I’ve recently been trying to put some new meals in my repertoire and when browsing for new ideas I’ve noticed that many recipes call for day old leftover rice instead of fresh one. Egg fried rice for example. Some people even seem to insist that it doesn’t work with fresh rice. Why is that?
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Because rice was a staple of most meals, which means people often had a ton of leftover rice. So they created all kinds of dishes to utilize the leftover rice, as not to waste food.
Fried rice, for instance, would get all mushy if you used fresh rice, as there would be too much moisture. Day old rice is more dry, and can hold up to the preparation of the dish.
Freshly cooked hot moist rice doesn’t fry well at all, it’s far better to use yesterday’s rice to fry. Try it yourself and you’ll recognize the difference immediately.
Fresh rice is wetter and usually warm. So leftover rice which is usually put on the fridge is better for things like frying with fried rice.
Because they have an abundance of it on hand?
Because they have an abundance of it on hand?
Because many asians eat rice and have left overs. Just like in cultures that eat bread, there’s lots of recipes that use old stale bread.
Freshly cooked hot moist rice doesn’t fry well at all, it’s far better to use yesterday’s rice to fry. Try it yourself and you’ll recognize the difference immediately.
Fresh rice is wetter and usually warm. So leftover rice which is usually put on the fridge is better for things like frying with fried rice.
As others have said, letting the rice sit dries it out and makes it less sticky. Fried rice really does work best with day-old rice, but you can use a variety of rice such as Basmati that has very long grains and is naturally less sticky. Minute Rice and most most microwave pouches also work well. This will subtly change the flavor, but it’s still good.
You can also “hack” Jasmine rice. You rinse it before boiling then cook it like you would cook pasta. Take a cup of rice and boil it for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water. This method removes almost all of the starch from the outside of the grains, which is what causes it to stick together.
Freshly cooked hot moist rice doesn’t fry well at all, it’s far better to use yesterday’s rice to fry. Try it yourself and you’ll recognize the difference immediately.
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