Rice is a staple food in a lot of countries and it is probably one of the best survival foods to stockpile. Rice tends to have a fairly long shelf life, and it is also jam-packed with a lot of nutrients, in addition to this it is also extremely healthy food. A lot of preppers tend to store rice in bulk, as rice is extremely easy to cook and due to its long shelf life it is one of the best survival foods that you can have.
Although cooking rice is fairly simple, but there are a couple of small mistakes that make it unedible. Oftentimes if you undercook or overcook the rice you will find that it is either burnt, crunchy, mushy, wet, and tasteless. The good news that there are a couple of easy fixes for undercooked or overcooked rice, and you can do these fixes with the tools and items which you find in your home, there is simply no reason to throw it out.
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The main problem with rice is that you have to be very careful about how long you cook it, and how much water you use. Generally speaking, if you use too little water then the rice will be crunchy, or even burnt. The main reason why this happens is that while you are cooking the rice it will absorb a lot of water and the rice will expand. If you do not give enough water for the rice to expand then it will be crunchy and undercooked.
On the other hand, if you add way too much water to the rice then it will become mushy and wet, although this can often happen if you also overcook the rice. Make sure to check out how much water and for how many minutes you have to cook it. Just keep in mind that brown and white rice need different amounts of water and time to cook so always check out the packaging. If you want to know other survival foods that last forever then check out my recent article Survival foods that last forever ( Top 28 ).
How to fix undercooked rice
Undercooked rice is the result of adding too little water or cooking at high temperatures. When you do not add enough water the rice will not be able to absorb as much water as it needs to become soft and this is why it will be undercooked or even worse burned. On the other hand, if you add plenty of water but you are cooking at a high temperature then a lot of the water will evaporate due to the higher temperatures and the results will be the same as if you would have added too little water.
To fix undercooked rice you should add 1 cup or 1/2 cup of water to the rice and lower the temperature a bit, in addition to this, make sure to add the lid back on top in such a way that the lid covers the pot entirely. You will have to wait a couple of minutes for the rice to fully cook, just avoid raising the temperature as it will not cook faster and it will only end up burning the rice. In addition to this, you have to eye it out on how much water you actually need, add too much water and the rice becomes mushy and wet.
So start with a 1/2 cup of water and if you see that the rice has absorbed all the water then slowly start adding more water.
How to fix crunchy rice
Crunchy rice is the result of not adding enough water, cooking at high temperatures, or by simply not letting the rice cook for enough time. A lot of people tend to mess up the water to rice ratio, as different types of rice will need different water to rice ratios. Although crunchy rice is still edible but your stomach will have a hard time digesting it, depending on how crunchy the rice is you might start having some stomach aches.
To fix crunchy rice just add 1/2 cup of water and let it cook for a couple of minutes, just make sure that you put the lid back on. In addition to this, you can fix crunchy rice with a microwave by placing on top of the rice bowl a couple of wet paper towels and place it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. The rice will absorb the water from the wet paper towels and it will no longer be crunchy.
Just do not forget to add the wet paper towels, as your rice might start burning if you leave it too long in the microwave without wet paper towels. So add a couple of wet towels and place it in the microwave for a minute, if it is still crunchy then place it back for another minute, and so on. If you are want to stockpile food for the long term then you should use Mormon canneries, for more information check out my recent article Mormon cannery ( Top 10 Things To Know ).
How to fix burnt rice
Burnt rice is the result of cooking at too high temperatures, adding way too little water, or if you cook your rice for way too long. Depending on how brunt the rice is you can actually salvage it, but if the rice is black or dark brown then you have to throw it away. The problem with burnt rice is that it will give a brunt taste to the entire pot of rice, which will make it taste fairly bad. The good news is that if the rice is not too brunt you can still fix it and you can even get rid of the burnt taste.
To fix burnt rice you should add 1/2 cup of water and stir the rice for a couple of minutes with a wooden spoon. Make sure that you also lower the cooking temperature as odds are that you have been cooking at way too high temperatures which actually cause the rice on the bottom of the pot to burn. To get rid of the brunt taste of rice just place a piece of white bread on top of the rice for 10-15 minutes, as this will absorb the burnt taste and smell.
You have to do this after cooking but while the rice is still hot, as while the rice is hot it will evaporate some water and while it is evaporating the bread will trap the brunt taste and smell. If you want to know how to store grains correctly then check out my recent article How to store grains long term at home ( Best Practices ).
How to fix mushy rice
Mushy rice is the result of cooking the rice in too much water and for way too long. Rice tends to absorb a lot of water and if you cook them for too long then the grains will split, once they do the rice will be mushy. Although mushy rice is still edible as it doesn’t lose its flavor and taste but the texture of the rice will change, and a lot of people are not a fan of eating mushy rice.
To fix mushy rice you have two options and it depends on how mushy the rice is if the rice is only sticky then you can rinse it off with some cold water. On the other hand, if the rice is mushy then you should either make some other dish out of it or consume it like it is. If you want to know how you can stockpile food on a budget then check out my recent article How to stockpile food on a budget ( In 10 Easy Steps ).
How to fix watery rice
Watery rice is the result of adding way too much water to the rice. This is why it is extremely important to follow the water to rice ratio which you can find on the packaging of every type of rice. A lot of people make the big mistake of trying to cook off the excess water, the problem with this is that you will get mushy and watery rice this way.
To fix watery rice, just get a fine strainer and remove the excess water, after which place the rice back into your cooking pot. Make sure to keep an eye out on the rice as it might still need some water if you have been cooking at a lower intensity.
How to fix salty rice
When you add way too much salt to the rice it will become salty, and in some cases, it will also alter the texture of the rice. To fix salty rice you have to cook another pot of rice that doesn’t have any salt, make sure that it is the same amount of rice that you have in the salted rice pot. Once the unsalted rice is cooked then just mix the salted and the unsalted rice together and there you go. Depending on how salty the rice is will determine how much unsalted rice you should add to it, the saltier the rice is the more unsalted rice you should add.
In some cases, you can so unsalted the rice by rinsing it under cold water, although this depends on how far you are in the cooking process, if the rice has already absorbed a lot of salt then you will not be able to get rid of the excess salt by rinsing it with cold water. If you are using rice flour then you might notice weevils eating the flour, for more information check out my recent article Weevils in flour safe to eat? ( 3 Step Removal ).
How to fix gummy rice
Gummy rice is the result of not rinsing the rice properly before cooking, no matter what type of rice you want to cook you will have to rinse it before cooking. Once the rice is gummy then some of the grains will split extremely easy and you will end up with gummy and mushy rice. Although gummy rice is edible and there are some dishes that do include gummy rice but generally speaking most people do not like its texture.
To fix gummy rice you have to rinse it under cold water, just like you would do with pasta. The faster you notice that the rice is gummy the easier it will be to fix it. You may have to rinse the rice a couple of times until you notice that they do not stick together anymore.
Should you rinse rice after cooking?
The main goal of rinsing rice after cooking is to get rid of excess starch and to even make the rice look shinier. Generally speaking, you should rinse rice after cooking, as it will taste better and the cold water rinse will make the texture of the rice smoother. On the other hand, there are some recipes that do not need the rice to be rinsed after cooking such as risotto. So make sure to check the recipe before rinsing the rice after cooking.
In conclusion
As you can see there are a lot of easy fixes for undercooked or overcooked rice, but ultimately how you do it will depend on what your personal preferences are. Some people like their rice crunchy while others like them salty or mushy. Other than burning the rice you will still be able to eat the rice even if it is crunchy, gummy, or mushy.
