For lightweight camping food it would be nice to have rice that cooks quickly without using much stove fuel. Dried instant rice is available (example) but has some downsides: The flavours aren't great (and I find them unpleasantly salty); it's being displaced in the shops by microwavable rice which is much heavier as you're transporting water (it can be heated on a stove).
So I'd like to make my own dried instant rice – perhaps with some dried veg or spices mixed in. But rice is one of the worst foods for breeding nasties so I very much doubt you could just cook it and then put it in a dehydrator. The few ideas I've seen searching online are basically just freezing cooked rice, not dehydrating it at all.
Is there a sensible way to produce dehydrated instant rice at home?
Best Answer
You can indeed dehydrate cooked rice. It is a lack of water activity that is one factor which increases the safety of foods, so no problem there. Rice is no more problematic than other foods. As you probably know, dehydrated foods are a staple for camping and backpacking. So, cook your rice at home, then place in a food dehydrator. Once on the trail, a 5 minute pre-soak, bring to a boil, cook for a minute, rest for a few minutes...you are good to go.
Edit: With a potential concern for the growth of B. cereus in cooked rice, I would be more comfortable raising the temperature of the dehydrator to at least 60C/140F. Higher temps for rice in your dehydrator are not a problem, it will just proceed more quickly. Reference here.