Left-over Rice

Rice should always be soaked, rinsed and drained before using, because rice plants absorb arsenic as they grow.

Cooked rice can only be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days, as it grows mould. It can be kept frozen in an airtight container for about 2 months. It should only be reheated once, to steaming hot-- a safe temperature is 165 degrees F. Since fried rice is reheated cooked rice, discard any leftovers.

Fried Rice

•  2 cups cold cooked rice
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Optional: add 2 cups of chopped cooked meat (bacon ham, shrimp, or chicken) OR chopped fresh green, red or yellow peppers OR shelled peanuts.

1. Heat pan, add oil and fry onions until brown.
2. Add cold, cooked rice (and any optional additions,) saute.
3. Stir in 2 beaten eggs until cooked.
4. Season with soy sauce and salt to taste.

Vegetable Rice

• 1 yellow onion
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 tomato, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp soy sauce or herb mixture
• 2 cups cooked rice

1. Peel and finely slice the onion, carrot and celery.
2. Sautee the onion in oil until soft, then add the carrot and celery and cook until almost soft.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and herbs you like or soy sauce.
4. Stir in the rice, sprinkle on the tomato, cover the saucepan and heat through on medium heat.

Rice

Basic Rice

Rice is a plant that absorbs arsenic, a toxic mineral, from the soil and from irrigation water. For this reason, it's necessary to rinse rice thoroughly before cooking.

To make more rice, take the dry measure of rice and use double the amount of water in a liquid measuring cup. So for 1 cup of rice, 2 cups of water.

• 1/2 cup rinsed rice
• 1 cups water
• 1 tsp. salt

Add salt to cold water in a small pot. Bring to a boil.

Add rice. When water returns to a boil, turn heat to lowest setting and put on the lid.

Wait about 10-15 minutes. Rice is done when it is soft and fluffy and all water has been absorbed.

On my stove, the lowest heat can still make the water boil over, so I have to watch the pot. And if I don't and it does boil over, I just add more boiling water from the kettle, let the pot return to a boil uncovered, then take the pot off the stove and sit covered for the rice to finish cooking with the residual heat. Rice is more easily ignored if you use a rice cooker (follow the manufacturer's directions.)

Stirred Rice in a Pot (Risotto)

There is supposedly an art to making risotto. But basically, cook chopped onions in butter, stir in rice, add broth, and keep stirring in hot broth or boiling water about a 1/2 cup at a time till the rice is almost cooked. Then add seasoning and serve when cooked and fluffy.

This recipe makes a big pot of rice, enough for a main dish for 4 adults. Serve with cooked mushrooms, roast chicken, buttered yellow squash, cooked peppers, whatever.

For a good risotto, use about 6 cups of good, seasoned chicken or vegetable stock, heated.

Any-night economy verson: 1 cup of stock (1 stock cube dissolved in boiling water) to start,  and just hot water from the kettle for subsequent additions of liquid.

Gourmet version: Use 1 cup of very dry white wine for the first liquid addition, hot chicken or vegetable stock for the rest. Mix 2 Tbsp of the hot stock with a pinch of saffron and add this to the rice with mushrooms (sauteed in butter) when you season the rice.

1. Peel and chop 2 yellow onions.
2. Rinse 500 grams of short-grained white rice (about 2-3/4 cups) and drain.
3. Put 6 cups stock in a pot on the stove to boil, then turn down to simmer and cover.
4. Melt a chunk of butter (3 Tbsp butter OR 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil) in another large pot (non-stick if you have one).
5. Stir in the chopped onion and cook briefly, just until translucent.
6. Stir in the rice.
7. Pour in a cup of hot stock and stir till the liquid bubbles.
8. Turn heat down to low. Cover the pan and cook on low heat (simmer) just until the liquid is absorbed. Peek and stir.
9. Use a soup ladle to add more hot stock (about 1/2 cup at a time) and stir until the liquid is absorbed.
10. Keep doing this until you've only a bit of liquid left.
11. Season the rice with salt and pepper (and the saffron mixture if making the gourmet version.) Stir well and add the remaining liquid.
12. Cover and cook on low for 5 more minutes until rice is done.
13. Options: serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Chinese Fried Rice

Delicious way to use up leftover plain steamed rice.

For variety add 2 cups chopped cooked meat (ham, shrimp, chicken, beef, bacon) or chopped green pepper or shelled unseasoned peanuts or sliced almonds.

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 2 cups coarsely chopped onion
• 2 cups cold cooked rice
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt

Heat pan, add oil and fry onions until golden.

