Rice in Your Food Storage

If you’re smart, you’ll store 400 pounds of rice per adult person in order to have a year’s supply.  Understand that rice has a life-saving value to it in and of itself as it is the staple food of over a third of our entire world.  I’ve lived in and seen many communities in which it was their ONLY food source.  White rice typically stores for 10 years.  Fortunately it doesn’t require that you store it in a cool, dry place, as the majority of our world which rely on rice live in hot and humid environment.  As such, rice is hearty to store.  Brown rice has a better nutritional benefit to it, but you can live off of rice with a few other items just fine.  Since you’ll get sick of “rice and beans,” Mexican flavored rice, or fried rice after a while it’s no surprise that I’ve had several requests asking what else can be done with rice other than “the norm”.   Today I’m providing some other options for you.

In addition to ingesting, “rice water” has been used elsewhere in the world to calm inflammations on the body.  Rice strengthens the spleen and aids in curing digestive problems.

Rice starch is used in making ice cream, custard powder, puddings, gel, and distillation of potable alcohol, etc.

Rice can be ground into a flour and used as a substitute flour in flat breads, noodles, cereals, baby food, and more.  You can also slow “roast” rice to the point that it “puffs” and eat it just like you would a bowl of Rice Krispies.  You can also use rice to feed poultry.

There are also some great uses for “leftover” rice as well, including the Congee recipe I’ve included below.  You can make a simple salad by adding some olive oil, a can of artichoke hearts, nuts, Dijon mustard, and some flavored wine vinegar.  If you simmer it for a long time and add cinnamon, coconut milk, and brown sugar, it’s one of my favorite desserts!

You can also make “rice coffee” simply by roasting a cup of it in a frying pan until it’s brown, then putting it in a kettle with about 6 cups of water until boiling.  Add your favorite sweetener, and voila—you have a caffeine-free alternative to regular coffee.

For breakfast, I frequently ate “Champrado” in the Philippines.  It was my favorite breakfast and so simple to make from leftover rice.  By the way, left over rice doesn’t really have to be refrigerated.  We always kept it on our kitchen counter overnight until we used it the next morning.  For Champrado, all you have to do is boil the cooked rice in water (like a porridge as you see in the Congee recipe below) then simply add some sugar, cocoa powder and serve with some evaporated milk.  Even the kids will LOVE this.

Start experimenting now so that you’re not “lost in the woods” later on.  Here’s some great rice recipes to try.  Enjoy!

Chicken in the Weeds

Mix the following ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

1 Can of cream chicken soup

1 cup of mayonnaise

2 T. lemon juice

1 T. curry

Salt and pepper to taste

In a 9 x 13 casserole dish layer the following beginning with the rice.

4 cups of cooked rice

2 12.5 ounce cans of chicken (drained)

1 cup of sprouts (wheat sprouts is great) If you’re making this for normal, everyday eating, use 2 cups of frozen broccoli

Then top with the reserved sauce mixture.

Then top with 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese and ½ cup of bread crumbs (seasoned or not…it’s up to you)

Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

CONGEE

(This was one of my favorite dishes in the Philippines!)

1 cup of cooked rice (leftover is fine) OR ½ cup of uncooked rice

4 cups of water

1 12.5 ounce can of chicken (drained)

A pinch of garlic

1 T. of ground ginger (Fresh is ideal.  You can freeze ginger root and use it for a long time. It grates easier that way as well. You can also buy ginger in a squeeze tube, or you can always use the dried ground kind.)

Bring to a boil in a medium-sized sauce pan.  Then reduce heat and let simmer at medium temp. for ½ hour, stir occasionally.  (For uncooked rice, simmer for 1 hour)  The key here is that you’re cooking this for so long that it breaks down into a somewhat thick consistency.  It will no longer resemble just “rice and water.”

Season with appropriate spices such as green onions, a little soy sauce, ground black pepper, and Chinese Five Spice—super yummy!

Dish in a bowl and enjoy.

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