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> Again, who eats their rice ice-cold unless they got take out the previous evening?

According to many, the best fried rice is made with cooked refrigerated rice. Also, there's this excerpt in the article "Chilling the rice then helps foster the conversion of starches. The result is a healthier serving, even when you heat it back up."

Is it OK to heat it back up?

Still not convinced that turning a 30 minute process into a 12 hour one is "simple".

Rice was the most common form of food poisoning in the UK for a while. Cooling the rice takes it through bacteria reproduction temperature; as does reheating the rice. The bacteria don't cause the poisoning though, so killing them doesn't help. The bacteria release a toxin and that isn't destroyed by heating.

So, if people are going to try this they need to cool the rice down as quickly as possible; keep it cold; and then properly reheat it.

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-po...

I think it's simple as in: You don't need a lab to reproduce the results.

> Still not convinced that turning a 30 minute process into a 12 hour one is "simple".

Inactive prep time doesn't add much in the way of complexity.

I get that sort of but I'm not sure the opposite of simple is complicated.

the article says the effect remains after you re-heat the rice. since cooking rice takes time, lots of people cook large batches of rice and store it in the fridge for a few days. if basically all that's involved is adding some fat to the rice while it cooks, it's an easy change.

I don't know if it's an Italian thing, but growing up in Argentina I learned to cook rice as you cook pasta: first boil the water, then put the rice in, cook as needed then strain. That's the same way I saw my friend cooking rice in England.

In Brazil, on the other hand, people would put a tiny bit of water, put the rice in, turn the stove on and then wait until the rice is evaporated.

The main difference I notice is that when cooked with plenty of water and added when the water is boiling the rice doesn't get sticky (unless you overcook it like crazy.) I prefer it loose and solid instead of sticky and mushy, but then, I grew up eating it that way.

I've always joked around about Asians rinsing their rice: "The world would save so much fresh water if Asians only rinsed their water once." My mom would usually get mad at me since I usually rinse 1-2 times when she does around 4 rinses.

Then I asked a friend who worked at a fine dining sushi/sashimi place how much they wash their rice. Minimum 6 washes. I guess it's not much of a joke anymore.

I don't even count. I have a contraption I made where I put rice/beans/ect. in and then just run the water through until the water runs clean.

Well, any time I make rice the water goes in a basin and ends up back int he garden a few minutes later, so I don't feel guilty about that.

White people (at least some) cook rice by rinsing once, throwing in rice cooker w/ water ( about 2 part water to 1 part rice), and then turning on the rice cooker.

Source: Am white person. (from southeast Louisiana if it matters)

I'm also not Asian, but I no longer rinse at all. I see the point for sushi, but I have yet to discern the difference for any other application. I'll use a cooker if it's handy, but I don't mind a pot on the stove, and I always just eyeball the water.

Believe me, I've already heard all the objections to my rice habits. b^)

> who eats their rice ice-cold

Ummm, you could heat it up. I don't think the article implied you had to eat it cold to get the benefit.

Totally agree with you on the cooking method, though. I read that bit and shook my head.

> I've never met anyone who cooks rice by boiling the water first.

Standard practice for pressure cooking rice. Bring water to boil, add rice, stir, close lid and raise to pressure.

Brown rice in 14 minutes. Yum!

Boiling then steaming is the standard method of cooking rice from (at least) Iran to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Not an insignificant number of people.

the Pakistani basmati I have instructs to boil the water and then drop the washed rice in. I think it makes it fluffier. really good basmati is light like a feather.