Sticky rice is a familiar dish for Vietnamese people and can be enjoyed at various times of the day or during different festivals. However, whether or not to store sticky rice in the freezer remains a question that many people may still wonder about. Therefore, let’s explore this issue with the Kitchen Tips section along with some methods for storing sticky rice overnight!
1 Notes before cooking sticky rice
To cook a delicious and attractive batch of sticky rice while minimizing spoilage and deterioration, you first need to ensure that the ingredients are carefully selected and of high quality.
The utensils used to cook sticky rice, such as steamer pots, must also be kept clean, safe, dry, and not mixed with or stuck to other items.
Additionally, mixing a little salt into the sticky rice before cooking will enhance the flavor of the dish, ensuring that the sticky rice remains delicious and has a longer shelf life.
2 How to store sticky rice overnight
Storing in the refrigerator
To store sticky rice overnight in the refrigerator, you should place the sticky rice in a food container with a tight lid, or you can use banana leaves or aluminum foil to wrap the sticky rice tightly and carefully.
Then, place it in the cold compartment of the refrigerator at an appropriate temperature to preserve it overnight while maintaining the inherent deliciousness of the sticky rice!
Storing in a cool place
Besides storing sticky rice in the refrigerator overnight, you can also leave the sticky rice in a cool place and cover it with a food dome.
You should not keep sticky rice in a tightly sealed container or leave it in the pot, as this can cause the sticky rice to quickly absorb moisture and spoil.
Note that this method should only be applied when the weather is cool and not too hot. Because if you leave sticky rice outside on hot days, it will spoil quickly, so storing it in the refrigerator will be more effective.
3 Should sticky rice be stored in the freezer?
The quality of sticky rice is no longer guaranteed as before
Storing in the freezer will make the sticky rice harden; even if you steam it again, the deliciousness, sweetness, and flavor will significantly decrease, and the grains of sticky rice will no longer be soft and chewy but rather separate.
Do not store raw food with cooked food
The freezer is often where people store frozen foods like meat and fish for daily use, but raw and cooked food should not be stored together as it can easily lead to the spread of bacteria.
Therefore, storing sticky rice in the freezer is not recommended as it will affect its flavor even if you have wrapped it carefully. Additionally, the smell of raw food can cling to the sticky rice, reducing the enjoyment when eating.
Storage time in the freezer
The freezer is a good place to store many types of food, but it only helps to slow down the growth of bacteria compared to the outside environment; bacteria will still be active but at a slower rate.
Therefore, storing sticky rice or other foods in the freezer should only be done for a maximum of 1 week and divided into small boxes or packages, avoiding overcrowding and not keeping them too long as they will not taste good anymore.
This is also the reason why you should limit storing sticky rice in the freezer, and if absolutely necessary, only keep it for a short period and use it right away!
4 Ways to Re-steam Sticky Rice After Storage
After being stored for a certain period, to be able to steam the sticky rice deliciously and attractively like it was originally, you can refer to some good and useful methods below:
- Steaming with a rice cooker: You will put the sticky rice in a bowl, then place it in the pot and add a little water. Then, turn on the cooking button as usual and wait for the rice to be hot to meet the requirement!
- Steaming with a microwave: Put the sticky rice in a plate or bowl made of glass, cover it tightly with food wrap, and put it in the oven, then adjust the suitable steaming temperature depending on each oven to complete.
- Steaming with steam: For this last method, you put the sticky rice in a steamer or sticky rice pot, then mix in a little salt and steam for about 5 – 10 minutes for the rice to return to its delicious state as it was originally.
5 How to Keep Sticky Rice Hot for a Long Time for Business
Traditional Method for Keeping Sticky Rice Warm
With the traditional method, those who sell sticky rice often choose to keep it warm in bamboo baskets or dried sedge mats to maintain its heat for a long time and keep it delicious.
However, this method can only be applied to small portions of sticky rice sold in limited quantities, just enough. For larger sticky rice businesses, this method will easily cause the rice to cool quickly, become hard, and lose heat rapidly.
Modern Method for Keeping Sticky Rice Warm
The emergence of industrial sticky rice cookers is a wonderful modern method that helps save time and costs in keeping sticky rice warm and is very suitable for businesses selling sticky rice.
Steam sticky rice twice
When the sticky rice is cooked just right for the first time, you should scoop it out and spread it evenly on a large tray, then place it under a fan to cool down for about 25 – 30 minutes.
Next, you will continue to put the sticky rice back into the pot and steam it once more to help the sticky rice maintain its softness and attractiveness for a longer time.
Hopefully, the above sharing will help you better understand whether to store sticky rice in the freezer or not, as well as the how to store sticky rice overnight while still keeping its deliciousness. Don’t forget to follow the Cooking Tips section to get more useful information!
