Food Waste to Good Taste: 3 ways to use your cooked rice

‘Food Waste to Good Taste’ is an exciting campaign that we are running in partnership with @HKU_Science and @Green.Hospitality. The study will measure the nutritional value of food scraps from restaurants across Hong Kong to highlight the local food waste issue in two folds: from an environmental perspective and from a health perspective. The campaign hopes to encourage restaurants and consumers to be more conscious of the loss of nutritious food waste and optimise food scraps into new recipes to further reduce food waste.

Nam Khao (crispy rice salad from Laos)

A popular salad that originates from Laos. This recipe turns your cooked rice into the crunch you need in a fragrant salad. Packed with South East Asian flavours, you won’t even realise you are using leftovers to create this incredible dish. 
(Top tip: you can adjust the flavour profile of the crispy rice into whatever suits your palette and add it into ANY salad or dish that asks for an extra crunch). 

Ingredients:

(Crispy rice)

• 2 ½ cups of cooked rice

• 2 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste

• 4 tablespoon of cooking oil (any of your choice)

• 3 teaspoon of sugar

• 3 teaspoon light soy sauce or vegan fish sauce

(Dressing)

• 2 tablespoon of light soy sauce or vegan fish sauce

• 1 whole chilli chopped up

• 2 cloves of garlic

• juice of ½ a lime

• 2 tablespoon of sugar

• ¼ cup (60ml) of boiling water

(Toppings)

• Minced pork (optional - can choose any minced meat of choice or be omitted for vegetarian version)

• 1 tablespoon of oil 

• bunch of fresh mint and cilantro/coriander

• Handful of toasted crushed peanut 

• Handful of toasted coconut flakes

• Handful of fried shallots

• Lettuce leaves 

Recipe:

(Crispy rice)

• Simply combine all of the ingredients for the crispy rice in a bowl

• Spread the rice mix onto a baking sheet evenly 

• Bake at 200ºC/400ºF for 30 minutes, make sure to stir halfway through 

Meanwhile, prepare all the other ingredients as instructed below, ready to assemble once the rice is cooked. 

(Dressing)

• Combine all the ingredients (except the water) then pour in the boiling water and whisk. 

• Allow it to cool completely

(Toppings)

• In a pan, heat up the oil on medium heat then cook the minced meat

• Once cooked, remove from heat and place aside to cool down

Time to arrange the salad!

• Remove the crispy rice from the oven and let it cool

• In a bowl, assemble the rice and salad toppings together

• Pour the dressing and give the salad a good mix 

• Serve in lettuce leaves to wrap spoonfuls of the salad with and enjoy!

Optional: squeeze some lime juice onto it for an extra tang

(Image courtesy of KIDS EAT BY SHANAI)

Rice crackers

This easy recipe is perfect for DIY rice crackers. Not only are they much healthier to store-bought ones, but you also have the freedom to flavour however you wish to!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of leftover cooked rice, room temperature

• 1 tablespoon of any oil of your choice

• pinch of salt

Recipe:

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC/360ºF

• In a food processor, blitz the cooked rice, olive oil and salt until it turns into a dough. You might need to add a bit of moisture, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time.

• Measure teaspoonfuls of the rice dough and roll into balls.

• Place them on a baking paper-lined tray and space them evenly.

• Place a second piece of baking paper on top of the rice balls.

• Use anything with a flat bottom (such as a cup or glass) to press the balls into disks of around 1-2mm thick.

• Remove the second baking paper.

  • Optional: sprinkle any spices or cheese on top to add extra flavour.

• Bake the rice crackers until slightly golden and have a crispy texture.

Arancini

Nothing beats an Italian classic that screams comfort with a little naughty on the side (yes, we are referring to these essentially, deep fried rice balls). A fun way to use up your leftover cooked rice, serving you goodness in bite size! These are great to make as appetisers or snacks if you are hosting people over.

Ingredients:

(Rice balls)

• 2 cups of leftover cooked rice, room temperature

• ½ cup of Italian breadcrumbs

• 1 teaspoon of onion powder

• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1½ teaspoon of black pepper

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup of parmesan grated

• 3 oz/85 grams of mozzarella cheese cut into small cubes

(Breading)

• 2 cups of Italian breadcrumbs

• 1 cup of all purpose flour

• salt and pepper

• 2 eggs

• 1 tablespoon water

• vegetable oil for frying

Recipe:

(Rice balls)

• Combine the rice, ½ cup of breadcrumbs, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, eggs and parmesan altogether

• Take ¼ cup of the rice mixture, roll into a ball then flatten.

• Place a cube of the mozzarella cheese into the centre before closing the rice around the cheese. Roll into a ball again and place onto baking sheet aside.

• Repeat until all rice mixture is used.

• Freeze the rice balls for 10 minutes.

(Breading)

You will need 3 medium sized bowls

• First bowl: combine the flour, salt and pepper

• Second bowl: combine the eggs and water

• Third bowl: place the breadcrumbs in the bowl

• Remove the rice balls from the freezer and place one into the first bowl (flour mix). 

• Continue by dunking the flour-coated ball into the second bowl (egg mixture). Make sure it is fully covered.

• With a fork, remove the ball and ensure there is no excess egg dripping. Then place it in the third bowl (breadcrumbs).

• Roll the ball and coat it evenly in breadcrumbs.

• Place the breaded rice ball onto the baking sheet and repeat until all rice balls are done.

Arancini time:

• Firstly, layer a large plate with paper towels.

• Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan. Once the oil reaches a temperature of 175ºC/350ºF, use a slotted spoon to gently place one rice ball into the oil. Place up to 5 balls at a time to not overcrowd the pan. 

• Cook until a dark golden brown colour, remove with the slotted spoon then set them onto the paper towel lined plate. 

• Repeat until all are cooked.

  Buon appetito!