Transform your leftover rice in three delicious ways
One of the most popular grains consumed globally is rice. It serves as a staple food for a lot of people. And more than half of the world’s population relies on it. In addition, there are also varieties of rice that differ in shape, size, and color. But regardless of its type, steaming or boiling are the most common ways to prepare it.
Furthermore, steamed or boiled rice is also one of the most common food served in every household, particularly in Asian countries. With that, leftover rice is indeed inevitable. And one of the most challenging is to think about what you can do with it other than reheating or warming up and serving it just as it is.
But, worry no more! Because fortunately, there are some fantastic ways you can do with your leftover rice.
Make an appetizer
You can make a rice ball with your leftover rice. A rice ball is any dish made of molded, compressed, or shaped rice. Most of the countries that consume rice have rice balls, and Asian countries is where they are most prevalent.
In the Youtube video, Jane Agustin-Silvestre shared how to make a rice ball from leftover rice. She combined the leftover rice, kernel corn, minced carrot, and seasonings like salt, pepper, and oyster sauce. After that, she began molding the mixture into a round shape with hotdog-cheese inside and coated it with an egg and breadcrumbs. Lastly, she fries it until golden and crispy.
Then, there you have it! A rice ball recipe made from leftover rice.
Make a snack
You can turn your leftover rice into a popping snack. In Filipino cuisine, the traditional puffed rice is often called ampaw or ampao, a snack made from dried leftover rice.
Delish Ph shared how to make puffed rice using four simple ingredients – leftover rice, sugar, oil, and butter. To make the snack, she initially sun-dried the leftover rice before deep-frying it in hot oil to give it a puffy texture. Then, she added the butter to the melted sugar in a separate pan. And after the sugar was completely caramelized, she added the puffed rice and stirred it until it was evenly coated.
Now, you can enjoy munching this easy and simple snack recipe made from your leftover rice.
Make a dessert
If you’re in the mood for something sweet and creamy but don’t feel like eating an appetizer or snack, rice pudding as dessert could be the answer. Yes, you can transform your leftover rice into a dessert!
Moreover, rice pudding is made by cooking a creamy combination of rice and milk until it is thick and soft. Recipes Reducing Wastage demonstrates in the video how to make a rice pudding using leftover rice with three basic ingredients: milk, sugar, and of course, the leftover rice. You just have to combine all ingredients and cook uncovered in a large pan for about 20 minutes, and stir often until soft and thickened. Voila! You can now enjoy rice pudding.
Although leftovers are usually appreciated, it may also occasionally be challenging to know what to do with them. But, in certain lucky cases, leftover food may be repurposed into entirely new dishes to give it a new life. Therefore, don’t let that leftover rice go to waste but rather transform it into a brand-new dish.
