rice warming & safe

Have to agree with the comments by Jolenealaska and ElendilTheTall. Fully cook the rice, then let it sit overnight in the fridge.

Whenever I make fried rice for dinner, I:

1. Cook the rice the day prior
2. Spread it on a cookie sheet about a cup at a time
3. Fan the rice on the cookie sheet with a folding fan (could use a paper plate too)
4. Put cool rice in container, repeat steps 2 & 3 for all the rice you've cooked

When I make the fried rice, I:

1. Saute minced garlic and white onions in a bit of safflower oil on high heat in a 12" skillet
2. Add the refrigerated rice to the skillet (do not warm it up beforehand). In the skillet, take tongs and break the rice down if it still has the shape of the container
3. Add in cooked & drained corn kernels, as well as scrambled eggs, bacon, salt and freshly ground black pepper (or any toppings)
4. Cook until the rice is warmed throughout, then add a dash of low-sodium soy sauce to give it a bit of color

For our fried rice, the recipe I follow uses (in order of quantity, I typically just eye it)

1. Cooked, cooled and refrigerated Jasmine rice (cooked in rice cooker without salt)
2. Cooked and drained yellow corn kernels
3. Cooked and chopped bacon (let it rest on paper towelled plate)
4. Scrambled eggs (let them rest on paper towelled plate)
5. Minced garlic
6. Minced white onion (marinate in rice wine for ~2 mins, then drain and dry on paper towel)
7. Safflower oil
8. Soy sauce
9. Freshly ground black pepper
10. Salt

I will probably get some back lash about this but I really like nuking rice the day after to bring it back to life. I add a bit of water, so it doesn't dehydrate and voila. If you cook your rice slightly aldente, this works even better...

Similarly, add the rice to a sauce pan, and add a bit of water, cover with lid and turn on relatively high. Keep an eye on it and agitate often to avoid burning. This heats rice quickly.

The problem with heating slowly in a warmer is that is does stay in the danger zone longer and to be honest, it'll cook to death, because often the last 30 minutes or whatever, it will actually be quite hot and will be cooking during that time.

I've made many dishes with the techniques above and everyone who eats them has no complaints.

Regarding how to cool it... The comments made herein are good. Just cool quickly for best results. The longer it takes, the longer it's in the danger zone and the more it cooks.