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This is one of those questions that's hard to find any results for on google because there are so many more popular similar but not at all the same questions/answers that it impossible to find the right search terms to target the desired results.

Here's what I want to do:

  • 1 Make white rice in an Instant Pot
  • 2 Dry it out in an Air Fryer
  • 3 Cook it in a Wok

I'm just not sure about step 2 and whether it will work, and if so what a good time/temp combo would be to achieve this. Basically, I want to be able to make fried rice on a whim and not have to leave it in the fridge overnight first. I've tried putting a fan on the rice while spread out and such to dry to dry it out faster but it just doesn't work as well as leaving overnight. Has anyone tried to dry out rice in an Air Fryer with success?

BVernon
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2 Answers2

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No, it won't work.

You don't need to dry out your rice for making fried rice. Instead, you want the starch in your rice to undergo retrogradation. Starch retrogradationis a process which starts out with cooking the starch and continues over a few days after the actual cooking has finished - it is the same process that makes bread stale. And the quickest way to achieve retrogradation is at fridge temperatures. So, you are already making your fried rice by the quickest way possible, which involves an overnight stay in the fridge.

If you were to dry your rice by some other means, be it an air fryer or something else, you might get it dry quicker, but it won't be the right texture for making fried rice.

rumtscho
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It’s possible that it would work, but I suspect that spreading it out on a sheet on to cool and release steam would work even better if you were in a hurry.

If you’re making fried rice with fresh rice, note that there are trade offs:

It’s a little more finicky, as if the rice is sticky, it can clump together making it more difficult to cook, especially if you’re dealing with larger batches. You may need to adjust your technique and/or tools to deal with this. (Cooking chopsticks tend to work pretty well, if you have them)

Fresh rice has a higher glycemic index. By cooling the rice and allowing them starch to undergo retrogradation, you slow how quickly your stomach can break it down.

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It’s also worth mentioning that there are mixed rice dishes that don’t actually require frying the rice at all. An example would be the Japanese kayaku gohan (mixed rice), in which you cook the rice with soy sauce and flavorings in the liquid, while you steam vegetables (and possibly meat or seafood) on top, then mix it together after the rice is cooked.

If you adjusted the vegetables and flavorings, you could probably end up with something with a similar flavor to your preferred style of fried rice

Joe
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