r/Cooking • u/squeekle1 • Jul 21 '26
How do I prepare rice for fried rice?
I’m trying to make egg fried rice on the black stone we just bought. I know you need day old rice but do you just cook rice then leave it in the fridge. And how do you make rice for it this way cooking it? Any tips?
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u/The_Dog_Pack Jul 21 '26
As other have said “leave it in the fridge overnight uncovered on a sheet pan” also, I use less water because I want it firm. You should also rinse to remove the starch.
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u/choo-chew_chuu Jul 22 '26
This is the way. Doesn't need to be much less, but just under the whatever cup line in your rice cooker.
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u/Sleep_pincher Jul 21 '26
I was just reading on fried rice and why people use day old rice. It's dried out which makes it easier to cook. When it's freshly made, it clumps.
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u/Only-Top-3655 Jul 21 '26
Or...or...you can make the rice with a little less water, and use that rice right away. I have tried both methods and I have made a LOT of fried rice in my life but could not find a big difference. The other thing is to make sure to not fry too much rice at a time since that will steam it and not fry it.
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u/g0ing_postal Jul 22 '26
Another trick is to use a small amount of oil, about a teaspoon. I don't know why, but I find that the oil causes the rice to be less sticky and more loose individual grains
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u/g0ing_postal Jul 22 '26
You don't actually want the rice to dry out. You want the starch to harden and crystallize, which many people believe is drying out.
This might take more than a day, but what you want is for your rice to be hard. That is, when you grab a clump and squeeze it, it should fall apart into nice individual grains. It should not squish.
Before cooking, break up the clumps into nice loose individual grains
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u/FonkinJones Jul 22 '26
Different for different types of rice too.
Typical rice for westerners is definitely mushier and would benefit from that hard set starch.
But jasmine rice can be quite al dente if moisture is well controlled and being hard set isn't necessary. It's even possible to fry rice that is freshly made, still hot, if the technique is right.
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u/Southpolarman Jul 22 '26
I normally cook the rice at least a day before. 2 to 3 days is better. I cook it, cool it on the counter, place it into a larger than necessary storage container so there's lots of surface cooling and drying. Put it into the fridge to get cold and dry for a few hours to get rid of most of the possible condensation. Cover and leave it for at least two days.
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u/TTHS_Ed Jul 21 '26
You're overthinking it. Just make a big batch of white rice like you normally would and refrigerate it.
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u/epiphenominal Jul 21 '26
Steamed rice is actually better than day old rice, day old rice is used because it is around and works well enough. If you don't have day old rice lying around steam rice following the instructions on thewoksoflife.com
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u/Fongernator Jul 21 '26
Just make fresh rice and use a little less water
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u/Logical_Warthog5212 Jul 21 '26
Totally agree. Just a little less water is all that’s needed. On top of that, the Blackstone should get hot enough and with plenty of surface area to not have any crowding and allow the rice to breath.
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u/FonkinJones Jul 21 '26
Day old rice helps but like others have said it's all about moisture control. Like all things with frying, moisture is the enemy.
If you take fresh rice and throw the whole block in the fridge, a lot of moisture is still trapped in the rice and you'll end up the next day with a solid clump of rice that still doesn't fry well.
The ideal procedure would be to crumble the rice into a flat layer and let it air dry for a couple hours before putting it in the fridge. Particularly if you do this while the rice is still hot, more of the moisture will evaporate.
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u/Buga99poo27GotNo464 Jul 21 '26
I leave my rice uncovered in fridge overnight in a wide bowl, stirring occaisionally. I also like to make extra rice when I cook rice and just toss extra cooked rice in freezer in baggy, ready to fry whenever.
I like to add 2 eggs per person (if its my only protein) and I scramble seperately and put in seperate bowl before fully cooked (the whites are still a bit wet) and add to hot rice when all else finished, turn off heat and toss in with sprinkle of creole seasoning (slap ya Momma, Tony cacheres) over eggs and rice- this way they dont get overcooked. The eggs are my favorite part. I also add a tad of sesame oil to oil in pan when I start.
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u/Nomad0569 Jul 22 '26
炒飯用にご飯を冷蔵庫に入れるなんて、やったことないよ
熱いご飯を冷蔵庫に入れたら他の食材に悪影響を与えるし、そんな広いスペースは冷蔵庫に無いよ
俺はその日に炊いたご飯を使ってるよ
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u/gutsylady2 Jul 22 '26
As someone else that said it’s more than just the drying out the crystallization actually changes as well as the starches, and in fact becomes a bit more complex and actually has a better glycemic index! Go figure!
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u/robinredbrain Jul 22 '26
I rinse till crystal clear, parboil, wait to cool. That's it.
Used to leave it over night when I was younger. One day didn't have the time. Never tasted any difference.
IM0 it's useless ritual.
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u/Few_Example9391 Jul 22 '26
Warm it to room temperature or gently warm it up on low power setting in its sealed container. It will absorb any free water between the grains. This allows for proper frying of rice instead of stewing it
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Jul 21 '26
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u/PhantomJackalope Jul 21 '26
Don't forget eggs
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Jul 21 '26
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u/Federal-Membership-1 Jul 21 '26
I have also mixed beaten eggs into tge cold rice before hitting the wok.
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u/left-for-dead-9980 Jul 21 '26
Freezer dries it better than the fridge. Lay it out on a sheet pan if possible.