# Rice cakes: How to get them to stick together better



## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

I, along with a lot of others, make the Skratch Labs style rice cakes. I usually will put apple and brown sugar in them, sometimes chicken and egg. It seems like some batches I make stick together really well, and some crumble while I'm trying to eat them out of the martha wrap(foil on one side, parchment paper on the other). I use a rice cooker to make them, and usually make them in a 8"x8" pan and they are about 2" think so I cut them into thin bars. Am I doing something wrong here?


----------



## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

what kind of rice are you using?

are you using the expensive Sushi rice that Allen Lim recommends?


----------



## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

tednugent said:


> what kind of rice are you using?
> 
> are you using the expensive Sushi rice that Allen Lim recommends?


I've tried Sushi and regular calrose. Same result


----------



## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

water proportion. It can vary from batch to batch (of the rice itself). You may not have enough water when you're cooking the rice, so... you may need a splash more water.


----------



## tlg (May 11, 2011)

misterwaterfallin said:


> I use a rice cooker to make them


Try cooking the rice in a pot rather than a rice cooker. Stir the rice a few times while cooking. You're not supposed to stir rice while cooking because it breaks the grains and releases starch, making it sticky. But it sounds like you need a little extra sticky.


----------



## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

tlg said:


> Try cooking the rice in a pot rather than a rice cooker. Stir the rice a few times while cooking. You're not supposed to stir rice while cooking because it breaks the grains and releases starch, making it sticky. But it sounds like you need a little extra sticky.


That is true for long grain rice.

Short grain rice isn't as "fragile" during cooking process.


----------



## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

Thanks for the tips guys I'll give it a go in a pot and stir it once or twice. I use the rice cooker sense it has lines for water level making it fool proof usually but maybe it does need more rice to stick a bit better.


----------



## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

the real idiot proof way is steaming the rice.

it's more common for the Vietnamese glutinuous (sweet) rice dishes. It requires a long soak (so it cooks quicker when steamed).


----------



## bikerector (Oct 31, 2012)

Usually adding eggs and making the rice omelet helps for me, I use coconut oil to brown it. I've also tried making the cakes smaller and just cramming the thing into my face. Usually get most of it in there. More like energy chews and less like energy bar. As long as my hands aren't sticky afterwards.


----------



## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

I'll probably make a coupe batches and see what works. Maybe letting it sit in water prior to cooking is the key to get it super sticky and to keep in for a day or two before cutting to make sure that it has fully set


----------



## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

I press the rice cakes into a 9x9 pan. Press hard! 

I also make rice muffins out of Lim's book. They stick together better due to the egg.


----------



## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

ericm979 said:


> I press the rice cakes into a 9x9 pan. Press hard!
> 
> I also make rice muffins out of Lim's book. They stick together better due to the egg.


I may giv the muffins a try though eating something that dense during a race might be tough. I like the cakes because I can cut them into thinner bars that are about 2 bite size and eat one every 45 minutes or so


----------



## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

I find the muffins a little easier to get down. They're moist and the rice grains are chopped up so I don't get whole rice grains stuck in my throat.


----------



## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

ericm979 said:


> I find the muffins a little easier to get down. They're moist and the rice grains are chopped up so I don't get whole rice grains stuck in my throat.


Go to a Thai grocery store and get some sticky rice. Its what they use for desserts (sticky rice and mango). More sticky than sushi rice. Maybe too sticky. I just eat Cliff bars.


----------



## DesnaePhoto (Jun 11, 2009)

ericm979 said:


> I find the muffins a little easier to get down. They're moist and the rice grains are chopped up so I don't get whole rice grains stuck in my throat.


What? You don't like hacking out whole grains of rice for 5 minutes after shoving the bar in your mouth?  That is what I do ... going to have to try this muffin thing. I've got his 1st book.


----------



## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

Alright, follow up time.

