Rice Water
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Making rice water is really easy and uses ingredients right out of your food storage. Rice water is useful when somebody is having stomach issues like vomiting or diarrhea. It is calming to the upset stomach, amazingly bland, starchy, and gets some nutrients in your patient.
To make rice water you need rice and water, that’s all. Put two tablespoons of rice in a pot with 1 cup of water. Don’t add salt. You don’t get a cup of rice water from a cup of water because some of it soaks into the rice. I double or triple this and refrigerate the leftovers.
Bring the water to a boil and boil until the rice is tender. Strain the rice out and the milky liquid that is left is rice water. You can eat the rice, add it to a soup or casserole, or feed it to the chickens if you want. If you boil too long, your rice water will be pretty thick. You can just thin it back down with some regular water if it’s thicker than you’d like.
Let the rice water cool before serving it to your patient. You can drink it warm or cold. Great for queasy tummies young or old. Enjoy. :)
You can add a little flavoring to the rice water to make it more palatable – a tiny squeeze of lemon juice or some sliced cucumbers as it refrigerates will do the trick.
Also, if you’re suffering from diarrhea or vomiting (or both!) you can use the rice water as a base for an oral rehydration solution.
Basically, for every liter of COOLED rice water (or plain water if that’s what you have – make sure it’s boiled if your water supply isn’t safe of disease!) add 1/2 level teaspoon of salt and 6 level teaspoons (that’s two tablespoons) of sugar. You can use raw sugar or molasses instead of white sugar.
If you’re not sure of the measurements, add less instead of more. Too much salt can lead to convulsions, and too much sugar can exacerbate the problem.
http://rehydrate.org/solutions/homemade.htm
Can instant rice be used, or does it have to be regular rice?
Bethany, I’ve never tried it with instant rice. It would probably work–I’d use a little less water since instant is usually 1:1 ratio of water to rice instead of regular rice 2:1.
I had a very sick kiddo long, long ago and I was taught by an Asian lady to brown the rice then boil then feed to stop the runs/stomach issues!
Wow, for generations my family has made this to calm/cure illnesses, especially the cold & flu. And I never understood why. We actually eat the whole thing as a rice porridge, and for added flavor we stir in sugar to taste. I definitely recommend this.
Do you need to wash the rice first ?
I don’t wash mine, but you could if you want to.
Good tip. My Filipino friends’ mom used to make this for anyone who was sick with anything! Do you think it’d work on dogs too? My 1y.o. collie mix randomly throws up and I feel helpless.
I would think so for dogs. My vet always recommends boiled rice & chicken for my dog’s sick tummy. My dog will eat it with the chicken. I’ve never tried just plain rice water or rice porridge.
My dog has been sick and read on line about rice water, they recommend using real rice, not minute rice and also don’t use brown rice it has to much fiber in it. My vet has told me to use rice and chicken also but never about the rice water.
This is super for children, but suitable for other ages as well. A doctor friend of mine once said she added sugar to the mix to help with electrolytes. It works; she was very elderly and was an MD in World War II in Japan. She said this mix saved many lives at that time. I am not a medical professional, bu5 I am a MoM and used this when my children were young and still use it for my husband and I.
If you Breastfeed please do not give this to your infant. Breastmilk creates a lining in the intestine full of antibodies. When you give a Breastfed baby anything other than breastmilk you break down that lining and they are more likely to get sick. This can also cause a baby to feel full, too much of this displaces food (too much might just be one ounce) and this can cause weight loss or inadequate weight gain. A baby that may be fighting a stomach illness does not need to be out more at risk for weight loss.
If you’re breastfeeding, then chances are your body is making antibodies for the sickness anyways.
How much do you drink and how often?
Drink as needed or as tolerated.
I used that with my toddler and it did work, he’s sick again, I’m going to do it again, but I have two month old twins, and they have it too, do you know if its ok for them? They’re drinking formula
I gave it to my 4 month old without any problems.
Can you do it with brown rice?
Brown rice does not work. The white starchiness that bleeds out of white rice while cooking is trapped under the brown layer of brown rice, so all you get is a clear, slightly brown liquid.
thank you, I needed that for a recipe of Adobo, making it for the first time.
My mom use to make me this when I was sick as a child. I am now 25 and still have nightmares about the terrible taste and smell.. But it worked like magic !
I’ve never heard of this before. This sounds interesting, I think I’ll be trying it next time. Thanks!