Frying
To make puffed rice, you first need cooked rice. Make your rice according to the package instructions. If making a single serving, this will yield you around 3 cups of rice. Spread your rice out on a baking sheet and dehydrate in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for around 2 hours. The rice should be hard and lost all its tenderness by the time you're done.
Then, you'll need an oil with a high smoke point, such as peanut, canola, or sunflower. Take a saucepan with high sides and add your oil until it comes up at around a half an inch to shallow-fry the rice. Taking care not to overcrowd the pan, add small amounts of the dehydrated rice at a time to the saucepan and fry until puffed and lightly golden. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain off the excess oil, wait to cool, and voila! You've made puffed rice.
Using Par-boiled Rice
For making puffed rice, you will need:
- Salt (2 cups)
- Par-boiled Rice (as many as desired)
In a large skillet, heat the salt while stirring with a wooden spoon at high to medium flame for 5 minutes. When the salt is hot, add half a cup of par-boiled rice to it. Stir constantly. The rice will start to puff up in a few minutes. Wait until all of them are done. Use a strainer to separate the rice and salt. Repeat for more puffed rice. Do not add a lot of rice at once as it may reduce the heat inside the pan and the rice won't puff up thoroughly.
