16 Rice Hacks You Need to Know | Allrecipes
Ever feel like you’re not getting the most out of a simple bag of rice? In this video, Nicole shares 16 smart rice hacks, tips, and recipes that go far beyond the basic side dish. From flavor-boosting cooking techniques to clever household uses, these practical ideas will help you cook rice better, use up leftovers, and even solve a few everyday problems around the house.
Discover game-changing tricks like toasting your rice for deeper flavor, the towel lid method for perfectly fluffy grains, and an ice cube hack that revives leftovers in minutes. Nicole also walks through creative recipes like oven-baked French onion rice, spicy tuna fried rice cakes, and crispy arancini. Plus, learn surprising non-cooking uses for rice — from deodorizing musty spaces and ripening fruit to making rice water glass cleaner and even homemade glue. Watch to the end for simple tricks that make rice one of the most versatile ingredients in your kitchen.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Rice Hacks, Tips & Recipes
0:14 – Oven-Baked French Onion Rice
1:44 – Spicy Tuna Fried Rice Cakes
3:25 – Toast Your Rice for More Flavor
4:59 – Towel Lid Trick for Fluffy Rice
5:23 – Microwave Rice Method
6:22 – Rice as a Soup Thickener
7:40 – Ice Cube Hack for Reheating Rice
8:21 – Freeze Leftover Rice
9:36 – Crispy Arancini
11:39 – Rice Heating & Cooling Pad
13:35 – Rice in a Salt Shaker
13:59 – Bust Musty Smells with Rice
14:54 – Use Rice to Ripen Fruit
15:40 – Rice Scrub for Cleaning Jars
16:13 – Rice Water Glass Cleaner
16:58 – Rice Water Glue
Get the recipes here:
Oven-Baked French Onion Rice: https://www.allrecipes.com/stick-of-butter-french-onion-rice-recipe-11808540
Crispy Arancini: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214768/rice-balls-a-la-tim/
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47 Comments
My mother was from the north. She hardly ever cooked rice for us. It was always mashed potatoes. When she did she never rinsed it. I cook rice and I never rinse it. Am I wrong not not do that step. It's how I grew up with watching her.
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"have you ever done this with your leftover rice?" No, but I WILL!!
I have to be gluten free so I eat a lot of rice… The fried rice cakes is new to me. Will definitely be doing that. 😊
Thank you! I used your stovetop rice hack (my grandma used to toast her rice too!) BUT I totally overstirred mine every time! Now I know to just leave it be & it turned out amazing. I also used your chicken teriyaki recipe with the rice & it was delicious! I froze the leftovers & reheated them for lunch today. The rice cooked up just as fresh as day one! ❤ My only complaint is not doubling the recipe 🤤
Recipes look great. However, at 5000 feet elevation, you have to almost double the water/moisture!
"Rice is great when you're hungry for 2,000 of something." — Mitch Hedberg
I make rice socks all the time…I buy ladies trouser socks and men’s wool socks at Dollar Tree…fill the trouser sock first and tie off with a knot…place it in the wool sock….and tie with a piece of yarn….they are great gifts…
That “oh yeah” from the background 😂
Thanks! (Watching from 🇨🇦)
Many of these tips and tricks we grew up with in India as a small child. I still use some of these. I am 70 years old. Brought back a lot of memories. Thanks. ❤❤
EXACTLY! Toast the rice grains before you cook the rice. I have tried this starting about a year and a half ago and the results are great. Easy post-cooking fluffing, brownish nuttier flavor, a spongy firmness when biting.
LOL! I’m too lazy to rinse the rice. It goes straight in the cooking water or instant pot😂.
I make and sell or gift rice packs with ties for low back pain, using fun pretty fabrics. Also make hand warming mitts filled with Basmati rice. Very popular.
I don’t waste rice on cleaning jars etc, I use crushed egg shells!
I remember as a kid my mom and dad arguing about how to cook rice. My dad always wanted to stir it my mom always said leave it alone
A rice cooker is easier.
Also, did you know that they used rice to build the Great Wall of China????? I wouldn’t lie to you! 🌸🍚🧱
I rinse my rice, then add it to water in the pan, then bring to a boil turn down the heat and let it sit for about 15ish minutes and it comes out perfect every time. But I do like the cooking rice beforehand also.
I like the type of foods you make on the show but even more than that, I love it when they catch a glimpse of your shoes on camera when you’re putting something in the oven! That’s what’s what I look forward to! Love the shoes!
you should make a book
One of the main reasons you rinse rice is to remove the toxins—the arsenic. I think it’s a bad idea to save it. Maybe rinse, then rinse again but I would rather use vinegar or Windex and not arsenic water. I do love your videos and recipes.
I couldn't make rice until I married a Mexican 😂
❤❤
Thank you 😊
This is how the Chinese used to make glue in the home–cooking rice into a sticky paste. Before blender era.
Our grocery stores do not have canned French onion soup!! It’s kind of frustrating.
Can you use brown rice in the place of the white rice in these hacks?
You put the rice pot in the oven with the lid on then when you removed it there was no lid at what point do you remove the lid ?
What kind of rice is that? Do you have to use jasmine rice for frying?
Thank you
I'm obsessed with your videos
I want that card!
Gf made fun of my rice sock but then used it all the time 😂
I cooked the noodles with cabbage it's was so good
I can cook everything except rice!😢😢
سلام لطفازیرنویس فارسی هم بزار همشونوزبان فارسی هم بزار
👏🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
love your hack videos
The last one is a good tip. If the kids try to eat it. I guess its better then the real glue
I've used rice to clean my wine decanters! Works like a charm. 🎉🎉
I cook my rice in my EPC, and add chicken bouillon powder and turmeric. It cooks perfectly every time, and I have bunches of leftovers. TFS!
I can't eat rice that sticks together. I had a horrible experience when it got stuck in my throat and wouldn't go up or down. Parents should be aware of this with children.
With the rice in socks put a small cup a water in the microwave just to have the moisture when heating so many reasons. 1. Will help prevent you burning out the microwave. 2. So the sock does not burn/ fire.
Plus be careful using essential oil in the microwave
Rice water is also great for fertilizing orchids. Use it for watering and dip a cotton pad in it to clean the leaves!
I love love love rice. Much better than potatoes or pasta. For a quick lunch I add leftover rice to a can of soup with extra vegs, I like frozen peas. Yummy
On the "Bust Musty Smells" one, I don't think it's a good idea if you have mice.
PLEASE WASH THE RICE 😭😭😭😭😭😭
6:59 You don’t really have to keep stirring. The starch comes off rice so easily! I tried to see how many rinses it takes to get the rice completely clear, but just as much starch is broken loose everytime you add more water or stir it. I gave up after 6 rinses! It’s was just as cloudy at 6 as it was at 1!
Great video Nicole ❤ love your show.
You are so cool 😎
This video presentation is just phenomenal!
Rice water is good for the hair ❤❤❤