Bushwalk Australia

I love spicy food on boiled plain rice for camp dinners on walks. Haven’t seen dehydrated plain rice at supermarkets for ages. Does anyone know where to buy it?

A lot of thanks.

dplanet wrote:I love spicy food on boiled plain rice for camp dinners on walks. Haven’t seen dehydrated plain rice at supermarkets for ages. Does anyone know where to buy it?

A lot of thanks.

What do you mean dehydrated? Isn't all rice dehydrated? Do you mean just regular white rice?

Backcountry do a plain freeze dried rice (not cheap though)
corvus

Strider wrote:What do you mean dehydrated? Isn't all rice dehydrated? Do you mean just regular white rice?

No. Rice is an uncooked seed. You can get cooked rice that has been dehydrated. Doesn't need cooking just rehydrating which is quicker and uses less fuel, or no fuel if you just soak it for a while.

Miyata610 wrote:

Strider wrote:What do you mean dehydrated? Isn't all rice dehydrated? Do you mean just regular white rice?

No. Rice is an uncooked seed. You can get cooked rice that has been dehydrated. Doesn't need cooking just rehydrating which is quicker and uses less fuel, or no fuel if you just soak it for a while.

Got ya

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It is also easy to dehydrate plain cooked rice even if you don't own a dehydrator just spread it on trays and put it in your oven at the lowest possible setting and I think I just read that you can do it in your car with windows closed on a hot day (dont know about the resulting aroma which may permeate your car though )
corvus

Strider wrote:

dplanet wrote:I love spicy food on boiled plain rice for camp dinners on walks. Haven’t seen dehydrated plain rice at supermarkets for ages. Does anyone know where to buy it?

A lot of thanks.

What do you mean dehydrated? Isn't all rice dehydrated? Do you mean just regular white rice?

The rice I am after are like those packed in Continental or WW Select packages that can be easily found at supermarkets. There’re choice of flavoured rice such as cheese, satay, etc. I prefer plain rice, those without flavours. I found they are lightweight, fast cooked and cheap. Have not seen these plain rice displayed at supermarkets for such a long time. As corvus said, they're not cheap at bushwalking and/or outdoor activities stores.

corvus wrote:It is also easy to dehydrate plain cooked rice even if you don't own a dehydrator just spread it on trays and put it in your oven at the lowest possible setting and I think I just read that you can do it in your car with windows closed on a hot day (dont know about the resulting aroma which may permeate your car though )
corvus

I purchased a dehydrator after coming back from a tramping trip in NZ a couple of years ago and it has been lent to a friend. It takes hours hours to do the job.

dplanet,
I have found that dehydrating anything will take several hours but I really believe it is worth it in the long run especially for example Beef Jerky which when purchased in those small packets equates to around $60.00 per kg and your rice will be really good if you DIY
corvus

Just do it overnight. Do those hours really exist if you are asleep for the whole time?

Fine. Will contact my friend for the dehydrator and try dehydrating the food again. I am still after the above plain rice though.

Have you tried asking Strive Food?

I love cooking my own food, Vietnamese meals. It seems they don't have the rice I have been looking for. Thanks for the link.

I notice your location says "Melbourne" so ....... have you tried an Asian grocer? There is a reasonable sized one across from the Queen Vic markets if you're inner city and a pretty good one in Clayton, if you live out that way.

corvus wrote:Backcountry do a plain freeze dried rice (not cheap though)
corvus

Found their instant rice this morning; but price not cheap as mentioned.

I gather you're after a very specific kind of of rice, but i thought i'd throw this into the pot so-to-speak.

I've dehydrated white rice for years as an instant accompaniment to mains of various kinds (and as light weight spare emergency food that will rehydrate in cold water if necessary, as Miyata610 mentioned). I cook up a fair bit, dry it, put it in air-tight bags in a container in the freezer. Keeps for yonks, and it means you don't have to get out the dehyrater for every trip.

i've just discovered that while brown rice takes longer to cook in the first place, it dries & rehydrates just as quickly as white rice - just add boiling water & cover for a few minutes - tasty, extra nutrition etc.

