Lunch ideas with rice

[Frenchfancy]

I'm looking for ideas for meals I can prepare ahead the night before then take to work for lunch. I have a microwave at work.

I often do leftovers or pasta but would like some more rice dishes (for the days we are planning pasta in the evening).

I have no dietary restrictions and have a good store cupboard.

I often take leftover homemade rice from dinner the night before. Things like veg biryani, egg fried rice, risotto, veg paella, all reheat in the microwave. I have a fridge at work so can keep it chilled and I only make enough for one leftovers meal, but I'd not risk it if I didn't have a fridge.

If you've no fridge, I'd start afresh each time with a pouch of pre-cooked rice and just chuck in veg, soy sauce, cashew nuts, cooked chicken, prawns, whatever, as you reheat. Or have a pouch and top with leftover chilli, curry, whatever.

Fried rice, jambalaya, any kind of stir fries which could go with leftover rice. I would say curry but they do tend to smell.

Have you got a freezer. I tend to batch cook on a Sunday a number of different dishes, say 6 servings of 3 different types. Bung them all in lockable plastic tubs, all individual servings, and then each day, just take one out of the freezer, it defrosts in time for lunch, pop in the microwave at work, lunch all done

Means no thinking or planning needed for a couple of weeks at least.

I used to like a rice salad - diced spring onion, peppers, herbs, maybe some seeds or nuts, sometimes some tinned salmon or tuna mixed through, ort boiled egg quarters, with a white wine vinaigrette. A bit like a pasta or couscous salad

Not had one for a while, maybe I'll do it this week.

Serious eats have been doing a feature on rice dishes this month. Lots of recipe ideas.
https://www.seriouseats.com/starch-madness-2023-7253736

Some great ideas.

I do have a fridge. I think I'll do a sort of jambalaya for tomorrow . Keep the ideas coming.

A pouch of microwave rice, choose something favoured eg Spanish or Jamaican. One pouch would probably do for two lunches, so you'll need a microwaveable dish or bowl.

Into the rice stir chopped sardine fillets or tuna, or mackerel fillets, and extras such as semi dried tomatoes, peppers or grilled artichokes in oil, spring onions, or olives.
Heat through for a couple of minutes.
If you're not keen on fish, diced chicken or ham, cooked sausage or frankfurters would also work.

Cook onion.garlic.celery.carrot till lovely and soft. Then stir and braise some tinned lentil and stock.then stir in your rice.sooo comforting.
Sometimes switch Pearl barley for lentils when more time to cook which is extra nice.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tomato-chorizo-risotto#commentsFeed

I normally do a big pan of chicken with rice and veg mixed together and put it in Tupperware. I then alternate the sauce so one day I’ll pour on Nando’s, another sweet chilli or soy sauce.

One of my fave slimming world lunches was rice, tuna, red pepper, cherry toms, mixed seeds and balsamic glaze.

This is a great idea.

If you're cooking the rice from scratch to use for your lunch then how about sushi? Won't work with leftover rice though!

Egg fried rice
Chinese rice with veggies and soy
Currry with veggies, tomatoes and spices

I aldo like to use bulgar , lentils or giant couscous as a substitute

Fried rice - peas, curry/chilli, red peppers, corn, egg, grated carrot, zuchini and soy sauce. (or vary the sauce).
Eat hot or cold, with added chicken or tuna or ham or bacon or anchovies or smoked eel or any cold roast meats.
Serve with crisp shredded iceberg lettuce, grapes and cucumber

Porcupine Meatballs. Make meatballs with quality minced steak, onion and long grain rice etc. (look up recipe) and bake in tomato soup and pineapple juice as stated. They are great hot and cold and especially with mash or crusty bread and butter. The rice spikes out into the soup and so the meatballs look like spikey porcupines.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_pilau_57742/amp

This is my new favourite to make for us for dinner and take to work the next day. I use more liquid than the recipe reccomends (400ml) and I don't add the nuts or coriander but I do add the extra veg reccomend. It's very tasty.

I have recently discovered pearl barely and if you put pearl barely recipes into the good food website, there are salads there which will keep for 3 days.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/broad-bean-barley-mint-salad this one is really nice if you want to try something different!

Pearl barley is one of my favourite things🙂
Started on it after feeling nostalgic as my gran used to put it in her big pot chicken stew.
But it's so nice.

I've had a couple of microwave rice type things with pearl barley that I really liked, I'll definitely look up some recipes. Great idea.

Today I had some onions and peppers that I cooked in the air fryer with a bit of chorizo. Mixed into cooked rice and added a bit of leftover tomato sauce. It was really nice.