Keeping Cooked Rice Overnight.

[Eastender]

My Thai g/f says it's a sin to throw away cooked rice and we should stick it in the fridge and re-use it (re-cook it - I think) the next day.

Other western friends say it's a major cause of food poisoning.

What do you think?

[penzman]

It can go sour if left on the counter but no worries in the fridge. I find that day old rice makes the best fried rice.

There may be a chemical reaction with the metal pot from the rice cooker though, usually aluminum.

[cdnvic]

In the fridge its more than fine. Don't keep it for longer than a day though because rice dries out fast and begins to go off after the second day when too damp.

The major sources of food poisining are:

Cross contamination. Cutting meat and veg with the same knife or on the same surface. Wash hands after handling the meat. Also mixing cooked and uncooked items on the same surface.

Can openers.

Improper or under cooking (watch street vendor chicken for this)

Poor storage...particularly with meat & fish.

Unwashed hands.

Keeping food warm for long periods of time. Turns the containers into bacterial incubators.

cv (just a signiture, not a major cause of food poisoning.

[lional6]

Have a read of this site, it gives the answers you want.

http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-sa...of-cooked-rice/

[peterzxr]

Never had a problem in the UK with the GF re-heating cooked rice left standing in the rice cooker for 24 hours

I wouldn't wanna do it in a hotter climateand under less sanitary conditions than our kitchen here though.

Oh and it'd taste sh*te too - as previously suggested would recommend turning it into fried rice anyway.

[ProThaiExpat]

A careful reading of the provided cooked rice danger thread reveals that the premise is that the rice contain the bacillus prior to it first being cooked.

I first encountered overnight no fridge rice handling in Hawaii and questioned the practice. The next time was here in Thailand with my Thai from Issan.

While I put the rice in the fridge before going to bed every night, I have missed doing it in every case. In three years no problems.

The rice cools slowly to room temprature every time, even if fridge bound, that would be almost 1000 times so far.

A couple of times the rice smelled off the next day without refrigeration, but on those occasions the rice was made very wet by my Thai.

I agree with the article that wetter rice is the danger as the moisture provides the medium for breeding bacillus.

Since rice microwaves hot quite easilty the next day or two, we keep all our unused rice until it is exhausted in the fridge, either in the aluminum auto-cook pot or a plastic container if only one servng left.

My take on this issue is that the fridge approach preserves to some extent the "freshness" of the rice after cooking and is mandatory if the rice is cooked wet.

Many Asians are proud of their '"eye" approach to adding water to cook rice, but I have found such a variance in the "wetness" of the rice by that method that I always measure.

I have found much variance in the "wetness" of rice by the brand and quality rice here in Thailand. After the first batch is cooked out of a new bag of rice, I vary the recipe to accomodate my preference for drier rice. I also take my protions off the top of the pot and leave the bottom for Thais who seem to prefer wetter rice.

[roiet]

Have a read of this site, it gives the answers you want.

http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-sa...of-cooked-rice/

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People here tend to cook to much rice in case some more visitors come around. So there is always some leftover. Your information is appreciated, thanks.

[Ajarn]

I agree with penzman that day-old rice really helps any khaw phat dish

[chingy_]

stuff it in the fridge over night, make fried rice with eggs for breakfast, cold rice are the best to make fried rice, ONO

[anna234cn]

Overnight cooked rice tastes not good. I never eat it. Why not cook less? Then you'll have no this problem of overnight rice.

[bangkokian]

[According to Ayurveda, reheated grains are difficult to digest, but using left over rice to make "koaw phad" (fried rice) is a living tradition in Thailand. I like the idea--It's so o convenient. Rice does not seem to be toxic to Thias in general becuz Thaisusually have great metabolism, but it may be a different story for other folks.

[ronz28]

No Problem!

My wife has been leaving rice in the rice cooker overnight on the keep warm setting for the last 35 years- never had a health problem with it.

[dclaryjr]

No Problem!

My wife has been leaving rice in the rice cooker overnight on the keep warm setting for the last 35 years- never had a health problem with it. 

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Same here for 30 years!!

[skycop51]

Been married Thai over 32 years, and we do that. Does not keep great but I have eaten day old rice all the time. Never a problem here..

skycop

My Thai g/f says it's a sin to throw away cooked rice and we should stick it in the fridge and re-use it (re-cook it - I think) the next day.

Other western friends say it's a major cause of food poisoning.

What do you think?

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[Dara]

Keeping rice in the fridge should be okay - microwaving makes it pretty palatable. As mentioned above, great for fried rice.

Before refrigeration came to Thailand, people had found a way to keep food save overnight. You can keep soup or curry on the stove overnight if heated to boiling point for 10 minutes with the lid closed. Reheat it to boiling point for another 10 minutes before eating. It's the same principle used for keeping medical instruments germ-free...

[Abandon]

Be sure to re-heat the rice only once. Re-heating any food more than once is supposed to be bad.

Dunno about you lot but I am sick to death of rice rice rice every single day. I never liked white rice anyway.

Also I have noted that a huge amount of Thai's have intestinal problems and often heve lengths of intestine removed.

[Pepe']

[According to Ayurveda, reheated grains are difficult to digest, but using left over rice to make "koaw phad" (fried rice) is a living tradition in Thailand.  I like the idea--It's so o convenient. Rice does not seem to be toxic to Thias in general becuz Thaisusually have great metabolism, but it may be a different story for other folks.

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Ayurveda also reccomends not eating meat...