How to Fix Mushy Rice and Rescue Your Meal

People all around the world cook rice, whether it’s steamed, boiled, or made using the absorption method. You can find rice in countless recipes, from pilafs and paellas to fried rice and sushi. While cooking rice seems simple enough, it’s possible to mess up the delicate balance between rice and water, which results in mushy, soggy, and overcooked rice.

Fortunately, you can fix mushy rice most of the time with a few tips and tricks.

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Why does rice turn out mushy?

Whether you cook rice in a cooker or a pot, it can turn out soggy, slimy, and sticky because of a few reasons. Here are the main causes:

Too much water

Different types of rice have different rice-to-water ratios. If you don’t use the appropriate amount, then your rice will turn out mushy.

Unwashed rice

If the grains aren’t washed before cooking, the excess starch present in rice will make the rice sticky when it’s in hot water. Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. You can also place rice and water in a bowl and change the water several times. Soaking rice before cooking helps the grains absorb water better, resulting in fluffy rice with an even texture.

Longer cooking time

When you cook the rice for a longer time in too much water, it causes the grains to split, which results in a gummy and soggy texture.

How to fix mushy rice in the oven

You can use the oven to fix slightly overcooked rice, which is more or less intact and not falling apart.

1. Try to drain the excess water in the rice using a colander or a fine-mesh sieve. You can also rinse the rice under cold water to remove excess starch.
2. Once the extra water has drained, place the rice on a baking sheet. Spread the rice into a single layer.
3. Place the baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350°F and reheat the rice for five minutes. This should dry out the rice.
4. You may need to leave the rice in the oven for longer if it has not dried out. Keep checking the rice while it’s in the oven.

How to fix mushy rice with salt

While it may sound unusual, you can quickly fix mushy rice with some table salt.

1. Fill a small sauce bowl with salt.
2. Place the bowl with the salt inside the pan of rice.
3. Leave it in there and the salt should absorb all the extra moisture.

How to fix mushy rice in the rice cooker

Cooking rice in a rice cooker doesn’t guarantee the rice will turn out perfect. Even a rice cooker can make the rice soggy and wet if you’ve added too much water or haven’t washed the rice before cooking.

To fix mushy rice from a rice cooker, pour out the excess water and turn the unit back on to a low-power setting. This will help the moisture evaporate.

How to fix mushy rice with bread

Bread slices, preferably slightly stale thick slices, work well to fix slightly overcooked or mushy rice. They get rid of some of the moisture in the rice.

1. Drain out as much of the water as possible.
2. With the rice back in the pot, set it on the stove on low heat and place two to three slices of bread on top of the rice.
3. Close the lid and allow the pot of rice to cook for a minute or two, depending on how wet the rice is.
4. Remove the pot from the stove and let it sit with the bread on top for some time. This allows the bread to continue soaking the moisture for up to five minutes or until the bread is completely saturated.
5. Remove the bread slices and fluff the rice before serving.

You can even use bread slices to fix mushy rice in a rice cooker. Heat the rice for one to two minutes and then let the bread absorb the water.

How to fix mushy rice in the microwave

The microwave is also handy when you want to dry out some of the moisture in the rice. It works best when the rice is slightly soggy, like when there is moisture left over at the bottom of the rice.

1. Transfer rice into a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Microwave it at a high temperature but keep the lid off.
3. Keep a constant check on it every 30 seconds.

How to fix mushy rice in the fridge

Instead of heating the rice, for this trick to work, you cool the rice in the fridge.

1. Distribute mushy rice on a baking sheet and spread it into a thin layer. Cover the rice with parchment paper.
2. Transfer the rice to the fridge and let it cool for 30 minutes.
3. Check to see if the moisture has dried out.
4. Microwave the rice to reheat before serving.

How to Fix Mushy Rice and Rescue Your Meal

Recipe by InstacartCourse: RecipesCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

242

kcal

Rice more mushy than you hoped? You can use the oven to fix slightly overcooked rice using the steps below.

Ingredients

• Rice (cooked)

• Cold water

Directions

• Try to drain the excess water in the rice using a colander or a fine-mesh sieve. You can also rinse the rice under cold water to remove excess starch.
• Once the extra water has drained, place the rice on a baking sheet. Spread the rice into a single layer.
• Place the baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350°F and reheat the rice for five minutes. This should dry out the rice.
• You may need to leave the rice in the oven for longer if it has not dried out. Keep checking the rice while it’s in the oven.

Ways to repurpose mushy rice

Sometimes the rice is too soggy, or the texture is unsalvageable. You can either throw out the rice or you can repurpose it to make something else out of it. Here are a few ways you can repurpose overcooked soggy rice.

Fried rice

If the rice is not too overcooked, you can make some fried rice. First, drain the rice in a colander or fine-mesh sieve to remove excess water. Rinse it with cold water to separate the grains and remove excess starch. Heat oil in a wok and fry the rice until it’s toasted. Remove once the rice is crispy and set it aside. Stir-fry your veggies, meats, and other ingredients separately, and then add the rice.

Add in a soup

Mushy rice works well in soups such as hot-and-sour, chicken and rice, and minestrone.

Mix in meatballs.

Add overcooked rice to the meat and roll it into meatballs. The mushy rice acts as a filler in the meatballs, giving you more meatballs for the amount of meat that you use.

Rice pancakes

Just like you make potato pancakes, you can make rice pancakes from mushy rice. Alternatively, you can make fried rice cakes where you form patties from the mushy rice and fry them in a pan till they are crispy brown.

Rice pudding

Soggy rice is perfect for making a rice dessert. Just add milk, sugar, and vanilla and cook gently for about ten minutes while stirring gently to make sure the bottom doesn’t stick. When the rice pudding is thick and there is no milk on the top, turn off the heat. Sprinkle cinnamon and serve.

Rice porridge

Turn mushy rice into congee or Chinese rice porridge by adding mushy rice to boiling water, one spoonful at a time. Keep whisking and breaking down the rice while cooking to a porridge-like consistency. Season with salt and soy and add sliced scallions, and minced ginger or garlic. Serve with veggies and proteins.

Transform mushy rice

Now that you know how to fix mushy rice, you can stop panicking and stressing over your rice dishes. Simply use these hacks to transform soggy rice into something you can serve. For rice and other ingredients for your rice dish, be sure to shop at Instacart.

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Author

Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.