Photo: Ravsky (Shutterstock)
The most consistent element of my pandemic meal plan is a genre of food I call “stuff on rice.” Even a single fried egg or a bowl of beans becomes a full meal when served with rice, which means I can stretch out any leftovers so I don’t have to worry about tomorrow’s lunch.
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There is one downside to stuff on rice: It can be annoying to reheat, especially in the microwave. By the time the rice in the center heats up even a little, the stuff on top is way overdone. This is both annoying and predictable: Microwaves work by making water molecules vibrate. If the water molecules in a substance are distributed unevenly like they are in a pile of cold, dry rice covered with equally cold sauce it will heat unevenly. Nothing about this is news to me, but I didn’t put two and two together until I had the bright idea to preheat a bowl of rice