Hope you find what you're after, one way or another

Have a small freezer, so this is not an option for me. Thank you.

dplanet wrote:Have a small freezer, so this is not an option for me

Doesn't need to be kept in the freezer - it will last many months if stored in a cool dark place (and better in a vacuum-sealed bag). I currently have some that is 12 months old and in great condition.

However, do be aware of Bacillus cereus, a sporiform that grows on warm moist rice.

The problem is that temperature doesn't kill it - ie boiling water. At warm temperatures and with water activity, the sporiform will germinate and grow - leading to illness and possibly death if consumed.

The good news is :
The naturally occurring levels in rice are low (but not non-existent)
At temperatures above 40deg (ish) it won't grow (it won't die but it won't grow)
It needs moisture to grow.

So, it won't grow while cooking and it won't grow whilst dry. It may grow if you dehydrate at a low temperature.

Thus, the risk is in the dehydrating process - run your dehydrator at max (65deg?) and it will be OK.

Pity that there is no such storage place at my home. A cellar would be an ideal for this process, isn't it? I greatly appriciate all your tips.

Of course if carrying a little extra weight during the day isn't a problem for you ( say an extra 150 grams ) you can hydrate the rice while you walk and save about 20 minutes cooking time. just add 150mils of water to 75-90 grams of rice, place it in a good zip-seal bag ( I like the Glad brand steamer bags) and walk all day, when dinner time comes around just add the hydrated raw rice to another 100 mils of boiling water, bring to the boil for 3-5 minutes or so ( altitude dependent timing) and leave with the lid on for another short while. OK It isn't instant but it is the same technique I use for dry pulses and legumes and works quite well

Moondog55 wrote:Of course if carrying a little extra weight during the day isn't a problem for you ( say an extra 150 grams ) you can hydrate the rice while you walk and save about 20 minutes cooking time. just add 150mils of water to 75-90 grams of rice, place it in a good zip-seal bag ( I like the Glad brand steamer bags) and walk all day, when dinner time comes around just add the hydrated raw rice to another 100 mils of boiling water, bring to the boil for 3-5 minutes or so ( altitude dependent timing) and leave with the lid on for another short while. OK It isn't instant but it is the same technique I use for dry pulses and legumes and works quite well

Mate, are you referring to dehydrated rice or plain uncooked rice?

plain raw uncooked rice.
Although in really hot weather I'd be a little wary of doing this if the rice was going to be inside the temperature danger zone for C.Perfringens ( used to be called C.Welchii) for longer than 20 minutes but normally not a problem. probably a lot safer than home dehydrating; C. Pefringens is nasty
I usually put the soaking grain inside my dixie inside my rucksac and it is still cool at dinnertime

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_perfringens

I only boil raw uncooked rice for about 5 minutes anyhow without any pre-soaking (and then leave with lid on for another 5 minutes and preferably a jumper around it to keep it hot). It will absorb all the water while off the boil and still hot.

I do dehydrate rice occasionally as part of another dehydrated meal. It rehydrates very well.

Son of a Beach wrote:I only boil raw uncooked rice for about 5 minutes anyhow without any pre-soaking (and then leave with lid on for another 5 minutes and preferably a jumper around it to keep it hot). It will absorb all the water while off the boil and still hot.

I do the same. Learned how to cook rice like this from a Polish-born German friend who had gone through the war in Europe. I carry plain uncooked rice on easy walks or base-camp trips.

Some rice does cook quicker, Basmatti is a good example; pre-soaking is especially good for brown rice, and that funny stuff often called Par-boiled which isn't and takes longer to cook. Also some people are more able to tolerate partly cooked rice, others suffer indigestion when they eat slightly undercooked grains, and don't forget at above 1200 metres everything takes about 20% longer to cook properly

Makes sense. I only ever use Basmati rice.

Try here for some rice your looking for the minute rice but there are some interesting things you hear about in the American forums as well . http://www.usafoods.com.au/c18/meals/ri ... -stuffing/