What’s The Best Way to Cook Rice?
Rice is such a versatile food. It’s great as a meal or snack on its own and works perfectly as a side dish or filler for so many different meals.
If rice isn’t cooked right, though, it can come out clumpy, overcooked or undercooked…all of which can leave you with a less than stellar meal.
If you’ve been asking yourself “what’s the best way to cook rice?” check out the following tips to get perfect rice every time.
What Type of Rice is it?
First and foremost, you need to figure out what type of rice you are using since each type may have slightly different cooking methods.
Are you using brown rice? White rice? Is it instant or regular? Knowing these things in advance will go a long ways toward giving you better results.
Rinse Your Rice First
It’s good idea to rinse your rice off before you cook it. Rinsing it will help to remove some of the starch which will make it less sticky. Just use cold, fresh water to rinse the rice and be sure that you drain it completely before proceeding so that you don’t have too much water in with the rice when you cook it.
Read the Directions
Since each type of rice can be cooked slightly differently, you should always read the directions on the box or bag.
The directions should tell you the correct ratio of rice to water for the particular type that you are using. In most cases it takes about 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups of water for each cup of rice, although it can take more or less depending on the type.
Use a Heavy Pan
The most common method of cooking rice is to allow all the water to absorb into the rice and then let the steam finish the cooking process. This method works great, but it also means that the rice will be sitting on the bottom of the pan with little or no water for a little while while it is cooking.
It is important to use a nice heave pan with a thick bottom to help prevent the rice from scorching on the burner.
Also, make sure that the pan you use has a very tight fitting lid. If the lid is loose you can seal in the steam by putting a clean dishcloth between the lid and the pan.
Cook the Rice
Cook the rice on the burner with the lid sealed for as long as you were directed by the box or package. Typically this is anywhere from about 10-15 minutes, although if you are using instant rice the time will be much lower than that.
When the time is up remove the rice from the heat. DO NOT remove the lid, though. Instead, you need to leave the lid on to allow the steam to continue cooking the rice.
If you remove the lid too soon some of the rice won’t be nice and fluffy, but instead will be a bit soggy. After about 5 minutes or so you can take the lid off the rice and fluff it up with a fork.
That’s it! If you follow these simple tips - rinse your rice, read your directions, choose a heavy pan with a tight lid and allow your rice to finish cooking before taking off the lid - you should have perfect rice every time!
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