How To Reheat Sticky Rice: 4 Easy Ways

Did you just make too much sticky rice and you still have some of the leftovers to take care of? This is a very common issue when dealing with leftovers, especially with sticky rice. You just don’t know what to do with them the next day or you just run out of ideas to make out of it and come up with something different.

I feel you. Reheating sticky rice can be a lot especially if the sticky rice doesn’t taste as to how it was the first time you cooked it. I know it’s better eaten fresh when it’s still perfectly sticky and al dente to taste. However, imagine how it’s a waste if you just throw it away without reusing it. Food waste is the worst waste ever.

Different Ways to Reheat Leftover Sticky Rice

To remedy this dilemma, here are some most effective ways to revive your once sticky rice when reheating it.

1. Take it back in the Rice Cooker

Rice cooker is one of the best life-saver kitchen appliances that can cook your favorite rice perfectly without even doing anything. If you own one of these, this will come in handy not only with cooking sticky rice but also with reheating it. Here’s how:

1. Put the rice in the rice cooker and reheat it by using the warm setting. I always use this trick because it perfectly retains the stickiness of the rice.
2. Just wait for about 10-15 minutes to let it warm up again, depending on how much leftover you have. Just add additional time if you have too much leftover to warm it up properly.
3. Another trick you can do is by adding leftover sticky rice on newly cooked ones. While the new batch of sticky rice is cooking in its last phase, just add in the leftover rice to steam and cook together with the new ones. Just make sure you don’t mix the new and old so it won’t get spoiled easily.
4. Serve the leftover first before eating the newly cooked rice.

2. Use the Microwave Oven

If you don’t have the luxury of time and you need to eat your sticky rice immediately, a microwave oven is here to the rescue!

1. Get a microwaveable bowl or container and add a cup of leftover sticky rice.
2. Then add a tablespoon of warm water in it. For every cup of rice, it’s equivalent to one tablespoon of warm water. If you need to reheat more sticky rice, just add another tablespoon of warm water for every cup of it.
3. Microwave it for about 2-3 minutes over a low heat setting. Check it from time to time making sure that the rice won’t get dry and remain sticky and mealy.

3. Using the Stove

Another simple way to reheat sticky rice is to warm it up in a pan on top of the stove. This will come in handy if you don’t have a rice cooker or microwave oven at home.

1. Just get a medium-sized pan, big enough to fit the leftover sticky rice.
2. Then add butter or lard on the pan until melted then add the sticky rice.
3. Stir in the sticky rice with the butter over medium heat.
4. To add some oomph to the flavor, you can use chicken broth or vegetable broth instead of regular water. Add a few tablespoons of the broth into the rice mixture. You may use the same ratio of 1:1. For every cup of rice, it needs 1 tablespoon of broth.
5. Mix it well until it’s well combined then cover the pan with a lid and let it steam for about 3 minutes.
6. Check on it to avoid the rice from burning and turn the heat low to keep it steaming.
7. Turn off the heat and take it out from the stove. Let it steam on its own for another 2 minutes. Then serve!

4. Make a Fried Rice

And last but not the least, my personal favorite way of reheating or reusing sticky rice is by making fried rice. To add some flavor to your rice, this is the best way to do it.

1. In a skillet or big wok, heat up some butter or lard over medium heat.
2. The saute 2 tablespoons of minced garlic and one chopped onion. Mix well for about 2 minutes until the onions are translucent.
3. Then add in your leftover rice and combine it with the rest of the garlic and onions.
4. You can experiment with your fried rice and add some thinly sliced vegetables such as carrots, chives, and mushrooms.
5. You can also add meats such as chopped chicken breast, chorizo, spam, or hotdog.
6. Then, just season it with a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well until flavors are combined.
7. Make a hole in the center of the pan and bring the rice to the sides. Break 2-3 eggs in the center and scramble some eggs. Once the scrambled eggs are cooked, combine it with the rice and the rest of the ingredients.
8. Top with chopped chives and serve hot.

Additional Helpful Tips:

• Do not store leftover rice in the fridge for more than 2 days. It won’t be good to consume once it’s too dry and might develop bacteria inside. It’s best to reheat it the next day and consume it.
• Once you’ve reheated the leftover sticky rice, you can’t store it back in the fridge again. You can only reheat leftover food once and should be consumed immediately for safety purposes.
• Never reheat sticky rice without adding water because it will only lose its stickiness and the result will be too burnt or crispy.
• You can also use leftover sticky rice by making rice cakes. Just grind it in a food processor and make it into delicious balls. Consume immediately.

I’m pretty sure you won’t have any dilemma when reusing leftover sticky rice because you know how to reheat them now. Remember, don’t waste food and reuse them when you can. Happy cooking!