Freeze Rice Flat For Faster Weeknight Dinners

Cooked rice is easier to use when it freezes flat instead of becoming one large frozen brick.

When I make extra rice for an H Mart dinner, I let it cool, spread single-meal portions into thin layers in freezer bags, press out the air, and freeze them flat. Once solid, the packets stack like folders.

For dinner, I either microwave one packet with a spoonful of water or drop it into a covered skillet with a little water. The thin layer heats quickly and evenly. I can break off a portion without thawing the whole batch.

A few rules make it work:

• Freeze the rice the same day.
• Label the bag with the date and type of rice.
• Keep each packet thin enough to bend slightly after a few minutes on the counter.
• Do not refreeze rice that has already been thawed.

The best portion is the amount that goes with one meal. A freezer full of rice is less useful than four flat packets that can be grabbed without planning.