Why does day old rice make for a better tasting fried rice?
I'm trying to understand what is it about day old rice that makes it better for fried rice, and how exactly to store day old rice for fried rice.
Specifically, what exactly am I aiming for when storing cooked rice for a day to make it optimal for fried rice? Is it simply exposure to oxygen so that the rice crusts up? Should the rice be refrigerated overnight, but left exposed? Should it be wrapped, and kept outside in room temperature, or in the refrigerator?
Best Answer
The goal is to sufficiently dry it, so that you get the right texture of your fried rice. You want it to be noticeably dry, so that it will fry rather than steaming, and not clump together. It's okay if it's clumped up as it dried, as long as you can break it up without it sticking back together.
It does not actually have to be stale (changes in the starch that happen over time), just dry. So it's not exposure to oxygen, it's just moisture evaporating, i.e. exposure to air that's going to happen no matter how it's stored.
There are a lot of ways to accomplish this, including refrigerating for a day (or even 12 hours). There's no need to leave it uncovered. That might let you get away with a shorter time, so you could try it as a way to rush, but be aware that it may pick up smells from your fridge.
You can also use a fan to dry it quickly at room temperature. Simply leaving it at room temperature for a long period is unsafe, though, so I wouldn't recommend that.
See this recent answer and the Serious Eats article on fried rice it's largely based on for more details and related information.
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Quick Answer about "Why does day old rice make for a better tasting fried rice?"
The texture of leftover rice (dried out), on the other hand, is the perfect texture for a dish like fried rice because of the reintroduction of moisture. Fresh rice will turn out mushy or soggy due to having too much moisture in each individual grain of rice.Why does fried rice taste better with old rice?
Unlike freshly cooked rice, which forms soft, mushy clumps when stir-fried, chilled leftover white rice undergoes a process called retrogradation, in which the starch molecules form crystalline structures that make the grains firm enough to withstand the second round of cooking.Is day old rice best for fried rice?
If you start with sticky, warm, just-cooked rice, your fried rice will turn out soggy, without those distinct chewy grains that a good fried rice has. Instead, cook the rice at least a day ahead of time and refrigerate. This helps to dry the grains out enough to give your fried rice a good texture.Why is fried rice made with leftover rice?
You could make fried rice from freshly cooked rice, but it's not likely going to have the right texture because it will be too moist. Leftover rice is ideal because it's drier and therefore, cooks great right in your skillet along with the other ingredients.Why does rice taste better the day after?
Because the rice has the time to dry out. When the rice is freshly made, it will take a lot of time (and energy) to actually evaporate the moisture before you can start to "fry" it with the other ingredients.Eight guidelines to prepare the rice before making fried rice
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Answer 2
Because the rice has the time to dry out.
When the rice is freshly made, it will take a lot of time (and energy) to actually evaporate the moisture before you can start to "fry" it with the other ingredients.
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