DIY microwave rice thats as nice as Uncle Ben packets

[MoiraNotRuby]

Boring but life changing post...

My teens get through a LOT of microwave packet rice. I resent paying £1 for something that's probably worth 5p and the packaging is so wasteful.

It is very convenient through. So I was wondering about a DIY version. I will figure out amount and timing i.e. x grams of rice in a takeaway tub with x ml of water for x minutes on high.

However where I'm stuck is what would you flavour it with for maximum easiness? The packet ingredients helpfully include 'spice' along with onion powder and garlic powder.

Don’t want to detail, but how do people cook egg fried rice? I cook is from hot, but recipes always say use cooked and cold rice for best.

Still following for other answers! We also use those straight to wok noodles for the teens.

@KloppsTeeth

Cook rice then cool it. It makes a huge difference if it's cold.

Heat oil in wok, cook omelette. Take out and put to one side.

Add ginger and garlic add cold rice fry for a few minutes.

Cut up omelette and mix into fried rice

You can add soy sauce, spring onions, sirachia whatever you want

I've been using my sistema microwave rice cooker for years I love it.

We all hate the taste of microwave packet rice it just tastes weird and plasticky and gloopy

Thanks @JustLikeaJingleBell I’m going to try that this week.

Honestly for an easy life I’d stick with the packet rice (perhaps bulk buy at a cash and carry or maybe Amazon?) and recycle the packaging. Make a consumption saving somewhere else. I can see your kids being mightily irritated if that small pleasure is taken away

Please do and I hope it works out and tastes delicious.

You can cool it down really quickly by spreading it out on a baking tray for 30 mins or so

If you fry with freshly cooked warm rice it just sticks to the pan / wok and becomes a gloopy mess. You need to cook the eggs separately first or after otherwise again it becomes a gloopy sticky mess.

I do find that it's much easier in a non stick wok. I bought a tefal one and it makes life so much easier and therefore cooking is more enjoyable

This is what you need.

But I think it does work best in a larger microwave otherwise there's too much condensation.

Another vote for rice cooker.

I've made this one a few times and it was pretty good. The green pepper does seem to make a difference.

wedonteatanythingwithaface.blogspot.com/2014/01/mexican-rice-with-beans.html

@Youngatheart00

Honestly for an easy life I’d stick with the packet rice (perhaps bulk buy at a cash and carry or maybe Amazon?) and recycle the packaging. Make a consumption saving somewhere else. I can see your kids being mightily irritated if that small pleasure is taken away

The packaging isn't recyclable and it's reduce reuse then recycle. Teens eh, want to save the planet until it ends up that they need to make a tiny bit more effort and then all bets are off.

I use the sistema microwave steamer, it's great. I've also reheated rice probably twice a week for the last 30 years and have never been ill so I don't think the risk is that great.

I don’t like the taste of packet rice. I always freeze leftover rice and it microwaves perfectly. I freeze it in plastic containers. Put it in the fridge to defrost and microwave it or freeze it in foil trays, replace the lid with a piece of foil and cook it alongside a foil tray of chilli etc., from frozen in the oven for 45 mins at 180 degrees.

Rice is so easy to cook well, your teens could easily do it.

I soak the rice in cold water for 20 mins, rinse it under water. Put it in a pan, covered by about 1.5cm of water, salt, bring to the boil and turn it to the lowest setting with the pan lid cracked a tiny amount - ten mins later beautifully cooked fluffy rice.

@pigsinblanketsrule

Rice is so easy to cook well, your teens could easily do it.

I soak the rice in cold water for 20 mins, rinse it under water. Put it in a pan, covered by about 1.5cm of water, salt, bring to the boil and turn it to the lowest setting with the pan lid cracked a tiny amount - ten mins later beautifully cooked fluffy rice.

They could but that's a lot more hassle than microwaving... they are teenagers... life is too short for pans and bowls and colanders...

FFS - do people not READ?

She isn't wanting to reheat cooked rice. She wants a way to do a lot of portions fresh in a microwave, to save money and packaging waste.

What flavours of Uncle Ben rice do the teenagers like?