Meals Under £1 - The Basics - Rice

Welcome to this series of 'Meals Under £1', where I will share with you the basics of how I cater for myself extremely cheaply. Being frugal doesn't mean starvation, though. Far from it - being malnourished is a lose-lose situation as your health will suffer, making you less effective. We're interested in win-win - and one thing that becomes clear is that as you go cheaper, the luxuries are out - and it's often these luxuries that are bad with you in the first place.

Probably the only lesson you'll need:

Eating cheaply is definitely possible, but it needs some very good planning.

The reasons why will become clear; but here first let us view the first staple you'll need: Rice. I tend to prefer rice as my primary, go-to carb. It has the following advantages:

1) It can be bought it very big bulk, resulting in extreme economies of scale. I've seen 20kg bags, after which I couldn't carry them.
2) It's cheap. Very cheap in fact, and per meal, probably the best out of any of it's rivals.
3) It's quick to prepare. You can buy a microwave rice steamer and be done with it, safe in the knowledge that you'll have it perfect. Not quite the same for potatoes, which need a lot of preparation (depending on type) or pasta.
4) It has a long, long, shelf date. Keep this in a nice dark place and it's good for a couple of years. This is very important as it means you can make that bulk purchase pay. If you buy bulk of potatoes, they'll be bad after a couple of weeks.
5) No wastage. 1kg of rice means that, unlike potatoes where some is lost in peeling and so forth.
6) Versatile - any extras keep well, can be refried/steamed/microwaved. Very easy to work with.

Rice isn't perfect though, and there are some downsides.

1) It's very bland. It's difficult to eat this on its own without become extremely bored. It needs some things to go with it - preferably several.
2) There are several types to consider. Brown rice is probably the worst one of the wholemeal carbs - very difficult to cook and tough.
3) If not careful about the cooling, rice can develop bacteria which results in upset stomach.

That's it though. Remember that white rice is a staple for most people in the world. If it's good enough for them, it's also good enough for me.

Getting a good deal on rice

The general rule is the bigger you buy, the better value you get. At the bottom of the pile are those microwaveable rice packets (from 49p-£1.49). One serving, very convenient but hugely expensive weight-by-weight. Useful for emergencies.

Next up are the 'boil in the bag', 'Uncle Bens' type thing. These offer better value per weight, but the microwave rice cooker has negated any need for a bag, and still cooks in the same time. I wouldn't buy these at all.

Next we get into the mid-size range - bags which range from 500g - 2kg. The value gets bigger as you go up.

The last range are the massive bags of rice. 3kg - 20kg. Previously only seen at Asian supermarkets, you can now get these all the time at supermarkets. These offer the best value and often there are offers on them. There may be brands you haven't heard from before, but rice is rice. It's often like comparing different brands of bottled water.

Types of rice

Let's not forget the types of rice you can buy:
- Long grain: typically this is the Uncle Bens type rice and the cheaper domestic rices. Grains fall separately and are slightly harder.
- Basmati: most of the premium rices fall into this category, including all the Asian brands. Complementing Asian food better, rice is slightly more porous and sticky and soft, to allow combining with other ingredients.
- Jasmine: on a similar level to Basmati but with a different flavour. Both cost a little more than long grain, but not so in bulk.

Costs of rice

Bought in bulk, I'd be disappointed with a price of anything over £1/kilo for basmati rice. The cheapest price I've seen so far is 10kg for £6 in Tesco (special offer). Buy it, then store it in a dark cool place. Most of the big bulk packets come complete with a plastic scoop.

How does this translate into meal costs? 100g of rice is definitely more than 100g of pasta or bread. Perhaps it's the pure denseness of it all. Either way, 100g is a good serving. If you're paying £1 a kilo, that's 10p or less (depending on the deal you have).