I used unwashed high grade calrose rice, made in a rice cooker(2 rice cooker measuring cups worth. I don't think the rice cooker measuring cup is a full cup, maybe like 3/4th). Before cooking, I let it sit int he water for about 2 hours with about 2 teaspoons worth of salt. I then cooked it just letting the rice cooker do its thing.

While that was going on, I peeled and diced an apple, and sauteed that with some brown sugar and a bit of cinnamon. When he rice was done I poured the apple mixture into the rice, mixed in, and squashed it into a 6x6 pan, and put it in the fridge uncovered for a couple hours, then covered over night.

They ended up being the best that I've made yet both taste and consistency wise. They tasted just like apple pie, and stuck together awesome. The rice was actually kind of bonded together, so they were a more solid mass and I wasn't coughing up pieces or rice that got stuck in my throat all race long. When I wrapped then I made sure to wrap them as tight as possible which also helped them stay packed together tightly.

TLDR: I think letting them sit in slated water was the answer to make them stick together better.


----------



## Alfonsina (Aug 26, 2012)

I liked the ideas (the bacon Parmesan ones were fab) but they are really impractical once the temps are in the >90s unless you have your own sag driving snack carrier with a cooler. I cannot imagine how nasty this would be out of a back pocket after a couple of hours sweating. I did try one in my top tube bag but only after about an hour. Do people really carry them for hours on actual races, like racing races?


----------



## misterwaterfallin (Sep 14, 2012)

Alfonsina said:


> like racing races?


As opposed to non-racing races?

I ate 2 yesterday during a RR, and 2 the day before as well. So yes, people do eat them during races


----------



## Alfonsina (Aug 26, 2012)

I meet people who use the term race and ride interchangeably. If you team is handing you food fresh from the cooler on your racing race, that is really nice for you LOL.


----------



## locustfist (Feb 21, 2009)

Looks like nobody has said it yet; rinse the rice first. My Laotian neighbor makes me proper sticky rice (steamed) every week or so and she says rinsing is the key.


----------



## dysfunction (Apr 2, 2010)

locustfist said:


> Looks like nobody has said it yet; rinse the rice first. My Laotian neighbor makes me proper sticky rice (steamed) every week or so and she says rinsing is the key.


My wife (Okinawan/Hawaiian) concurs. Always rinse, she says. The rice is always sticky too.


----------



## plantdude (Sep 29, 2011)

Having the same issue. Started another thread as I didn't see this one (post ride brain mush). Maybe I'll try soaking the rice as someone suggested. I may also try baking the pressed batch for a few minutes after it's all mixed. Maybe that might help?

Love the rice cakes and bread cakes, but only really use them for long training/adventure days. Haven't tried to shove one into my mouth while racing; not sure I could do it.


----------



## TehYoyo (Sep 16, 2012)

I'm Chinese, but we use the Japanese short-grain rice. I just use what we have when I make my rice cakes, and it works fine. The key, though, as mentioned, is using a TON of water. Just use (I think?) 3 cups, as recommended. It's way more than we use for dinner every night, but the rice came out wet and sticky, so yeah. Also, use the rice soon after it's done cooking as it'll dry out as more water evaporates, which defeats the purpose of using lots of water.

Also, make sure to wash the rice before to get out all the starch. Good to do no matter if you're making rice cakes or just rice.


----------



## drrick97 (Mar 19, 2013)

as a guy who has made rice in ginormous quantities and seen how it screws up its easy.

You need more water!


----------



## CabDoctor (Jun 11, 2005)

So this may be a dumb question, but you guys are using over a 2:1 mixer of water to rice?


----------



## drrick97 (Mar 19, 2013)

It depends on the rice and altitude etc...

The recommended water on the labels is to make perfect rice.

I use the first knuckle method (chinese method, youtube it) and add a bit more H20.



CabDoctor said:


> So this may be a dumb question, but you guys are using over a 2:1 mixer of water to rice?


----------

