Remember that musibi I made last week? I still have the leftover rice. Normally I’d heat it up and eat it with soy sauce or butter. (I’m not a big fan of the milk-and-sugar hot cereal type of rice dad used to like.) I’d like to do something more interesting with it, but I don’t want to go to the store. I have on-hand:
Leftover rice
Soy sauce
Olive oil
Canola oil
Vegetable oil
Frozen mixed vegetables
The usual spices
American cheese
Cheddar cheese
SPAM
Tuna
Smoked sprats
Sriracha sauce
Tabasco sauce (original, chipotle, jalapeño)
Crystal sauce
Frank’s Red Hot sauce
A couple of other hot sauces
Chipotle chilis
A bit more than half an onion
Any ideas?
I’m thinking of frying the rice and mixed veg in some oil, and then adding soy sauce.
First of all, that’s nearly my dream fridge/list of ingredients! Also, I got a tins of barbecued sprats, herring, anchovies, etc. for Christmas! Anyway, here’s what I would do. Add some cheese or any other kind of “bindy” ingredient to the rice. Spray a pie pan with non-stick cooking spray, then press the rice into a “crust” situation. Fill with veggies, sauces, spices, whatever you like, then top with cheese until all is warm and bubbly.
Got a bell pepper by any chance? I have been really craving a nice Stuffed Pepper.
ALthough I notice you have no sausage on your list of assets either.
Thaw the frozen mixed veggies. Dice up the Spam, scramble the egg and chop it into small pieces. Some onion if you want. Mix with the leftover rice, heat through. Season to taste with soy sauce.
I’ve found that leftover rice freezes admirably. Nowadays, when I make rice in the cooker, I make a big batch and freeze meal-sized portions in freezer baggies. A minute or two in the microwave will thaw and heat one portion.
I don’t like to add oil, because I don’t like oily fried rice. I prefer to saute fatty meats (like bacon or Spam or Portuguese sausage) first and then cook up the rest using whatever grease escaped to the pan.
Add minced onions (and whatever else strikes your fancy) to the rice. Beat an egg and add to the mix. Form into 1/2 inch rice cakes. Fry in oil until browned. Yummmm.
Crap—where has this factoid been all my life? I eat rice almost every day. This could save me a hell of a lot of time if it works well. How’s the taste and texture—comparable to freshly cooked rice? And does it really go from frozen solid to serving temp in just two minutes without turning to goo or bursting into flames? Do you nuke it in the baggie itself?
The taste and texture are almost exactly like freshly cooked rice. Sometimes I nuke it right in the bag, sometimes I shake it out into a covered bowl and nuke it that way. It makes no difference in the taste. Yep, a minute or two, assuming you have about one rice bowl’s volume of rice.
I started doing this because I once bought at Trader Joe’s some frozen plain cooked Jasmine rice. It looked like they had done nothing more complex to the rice other than freeze it, and the end result was very good. If it was that simple, I thought, why not give it a try at home and see how it turns out.
Turns out great, as I found out. And it saves lots of time.
