Keeping rice warm

Joel222

Regular Member
Joined
29 Oct 2021
Local time
7:50 AM
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8
Location
Durham, UK
I'm cooking fried chicken with basil and egg fried rice for 8 people next weekend. I usually cook for 4 but we're having guests. My problem is that I'd like to cook the rice before they arrive and keep it warm so that I can serve it all up together. What would be my best option for keeping it warm for an hour?
 
I think covered in a low oven would be best (about 140 C) or if you have a slow cooker, you could put the cooked rice in it and set to 'low'.
 
I thought about the slow cooker but didn't know if it would dry the rice out, would it be best putting it in there loose or covering with something?
 
I thought about the slow cooker but didn't know if it would dry the rice out, would it be best putting it in there loose or covering with something?

We keep rice warm for hours (when required) in a rice cooker. When cooking is complete it automatically turns on to "keep warm" setting where it will sit until unplugged. As far as I'm aware this is not detrimental to the quality of the rice. In fact, after the rice has gone cold, turning it back on to "keep warm" still produces a satisfactory rice (so I am told).
 
We also just use the warm setting on the rice cooker. The low setting on my slow cooker is still plenty hot to cook something, so you might want to test that, as I'm sure slow cookers differ.

If all else fails, I'd put it in a low oven, like 175F (if your oven will hold that low a temp), cover the top to keep it from drying out, and maybe adding a little warm water to keep it moist.
 
I thought about the slow cooker but didn't know if it would dry the rice out, would it be best putting it in there loose or covering with something?

I think it should be OK as long as you aren't leaving it for hours. Any steam that rises should keep it moist.

We keep rice warm for hours (when required) in a rice cooker.

I was going to mention this but not many people in the UK have rice cookers so I sort of assumed that Joel222 doesn't have one.
 
I´ve just done a lunch party for 12 people. The rice was Nasi Goreng ( or at least, my version of it) and these wonderful clients had a hot drawer attached to their oven.
However, under normal circumstances, I´d do it differently. I cook my rice as if it were pasta, ie. in lots of boiling water. 15 minutes exactly for long grain rice - but I cook it for 14, and then when I warm it up (either on the stove or in the oven) I just add a bit more liquid and leave it for five minutes at very low heat.
 
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