For context I’m mostly vertical diet, so tons of meat and white rice. As nice as my Tiger rice cooker is, plain white rice reheated days after being cooked is still miserable. Any tips?
I was very into powerlifting for several years, doing something similar to the vertical diet. I would eat over 200lbs of rice a year by myself.
The secret to cooking rice for me was to cook it in chicken broth, don’t use any water. I would then add half a tablespoon of butter to each serving (I was counting macros). Then I would also salt my rice before I eat it. You may already be doing these things, but I would eat rice 4x a day and never got tired of it.
Edit: I want to add, never ever ever use minute rice. I always use California white rice.
I don’t know if it’s compliant with your diet but salsa is my goto add in when reheating . Tastes good and adds much needed moisture.
As for additions when cooking, I use olive oil and borderline aggressive amounts of garlic and green onions.
Mmm rice. I used to try out all kinds of rice recipes when I was trying to eat cheap but healthy. Here are some different things I tried and liked: cooking it in a broth or stock, adding lime juice and cilantro (after cooking) for a lighter taste, splashing in some rice vinegar and topping with different types of kimchi or pickled veggies, soy sauce with butter is an interesting combo, or simply mixing in dried seaweed and seeds for a crunchier snack.
Sometimes I’d cut the top off a tomato and throw the whole thing in the rice cooker with some garlic cloves and then mix mash all together after cooking (it’s kinda like easy Spanish rice!).
I batch make my lunches. Chicken breast and Jasmine rice. When I take one to work, I’ll put some Fiesta Brand Cajun All seasoning and chicken broth in the container. Heat that bad boy up and let it sit in the sealed container for like 10 minutes and that rice will suck it all up. Delicious
Cooking with stock/broth as many others have said is the best way to add flavor in my opinion. Also try toasting the raw rice in your pan with the oil/butter you used to sauté the onions and garlic (before you add the stock). After the rice is cooked, a squeeze of lemon or lime juice over the top is a nice finisher.
This is obviously dependent on the type of meal you’re cooking.
I put arugala in after rice is cooked and mix it and it softens the arugala. I use soy sauce and wasabi mayo that most big grocery stores have in the Asian section.
Weird one but salad dressings go really good with rice like Caesar and balsamic.
Broth, seasoning. I add sauces to mine. As long as you count calories and it doesn’t impede dive, I don’t think Stan will mind. Those rice bowls from Costco are convient. Dextrose, cilantro. I’ve been vertical or mostly vertical since 2018
Cilantro and lime, parsley and lemon, sesame seeds, celery seeds lemon and black pepper, everything but the bagel seasoning, non-salt seasoning, nutritional yeast, orange and nutmeg, basil or tarragon with garlic olive oil drizzle, stone ground mustard and garlic powder with stevia (to replace the high calorie honey). I mean pretty much go wild on any seasoning you want and also “zero”calorie dressings and condiments. And hey, do tell how the diet is going. What are the pros you’ve experienced and the cons and what has the diet taught you about your eating habits and digestion?
Herbs, salt, pepper. Add the chopped, fresh herbs like cilantro when you are fluffing the rice.
White rice accompanies saucy meals, beans, broths really well. In my culture, you pretty much have white rice with any soup.
Enjoy
Honestly, I would start by using brown rice as the base and go from there. Instant upgrade when it comes to overall nutritional profile (less carbs/sugars, more protein, more fiber, and more vitamins/minerals).
Ghee is magic! Add a tsp of ghee and a pinch of salt — honestly elevates the dish and then you can eat it with whatever side dish you like. Works best with basmati which imo is the superior type of rice
Day old rice makes really good fried rice. Add some kind of protein, eggs, and frozen peas.
Dump the rice in miso soup. This is what peasants used to do in Japan when they couldn’t afford anything else.
Buy ochazuke packets (You can get them on amazon)
Not 100% knowing what you mean by “vertical diet”, I would say try not to cook the rice until you are going to eat it. Rice cookers are usually pretty versatile, so you should be able to cook single servings pretty easily.
Yes, as in, fried rice made in your rice cooker where the non-rice ingredients cook along with the rice.
You don’t have to use exacy the ingredients in the recipe. You can go as simple as three or four raw eggs placed of the raw rice and water, season with a blop or two of soy sauce, or use chicken stock instead of water or cut a whole tomato on top of the raw rice and water to make tomato and egg rice….it’s more about technique than exact ingredients.
Not necessarily healthy, buuuut - make Hainan chicken rice if you’ve got spare chicken skin and fat!
Render the chicken fat in a pan (or if you’ve got an instant pot for rice, on the sauté function.) Fry up 3 cloves of minced garlic in the rendered fat til golden, then toss in your rinsed UNCOOKED rice until coated. Throw the whole thing in a rice cooker (or do it all in the instant pot) with as much chicken broth as you would use water, cook rice as normal, and voila - the most delicious chicken rice!
Curry masala …saute onion in oil until little golden brown ,add chilli ,salt ,masala and any veggies of your choice.Add to cooked rice(use non stick rice for this like basmati,ponni boiled,sona masuri steamed etc).
Cardamom and a touch of coconut oil. It is a subtle and a bit floral flavor. It is great for when you want the rice to still be primarily a vehicle for something more flavorful, but don’t want it to be flavorless. It does not take a lot.
Cook in chicken stock. For jasmine rice, I actually use a 2:1 ratio of stock to rice, which is about the maximum the rice can absorb and adds a lot of flavor. Also you can salt your rice, I know Efferding and TVD favor a relatively high salt intake.
I would recommend cooking it with stock (or broth if you call it that), throw in some stock powder of your choosing at that can give it great flavour. I also like to add herbs like coriander and mint or whatever’s growing in my garden. Maybe also try sautéed garlic or onions. I also like seasonings like cumin and Moroccan seasoning from master foods.
Chicken broth with a pinch of saffron. A bit of sautéed onion if I’m feeling the need. But cooked ri e is really best for stir fry. The starch polymerizes after cooking and is perfect for reheating with a little oil (light olive or avocado for me), through in leftover cooked veggies or meat of choice, SE Asian curry or soy sauce, fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley. Endless options.
I put lots of frozen vegetables in a wok with a little olive oil cook them for a few minutes and add cooked rice near the very end, mix it in and then remove the wok from the heat. If you want, add chicken broth and a little butter to the vegetables as the cook, cook the broth down a little before adding the rice. Don’t let the rice cook for more than a couple of minutes, just long enough to mix it into the vegetables and get broth on it. I use the vegetable medley with lots of things, fish, chicken, nothing but the medley, etc.
I don’t think that a good dousing of soy sauce is bad. (Looks up vertical diet) Looks like yogurt is allowed, so Alton Brown’s curry marinade would work. Throwing some carrots in to cook with the rice and adding butter also looks good. If mayonnaise is allowed, a good shot of that and a can of sardines will make the rice have flavor.
Vegeta! It’s a spice that’s not entirely healthy, but a little goes a long way and it makes rice hit different!!! Add a pat of butter/coconut oil, fluff with coconut oil and a pinch of vegeta and you’re good to go!