What is the Best Way to Reheat Rice?

What is the Best Way to Reheat Rice?

The microwave is a great way to warm leftover rice.
Refrigerated cold rice becomes warm and soft after a quick zap, that’s all that’s needed to enjoy leftover rice.

1. Place leftover rice into a microwave safe container with a cover.
2. Heat the rice in 30 – 60 second intervals (depending on the amount of rice being heated), stirring after the final cycle. A cereal bowl size of rice will probably heat in the first 60 seconds, depending on the microwave. It will come out hot and fluffy, very close to freshly made.




For rice that is more than two days old, but less than a week, you can sprinkle a tiny bit of water on the rice before it hits the microwave. The longer rice sits in the refrigerator, the drier it gets until it actually turns hard and crunchy (but don’t eat it or reheat it at that point!). A slight sprinkle of water will help to restore the moisture in the rice, but be sure to only give it only a sprinkle of water or the resulting reheated rice will become mushy and undesirable.

A great alternative way to reheat cold leftover rice is to make some fried rice, but it takes a few more ingredients. Most any decent fried rice recipe will tell you to begin with cooked refrigerated rice as your base. Heat some oil in a wok and soften some garlic and vegetables then add the cold rice and toss until heated through.





Another alternative would be to just eat leftover rice cold, better for a summer day anyways. Find a rice salad recipe, for instance this cowboy rice salad looks really good. Day old rice would be perfect to use to whip up a salad, but any older than that and the texture may be too stiff and chewy for an enjoyable cold rice eating experience.





Too much leftover rice can also be successfully frozen. Freeze rice in a sealed freezer container that is also microwave safe and you’re ready to reheat the rice at any time, up to a couple of months later.