy and do not have enough time for cooking, or when you accidentally cook too much rice. In general, we should cook new rice every day to eat deliciously and be good for our health.
According to VTC