Cooking rice?

Question

Even if I do say myself I like to think I am a good cook. If I have never tried cooking something before I usually end up doing a good job of it. Unfortunately, I seem to have some sort of mental block when it comes to cooking rice. I have followed no end of methods exactly to the letter and still I cannot cook rice without welding it to the pan. Should I just admit defeat and invest in a rice cooker?

Answer 1

put a little oil in the pan first and dont stir after cooking pour boiling water over the rice through a siev

Answer 2

I was taught how to cook rice by a West Indian lady and this method is foolproof.

Use easy-cook rice.

Measure in cups how much rice you need.

Wash the rice in cold water to get rid of the starch.

Now add 2 cups of cold water for every cup of rice.

Add salt.

Cover and bring to the boil.

Turn down the heat to a slow simmer keeping pan covered.

Leave until the water has been absorbed.

Remove from the heat and take off the lid. Cover the pan with foil and replace the lid and let it sit for 10 minutes.

You are guaranteed perfect, fluffy rice everytime.

If you are making Basmati rice then you should follow this same method but always add boiling water to cook it, never cold as this makes the rice sticky.

Good luck! ;)

Answer 3

The way I do it: ALWAYS wash the rice before cooking. Pour the rice in the pan... whatever the width of rice in the pan, pour the same amount of water to double the width in the pan. Add a pinch of salt. Boil on medium heat, then, once the water has almost evaporated, stir the rice well, then place the lid on the pan and simmer on VERY low until all the water is gone and the rice has had a few minutes of steaming itself (by having the lid on). It's hard to explain this in writing. Basmati rice is the best and has much less carbs. Rice is more likely to stick to the bottom if you use the rice cooker. I have one but hardly use it.

Answer 4

Lots of good recipes already posted, I grew up with a Rule of Thumb for rice. Use a spray on the dish. For every cup of rice you add 2 cups of water, 1 - 2 tablespoons of oil. I ALWAYS microwave. 5 !/2 minutes on high, 14 minutes on 50%. I usually stir 2 to 3 times during the cooking, when finished, fluff the rice and let sit for 2 minutes. I have tried rice cookers......not worth the money or space they take up. A GOOD Corning Ware covered dish will do Perfectly, make sure your cold ingredients do not reach past the halfway mark, otherwise it will boil over during cooking. If by chance your rice is a bit "dry" when done, 2 tablespoons of butter fluffed in will work wonders. Sorry the answer is a bit long, but it works, been preparing rice this way for 25 years.

Answer 5

Never had any problems with cooking rice. 2x water to rice. Bring the water to the boil, add salt then sprinkle in the rice. Stir once and let it simmer - about 15 minutes. Holes will appear in the surface of the rice. Tilt the pan and if some water is left, let it steam off. If you test the rice and it is still a little hard, add a little (I do mean a little) more water.
Don't buy a rice cooker unless you have Chinese forefathers. I bought one in Hong Kong. I used it once. The only time I've ever burned rice!

Answer 6

Honestly, a rice cooker is worth to invest!!! Especially, I'm a Chinese, the first thing I bought in Beijing is a tiny rice cooker even though I only stay there 2 weeks in a month!

You have got some good advices from other answerers already, one more from me is you need to stir very often when the rice is boiling in the pan. When the liquid is almost evaporated, turn off heat and cover the rice, let it steam for about 10 minutes.

Rice cooker is just very convenient and you do not have to worry about it. Just press the switch then you can leave the kitchen, around 20 minutes later, your rice is ready - prefectly!

Answer 7

First, you must know the starch content of the rice variety you are going to cook. The more starch it has, the less water you need. If you are not sure, just wash the rice over and over until the water runs clear, it means you have washed away most of the starch.

It is also important that you measure the water. Usually, what I do is to put water until it reaches above the first "line" at the back of my middle finger, but not more than the second line (what a measuring technique, huh? lol).

