How to store cooked rice (Zojirushi)

11 years ago

A new-to-me Zoji NP-VB10 replaced my years old Zoji NS-JCC10. I only cook basmati brown rice. I cook enough to last me about 5 days. I have been waiting for the rice to cool and then scooping it into quart refrig dishes, storing in refrig, and daily taking out what I need and nuking it. I thought it was well past time to ask for better ideas for storing the cooked rice! Though this isn't bad, the results from the new cooker are much better, so I thought to ask... Thanks for any and all ideas! :)

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Comments (11)

anoriginal
11 years ago
I'm kinda notorious for cooking TOO MUCH rice (or pasta). Have had success freezing left-overs in zip bags or vac sealing. Pasta comes back to life after a few seconds in boiling water... no real additional cooking, just long enough to loosen it up and reheat. Have put zip bag of frozen rice into pot of simmering water, turned off flame and let it sit for a few minutes... sorta "boil in bag"?
Kris4
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks - definitely going to try freezing it in meal portions. I've seen that idea elsewhere, too - think it's a winner!
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Over the course of a year I will cook literally hundreds of pounds of rice. Most of that is cooked in 20 pound batches in large cast iron kettles. I also own and regularly use several electric rice cookers in various sizes. The largest will cook 3 lbs of rice. I like to cook Cajun style potatoes in my electric rice cookers because of the "special flavor" that develops in them. It comes from the "browning" that occurs during the cooking cycle. The taste is very unique and absolutely delicious. With that said........... THE MOST HANDIEST rice cooker of them all are my "microwave" rice cookers. I am single and use a 6-cup rice cooker the most. I can cook 1 to 6 cooked cups of rice in it......which meets most of my needs. It is made out of inert high temperature plastic and has a lid & insert that by design, allows steam to "circulate", creating the perfect steam cooking environment. It has locking handles to keep the lid secure. It comes with a graduated cup for measuring the rice and water.....and it comes with a rice spoon for fluffing it up. And best of all; since it is made out of inert high temperature plastic, you can store any left over rice in the cooker right in the refrigerator. AND since it is made out of that high temperature plastic, cooked rice CANNOT STICK. So cleanup is super simple. And when you want to use that leftover rice, just put a couple of TBS of water in the container and heat it backup in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Rice will taste as good as if freshly cooked. These microwave rice cookers are very VERY cheap.......only 6 dollars at Walmart. They are made by Miracle Ware.....with Main-Stays Home the brand name. These do not take of much space on the shelf. Don't let the cheap price fool you.....this is a well made, high quality product and it will cook rice perfectly every time with absolutely no attention. Again, this is "THE BEST DEVICE" for cooking perfect rice every time...since sliced bread. IMO, everybody should have one of these microwave rice cookers. Now the electric rice cookers are great too. However, they take up much more room and you should not store any leftover rice in its aluminum cooking pot in the refrigerator. And they are not as easy to clean up since rice will stick to the aluminum cooking insert. My microwave is used only to boil water, warm up leftovers & TV dinners, make roux, and cook rice. It is used most often for cooking my small batches of rice........only takes 15 minutes to cook a batch......and takes less than 1 minute to clean it. Dan Semper Fi-cus
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Jasdip
11 years ago
I do as klseiverd. I freeze leftover rice and pasta in yogurt or sour cream containers. Frozen rice is so handy to use in many dishes......stir-fries, dressings etc. Just yesterday I thawed out a container to use in my stuffed peppers. Saves a lot of time when you don't have to cook it from scratch.
rosiew
11 years ago
I freeze it also in sandwich baggies, then nuke for about 45 seconds. It tastes just like it did when I made it. The time is for one serving.
Kris4
Original Author
11 years ago
I have this batch frozen in 6 one meal refrigerator dishes. Tonight I defrosted it (3 min @ 30%, and then nuked it for a minute. As good as when made, but tomorrow I'm going to try sitting the dish in hot water for a few minutes and see if there's a difference. But this rice is really vastly better! Definitely headed in a good direction. And frozen seems so handy!!! :D Next time I may well try the FoodSaver... :)

This post was edited by Kris4 on Sun, Oct 12, 14 at 21:29
Babka NorCal 9b
11 years ago
I don't even refrigerate cooked rice. That makes rice bullets. What kind of rice are you doing this with? I only make what we will eat at any given meal, whether it is basmati, jasmine, sticky, or sushi rice. But then I am retired and don't need to have "meals in a minute". I guess even cooked/frozen rice is better than no rice at all. ;-) We have traveled extensively thru SE Asia where there is no refrigeration. They cook up "enough" for that day...each day.

-Babka
Islay_Corbel
11 years ago
I was told to be careful with cooked rice- I'm sure grainlady will tell us more as to why but it can be dangerous. I freeze leftover.
jakkom
11 years ago
Depends on the weather. Cooked rice spoils easily. One reason homemade sushi rice can be kept at room temp for a day or so is that adding the vinegar helps fight spoilage.
Kris4
Original Author
11 years ago
First, thanks to all of you who have taken the time to drop by. I do feel that freezing, suggested by many, is best. I initially tried it in refrigerator dishes, but that is too hard to warm up unless I nuke it - zipper bags seem best - I'm afraid the foodsaver would crush the tender rice so I won't try that. Zip bags are easy to warm up in a container of warm water and avoids using the nuke. Taste and texture as good as fresh out of the Zoji! Again, thanks to you all!
cocaty
11 years ago
I have started baking rice ala Alton Brown. We love it but have quite a bit left. I use a rounded measuring cup to "mound" it on a cookie sheet and freeze each mound (1/2 cup or 1 cup). Then I put them in a ziploc bag and we take out what we want for a meal. It works great.
John Liu
11 years ago
Refrigerating cooked rice, uncovered, dries it out which makes the rice very suitable for fried rice. Which is a great thing.

How to store cooked rice (Zojirushi)

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How to store cooked rice (Zojirushi)

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