Why is it suggested you use cold/day old rice for fried rice?
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You don't have to but if you rice that's still warm it tends to get clumpy.
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I don't know about cold, but old rice is better because it is drier than freshly cooked rice. Using fresh rice will make the fried rice a little wet and mushy, if that makes sense. I think its a textural thing.
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I think it's probably historical, kind of like how fondue came about.
No one set about to make a dish called fondue, the farmers just had a lot of old, empty cheese rinds and nothing to eat and one of them had the idea to heat it up. I would venture it's the same with fried rice...leftover rice that had to be used and someone mixed it up with fresh ingredients.
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fresh rice is sticky. I usually try to make rice a day in advance and then keep it in the fridge so it dries out and stir fries better. You can make fresh rice and sitck it in the freezer to dry it out a little bit if you're short on time.
and don't be a dummy like me and use a rice like Botan. that stuff never worked well and would stick SO BAD
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@locavore_mama: but my cold rice is always clumpy, too! Lose lose. Wah. I must be doing something wrong....
@SleepyMonkey: that totally makes sense.
@blackbird: I might have a few minutes to toss the rice in the freezer while I wok the other ingredients. I'll try that.
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Just easier to fry up!
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@mediagirl: what kind of rice are you using? there are some kinds that are just sticker in nature. jasmine long grain is probably the "driest".
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@snowjewelz: I use jasmine for everything!
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@mediagirl: So weird! We usually let the cooked leftover rice sit out at room temp for a while before putting it back in the fridge.
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I also always assumed this was just a matter of what's on hand/not wasting food. Just like pizza used to be more of a "use up whatever scraps you have around" kind of thing.
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It's so the rice is drier and fries up more easily!
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Texture! DH def prefers day old/dry rice since it's crispier!
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If you only have fresh rice; I've had decent luck drying the rice out in the oven on a low temp. Just spread as thin as you can on a cookie sheet, let it "bake" for a bit on a low temp (I think I usually do like 20 minutes on 250, if I'm remembering right) and it dries it out so it sticks less!
If you're getting a lot of clumping while making fried rice; try stiring/messing with it less. When I let it really crisp on one side and don't poke at it a lot, it turns out better!
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Day old rice is dryer. For jasmine rice we do a 1-1 ratio (one cup rice to one cup water).
My father told me a little secret, after you add the egg do not over mix it will make fried rice into a goopy, sticky mess
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Fresh rice is too sticky. Day old rice (or older in my case.. sometimes) is drier in texture and easier to toss around with the other ingredients.
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@snowjewelz: eh, I lied. I just got home and checked and I'm using Mahatma long grain rice. Should I use Jasmine?
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@mediagirl: I think that should be good for fried rice though! Maybe try leaving it out to let it cool before putting it in the fridge. Even after you first cook it, it shouldn't be that sticky. Are you using too much water to cook the rice?
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@mediagirl: I always use jasmine rice as it is drier. I use the 1:1 ratio as well when I make rice in the rice cooker. Also like previous posters, day old rice is better as it is easier to fry & does not get clumpy. My parents will sometimes use long grain rice because that should be pretty dry as well. They use their index finger to gauge how much water to use.
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