Then you boil the rice in medium heat. Once it is boiling, and most of the water is gone, you lower your heat. Then after a few minutes, you tap the top part of the rice. If the top part bounces back, then it is cooked. Now that is Asian style rice cooking!

Others say you do a 1:2 ratio of rice to water. You can also try this technique just be sure that you wash your rice thoroughly removing most of the starch and lower your fire when it boils and most of the water is gone.

So good luck and tell me if you have been successful with my technique!

Answer 8

Put a little oil in the pan with the water and bring to the boil. Usual amount is 1 cups rice to 2 cups water. I have another method and that is put the oil and the rice in the pan, add the cold water to about one inch above the surface of the rice. Depending on the type of rice bring to the boil and cook for that long. Usually about that time, but be prepared to add more boiling water from the kettle to top it up if it is becoming too dry. Hope this helps you.

Answer 9

Rice cookers are really good for short-grain rice (sticky-rice) like Japanese dishes will use. Of course you could get one, but you want to get a good one.

That said, cooking rice is just a step above boiling water, technique-wise. I understand the mental block - for instance, I had a major mental block for mixing cement, which is really not any different than making mud, but you THINK it should be a big deal.

Anyway, most of the rice I use tends to be seasoned wild rice or occasionally jambalaya or cajun rice.

USUALLY it's about a 2:1 ratio (water:rice) but the package tells you what it should be for that particular kind. If you're off a bit, it's not the end of the world. I mean, sheesh - it's onliy rice.

USUALLY you bring the water and either a tab of butter or a tbsp of oil to a boil, dump in the rice, drop the burner temp down to 2 (low simmer) and leave it there for about 20 to 25 mins. It helps to have a proper sized cooking vessel. I use my Le Creuset http://www.lecreuset.com/usa/images/color/pot/Flame-02.jpg
and something this heavy is nice, but not required, but the point is to not pack it in too deep - a little bit of width in the cooking vessel helps it cook off.

My favorite rice right now - and it has been for the last few years - is Carolina Long Grain and Wild Rice mix. About 99 cents, you dump it in with 1 1/2 cups of water, cook about 20 to 25 mins at very low simmer (about 2), et voila.
http://www.carolinarice.com/carolinarice/product.cfm?productid=10614

Other brands I like are also Zatarains, which has a decidedly cajun bent http://shop.zatarains.com/images/7142909523.gif , and Near East http://www.neareast.com/ne_Products/pilafs/images/Pilaf-BoxOriginal.jpg

If you are "welding it to the pan" you are cooking at way too high a temp OR forgetting to pull it when done. You should put in the recommended amount of water (usually 2 cups or less), bring to a boil, immediately put in the rice/spices, and drop the heat to a low simmer. For me, "LO" on the oven is too low, but a "2" works pretty well. Do not have it on an aggressive simmer. After about 20 to 25 minutes your thing should be running low on liquid and you can turn it off and remove it from the heat. It will sit quite nicely, thank you, if you need to finish it early. Do NOT keep the heat on, it'll burn. It should be plenty warm for a good 45 mins to an hour, depending on what it's cooked in.

Enjoy!

Answer 10

I love cooking and and I am a hater of most usless aplliances.
But the best investment you will ever make is buying a rice cooker. Make sure you buy one where the top snaps in place, sort of like a pressure cooker. It never fails and will make perfect rice in 10-15 minutes. I bought a stainless steel rice cooker at Kmart for 50 bucks and I always get fluffiest rice. You can even use it to cook mexican rice!! By the way I like using Jasmine Rice. A little pricier but it tase so much better.

P.S. I have many Philipino freinds and they all use rice cookers.

Answer 11

Hey.
Measure 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water.
Bring water to a boil before you put in the rice.
Put in rice, a pinch of salt, tbspoon of margarine/buttetr in pot.
Cover the pot.
Wait until the water has reduced; then turn down the flame.
Let the rice cook for 20-25 minutes.
You can even cover the rice with a sheet of plastic. Helps it to steam.