Warm Up A Cold Salad With A Heap Of Leftover Rice
Rice is a must-have if you are making burritos, stuffed peppers, or versatile rice bowls that allow each person to assemble their own; however, if you find that you have a bit of this starchy grain left in your fridge awaiting use and not certain what to do with it, warm it up and add it to a salad. Rice can be a welcome addition to your greens and veggies providing a lovely textural contrast to your cucumbers and tomatoes, but it is also a substantive food that can transform a simple salad into a hearty meal.
You can make cold rice salads, but cold rice loses some of its fluffy spring when stored in the fridge and the bite just isn't the same. For this reason, the microwave is your friend, allowing you to warm it in a microwave-safe bowl with a little water to help restore that pillowy-soft texture. What you will love about this addition is how creative you can be.
Only reheat once
To warm up your rice in your small appliance, be sure to add two tablespoons of water for each cup of rice. This will help re-steam your rice as it heats in the microwave. And don't worry, this shouldn't take you more the three to four minutes, depending on how much you are reheating. The one thing to remember is that once you've reheated your rice, you do not want to reheat it a second time as it may carry bacteria that can lead to food poisoning.
Add warm rice, along with some leftover shrimp and parsley from a previous night's dinner and you have a shrimp and rice salad that will satiate your hungriest of eaters. Add it to a salad with corn, black beans, avocados, and all the lovely ingredients you would use in a burrito to give your salad a Southwestern vibe. Or try your rice mixed in with a little jerk chicken for some heat, along with some peppery greens like arugula and a sweet dressing to balance out all the fire. Warm rice will make all the difference.