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How do you cook perfect rice?

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  • innovate
    innovate Posts: 16,217
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    I was never good with rice, and have only recently tried my luck again, after some 25 riceless years :p

    Either rice has come a long way since I last tried my luck, or I have.....

    It's still far from the Indian restaurant standard, but it is miles better than it used to be.....I use the Tesco Basmati rice. Half a cup of rice is plenty for two people.

    Here's how I cook it: I rinse the rice in a sieve under running cold water (for about 20 seconds). Then I soak the rice in plenty of cold water for 30 minutes. Pour away the soaking water, rinse the rice again under running cold water. Boil (about double or just over double the rice quantity) water in the kettle, then use the hot water to boil the rice in a sauce pan without stirring it. I don't use a lid so any surplus water can evaporate. About 8 minutes later, I have perfectly (almost!) cooked rice.

    Works well for me, but I am keen to learn of different methods so I can master the really fluffy stuff!
  • ti1980
    ti1980 Posts: 1,528 Forumite
    Will have to try it soon. Probably at the weekend. Thanks for the replies. :)
  • frosty
    frosty Posts: 1,169
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    I always use quick cook american long grain rice and it always turns out perfect, when it is cooked I pour it into a sieve and then pour boiling water over it to wash the starch off ,then if you are not using it straight away you can pour cold water over it to cool it down then store in the fridge until you need it.
  • Jazzycat
    Jazzycat Posts: 459 Forumite
    Do as they do in the far east.

    put rice in a pan (don't wash it), put your hand in the pan and fill with just enough water for it to cover your hand. Sticky rice is caused by too much water being absorbed.

    Bring pan to boil and cover. Reduce heat to lowest possible setting - almost off, or just have a corner of the pan on the heat. Don't touch or stir. 20 minutes later the rice will be cooked perfectly.
  • spook
    spook Posts: 233 Forumite
    I always had disasters cooking rice until the other week I tried following Delia Smith's recipe - this has worked perfectly for me twice now. From memory (sorry if it's wrong)...
    • Fry finely chopped onion for 3-4 minutes in a little oil
    • Add 10 fl oz basmati rice (no need to wash) and stir briefly so that it is coated with oil and glistening
    • Pour on 1 pint boiling water and add salt - stir once
    • Put lid on pan and reduce heat to lowest setting. Do not stir again.
    • Wait 15 minutes, then remove from heat and transfer to warmed serving dish, cover with clean tea towel to absorb moisture and leave for 5 minutes.
  • I always tend to make far too much rice than needed... must work on my portion controls :D

    I boil the pasta for about 5 mins then i drain it but leaving a little of the cloudy water in the bottom of the pan, putting the seive over the top return it to the hob with a lid over it to have a nice steaming effect. It makes it taste steamed and i love it this way. Ive got my mam and MIL hooked on cooking it this way too.

    I picked up this trick from the chef i learned from when i was first training to chef.
  • Petal_3
    Petal_3 Posts: 779 Forumite
    My method is:

    Half cup (mug) of rice per person and twice as much water as rice. ie. for 2 people - 1 mug of rice and 2 mugs of water. Stick the rice in when the water's boiling, bring back to the boil, put a lid on it and reduce heat to a simmer. 15 mins later, take the lid off and all the water is gone and you're left with lovely rice!

    Good Luck!
    Owned by [STRIKE]4[/STRIKE] 4 cats: 2 x Maine coon cross males, 1 x Pixie Bob male and[STRIKE] 2[/STRIKE] 1 x Norwegian Forest male....cute!

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  • Nobody has as yet pointed out how to cook the healthiest eating option Brown Rice You will find helpful cooking hints for Brown rice at this link
    how to use Brown Rice
    Brown rice is an excellent source of manganese, and a good source of the minerals selenium and magnesium. The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids
    eating whole grains, such as brown rice, has been linked to protection against atherosclerosis, ischemic stroke, diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, and premature death.

    I should perhaps point out that brown rice varieties do vary in cooking times. I usually buy a large bag at a time (indian shop) and I did have one large bag that took much longer to cookthan usual. So although I don't usually use the Pressure cooker for cooking rice I was driven to by this batch, I found that using plenty of water, high pressure for 15mins cook slowly. Pour into sieve, rinse with a kettle of boiling water was fine.
    My weight loss following Doktor Dahlqvist' Dietary Program
    Start 23rd Jan 2008 14st 9lbs Current 10st 12lbs
  • Hermia
    Hermia Posts: 4,473
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    Use basmati rice as it's foolproof and also better quality and thoroughly yummy. Tilda is the best in my opinion.
  • MORPH3US
    MORPH3US Posts: 4,906
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    I find that rinsing the rice when it is cooked is a great way to remove the horrible sticky coating.

    M
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