31 Days of MOO No. 5 - MOO Instant Rice

How to MOO Instant Rice

For a long time the idea of instant rice just made me laugh, sometimes out loud!

Seriously, rice is so simple to cook and doesn't take very long. Even brown rice is done in under an hour, so what was the big deal about instant rice?

I started doing some research (as I do) and realised that while the packets of flavoured instant rice were just expensive, chemical laden food and budget traps, plain instant rice is very handy.

It takes just 8 - 10 minutes to rehydrate into hot, fluffy rice, making it ideal for camping. I use a gas stove that runs on cartridges when we're camping and having to wait 45 minutes to cook rice (we like brown rice) uses a full cartridge. That not only means we need to carry extra cartridges, it's expensive - those little cartridges run to 80 cents up to $1 each.

The rice will also rehydrate in 30 minutes if left to absorb boiling water, leaving you to do other things.

I use 8 cups of raw rice per batch. This gives me enough instant rice to last us around 3 months (we eat rice two to three times a week).

MOO Instant Rice

Ingredients:
8 cups rice (whatever your favourite is - brown, white, arborio, jasmine)
20 cups water

Method:
Bring the water to a boil.
Add the rice and stir continuously until the water returns to the boil.
Boil until rice is cooked.
Drain.
Let the rice cool.
Prepare your dehydrator. I use the Aldi dehydrator and it has been wonderful. For a budget unit it does a brilliant job, proving you don't need to spend a lot of money to get a reliable appliance.
Set temperature to 60 degrees Celsius and dehydrate for 24 hours or until completely dry. You don't want any moisture in this or it will spoil in storage. I swap the trays around every 3 hours and stir them each time they are swapped to ensure all the rice is dried.
Once dried let the rice cool. It will be stuck together. Gently break it up with your fingers. Measure out the quantity you need (I use two cups for my family). Store in ziplock bags or airtight containers. Will keep for up to 12 months.

To use:  Measure equal quantities of rice and boiling water. Simmer rice 8 - 10 minutes until tender.

I pay no more than $1 a kilo for rice. The cheapest instant rice I could find (as of writing this) was $6.40 a kilo, a $5.40 a kilo saving, and they all need to be microwaved, rendering them useless in a blackout or for camping.

Do I use instant rice all the time? No. Cooking rice is pretty simple. I do however use it when my day goes pear shaped and I need to get tea on the table in a hurry and all the time for camping. I've been using MOO instant rice for almost two years now and I love it.