This house is not designed to help anyone age gracefullyHave your sayHas rice ever given you food poisoning? Have your say on the messageboard below. When it comes to food poisoning most of us know the dangers of undercooked chicken or seafood left out of the fridge for too long, but rice can also leave you with more than a full belly.You can get food poisoning from rice if you don't store it in the fridge after cooking.What makes you sick is Bacillus cereus, says CSIRO food microbiologist Cathy Moir. These bacteria produce toxins that will give you a mild vomiting illness shortly after you eat the contaminated food (sometimes it only takes 30 minutes to get sick).Bacillus cereus is commonly found in the soil and sometimes in plant foods that are grown close to the ground – such legumes, cereals, spices etc...If foods are cooked and handled correctly Bacillus cereus isn't a problem, but in dry conditions – such as those found in a rice packet or spice container – Bacillus cereus remains present as spores.

The spores remain dormant until you add water, then presto they germinate and grow.Unfortunately the cooking process doesn't kill the heat-resistant spores or the toxin produced so once the rice is cooked the bacteria grow and thrive in moist, warm environments.So if you're not going to eat rice straight after you've cooked it, then you need to store it in the fridge – as soon as possible, but definitely within four hours. Refrigeration won't kill the bacteria but it will slow down its growth – any uneaten rice should be thrown out after three days in the fridge.Moir says this type of food poisoning is less frequent now than it was in the 1970s, when fried rice was a common culprit."Restaurants would cook steamed rice one day, then leave the rice out overnight to cook as fried rice the next day – so it had been sitting around for a day and the Bacillus spores had germinated, grown and produced the toxins."When the fried rice was cooked the toxin wasn't destroyed, then the customer consumed the rice and was sick.

So there were plenty of outbreaks," Moir says."With the health authorities identifying the cause and educating the restaurateurs, the incidence of this type of food poisoning quickly decreased."The best way to avoid food poisoning from Bacillus cereus and other – often nastier – bacteria is to always cook and store food safely.So the next time you're preparing your work lunch, think about whether or not the rice from last night's takeaway is really a good idea.Cathy Moir is the food microbiologist with Food Science Australia, she spoke to Claudine Ryan. email ABC Health & Wellbeing Whether it's a birthday, a Japanese-themed New Year's Day party, or just for a lunch or dinner party, I like to celebrate with sushi. It’s fun to make hand rolls with friends and to experiment with taste combinations. You may be surprised at just how easy it can be to roll your own vegetarian or vegan sushi. The main task is assembling all the ingredients. Sushi is delicious, satisfying, and healthy, and, with a little practice, it looks as good as it tastes.

You can eat it with your hands or with chopsticks. Sushi can be served as an appetizer or light meal, or as a main course. It goes great with miso soup and seaweed or cucumber salad, and, as for drinks, water, tea, beer, sake, and white wine all go well with sushi. According to the Sushi Encyclopedia, sushi has its roots in Southeast Asia where fish and meat were salted, then fermented for  long periods of time" with rice.  sushi in dubai jbrOriginally, when the fermented fish was taken out of the rice, only  the fish was consumed and the  fermented rice was discarded. yo sushi delivery readingAbout a hundred years later, vinegar was "added to  cut the preparation time." where to get sushi grade fish in miami

The version of sushi that we know today evolved from a version  created by  Hanaya Yohei around 1824 in Edo (now Tokyo) - it "was not fermented (therefore prepared quickly) and could be eaten with one's hands." Sushi has been popular ever since. According to Food and Wine magazine, sushi began arriving in the US a "decade or so after World War II. A sashimi dinner in the 1950s at  Miyako in San Diego, if you knew to go there, would run you $1.25. sushi tei jakarta kelapa gadingBy  the mid-1970s the chef at Tokyo Kaikan restaurant in Los Angeles had  invented the California roll."sushi new york chowhound Spring is a great time to experiment with all the tender veggies available and make vegetarian sushi. sushi making kit singapore

To get started, all you need are a couple of tools and a few basic ingredients. Once you have these in your pantry, you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand to make delicious and interesting sushi. Sushi Tools: You really only need two special tools: a bamboo mat for rolling and a rice paddle. You could get by without them by substituting a big wooden spoon for the paddle and instead of making maki rolls, let everyone make their own temaki (hand rolls). can you soak sushi rice overnightIf you decide to make rolls, a bamboo mat is inexpensive and can be found at a Japanese market, kitchen specialty shop, or online. For $4, you can order a Joyce Chen Sushi Kit on amazon  – that gives you both the bamboo mat and the rice paddle. Sushi Pantry Items: (most of these can be found at a Japanese market or well-stocked grocery store) Sushi Rice (short or medium grain white rice)

Sushi Vinegar (or make your own with rice vinegar, recipe below) Nori (seaweed in sushi sheets) Pickled Ginger slices (for garnish) Soy Sauce (each person should have a small dish of soy sauce to dip in) Wasabi Paste (if you like this spicy mustard) Suggested Vegetable Sushi Recipe Mix-and-Match Fillings: Cucumber (skin left on, cut into thin long strips) Shiitake Mushroom (if dried, soak for 30 minutes then squeeze water out, remove stems and slice thinly) Bell Pepper (cut into long thin strips) Carrot (cut into long thin strips) Asparagus (lightly steamed; if small, it can be left whole, if not, cut lengthwise into strips) Daikon Radish (cut into long thin strips) Pickled Plums (seeds removed) Shiso Leaves (these have a strong taste, tear into tiny pieces and use sparingly) 1 cup short or medium-grain white rice 1 1/4 cups cold water Sushi Vinegar (*store-bought or make your own, recipe below) Place rice in strainer.

Rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Transfer rice to heavy medium saucepan. Add 1 1/4 cups fresh cold water to pan. Cover and let soak 30 minutes. Uncover and bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until water is absorbed and rice is just tender, about 15 minutes. Let stand covered 15 minutes. Transfer rice to large glass bowl. Drizzle sushi vinegar over rice. Gently toss rice with vinegar mixture using a rice paddle or a big wooden spoon. Cover rice with clean damp towel and let cool completely to room temperature (do not refrigerate). Homemade Sushi Vinegar* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar Combine vinegar, sugar and salt in small saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Vegetarian Sushi Preparaton: Now that all your ingredients are ready, invite your friends to make their own hand rolls, which is very fun. You may also prepare some rolls to serve on a platter. If you are making rolls, remember to keep your hands moist so that the rice won’t stick to them so much.

Keep a bowl of water and a couple of damp towels nearby. TEMAKI - Hand Rolls Cut Nori sheets in half. Have each person place Nori in their left hand (unless they're left handed, then their right) and add a small amount of rice. Add a little wasabi, if desired, and veggie filling of choice. Wrap Nori around the filling and roll on the table from left to right. Dip into soy sauce and eat and enjoy! MAKI - Sushi Rolls Soak the bamboo mat in water for a bit so it will be less sticky. Dry off excess water so the bamboo mat is just damp. Put a piece of nori on it and cover with a thin coating of sushi rice. Near the middle of the rice, put a thin row of vegetable ingredients horizontally. (Hint: don't put too much filling until you get the hang of rolling.) Roll up the bamboo mat, pressing it forward and shaping the nori to create the roll. Unroll the mat and place the roll on a cutting board. If the edge of the nori is not sticking down and making a seal, use your finger to wet the edge with some water and roll it again.