Add cold rice and saute.

Beat eggs and season with soy sauce and salt.

Saute until heated through.

Oven-baked Lemon Rice

2 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup long grain rice
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 cups boiling water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Dash of thyme, salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Saute butter, onion and rice over medium heat in a pan, transfer to casserole dish.
Stir chicken bouillon cube into boiling water until dissolved then add to rice mixture.
Add lemon juice and seasonings.
Cover casserole dish and bake in preheated 350 degree F oven 20 minutes.

Rice

1 cup long grain rice makes 3 cups cooked.

1 cup quick-cooking rice makes 2 cups cooked.

Garlic and Ginger White Rice

• 2 peeled cloves garlic, smashed but not minced
• 1 two-inch piece ginger, sliced lengthwise
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1-3/4 cups water
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan, stir.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit, covered, 5 minutes.

Discard ginger and garlic and fluff rice with fork.

Mushroom Brown Rice

• 1 cup long-grain brown rice
• water (use amount specified in package directions)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp chopped onion
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 lb. fresh sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup dry sherry OR chicken stock OR beef broth OR vegetable broth

Cook rice in salted water.

Melt butter in a hot frying pan and stir in chopped onion.

When onion is brown, add mushrooms, cook till soft (about 5 minutes).

Stir in the sherry or broth and heat. 

Add this mixture to the rice, stir well and serve.

Spanish Rice (1 hour)

• 1-1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 large cloves crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-3/4 cups raw brown rice
• 2 chopped green bell peppers
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• finely ground black pepper to taste
• cayenne pepper to taste
• 2-1/4 cups tomato juice
• 2 small fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green olives (optional)
• freshly chopped parsley
• 1 packed cup grated sharp cheese

In large, heavy saucepan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil with salt, until onions are soft (5-8 minutes).

Add the raw rice, green peppers, and spices.

Saute over medium heat another 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add tomato juice, bring to a boil.

Turn the heat way down to low, simmer covered 15 minutes.

Add tomatoes and olives. Stir, cover again.

Continue simmering until rice has absorbed all the liquid, another 15 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Fluff the cooked rice with a fork and transfer to a serving bowl. 

Garnish with grated cheese and parsley.

Serve immediately.

Prepare-Ahead Brown Rice & Spinach

A main meal or side dish. Cook the brown rice in advance and this recipe only takes about 10 minutes to assemble, 20 minutes to bake in the oven. 

• 3/4 cup brown rice
• 2 bunches organic spinach, chopped
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 100 g. nonhydrogenated margarine or butter
• 4 tbsp unbleached flour
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. soya sauce
• 200 g. light cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup wholewheat bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook rice as per package directions (takes about 45 minutes.)

Use right away or refrigerate to make the dish later.

Blanche spinach for 3 minutes or so in a little boiling water.
Toss the cooked rice and spinach together.

Place in a greased caserole dish

 In a saucepan, melt margarine or butter.

Sautee the onion and garlic till golden.

Stir in 1/2 cup milk.

Whisk the flour into the remaining milk.

Add to the pan, stirring till the mixture thickens.

Add soya sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, stir in the grated cheese.

When cheese melts, pour sauce over the spinach and rice mixture in the casserole dish.

Stir breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle on top.

Bake at 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, until heated through and top is golden.

Peas and Rice (Will Hoppin' John Bring You More Money in the New Year?)

Norm, a long-time fan of the Allman Brothers, took us on a driving tour of "Allman Brothers Unofficial Historic Sites" in the southeastern U.S. one winter years ago. In Macon, Georgia, we stopped at a small family restaurant that served homestyle southern meals, including a peas-and-rice dish called Hoppin' John.

If you eat Hoppin' John on New Year's day, your pockets won't be empty of change for the rest of the year, or so the story goes. Eat collard greens along with it and you'll have a  year with more green bills in your wallet. 

Hoppin' John

• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 16 oz. can black-eyed peas.
• 2 chopped green onions.
• 1/4 lb. bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled (reserve 2 tbsp bacon fat)

In a pot, bring 1 cup salted water (1/4-1/2 tsp salt) to a boil.
Add uncooked rice.
Reduce heat, cover, simmer on low about 30 minutes.
Drain and rinse peas.
Fry bacon until crisp, remove from pan, crumble.
Drain all but 2 tbsp bacon fat from the pan.
Put cooked rice, peas, and chopped green onion into the pan with the bacon fat.
Cook about 3 minutes, stirring.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Top with cooked bacon and serve.