It sounds so easy, but sometimes it isn't:a pot of rice. Many people struggle with cooking rice, from burnt rice to mushy rice, it has happened to everyone one or more times. Some people swear by a rice cooker. And if you do, great! But if you don't have one, and don't want to buy it because you don't have room for another appliance, you can use a pot. If you want to know how to cook a perfect pot of rice, consider these 4 tips:
Rice is usually categorized by shape and size as long, medium, or short grain. The sizes refer to how long the grains are in relation to their width, from long and soft to short and round. Examples of long grain rice include basmati and jasmine; they are less starchy and cook better into individual grains.
Medium- and short-grain rice, which gets stickier, tend to run into each other in terms of how they're categorized, but varieties include arborio (used in risotto), bomba (used in paella), and sushi rice. Brown rice is to white rice what whole wheat flour is to white flour, in the sense that brown rice has not removed the outer (brown) bran and germs. There are also many other types of rice on the shelf today, such as black rice (an unprocessed version of Japanese glutinous rice) and wild rice.
How to cook most types of rice is usually written on the package. Recommended is 1 part rice, 2 parts water. But often the result is not what you want. After all, everyone has a different preference for how rice should taste. So if you're not happy with the taste, you can play with the proportions. If you find the rice too wet, put less water next time. If you find the rice too dry, add a little more water. Your ideal ratio may also depend on the size of your pot and how much rice you cook. So pay attention!
This is an important step. Rinsing rice means “that no loose starch, dirt or any other film is left on the rice that could change the structure of the rice. Use cold water to rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Put the rice in a fine sieve and keep it under the tap. Once the water that filters through it no longer looks milky, you can start boiling it.
As with pasta, you may want to check the doneness of the rice a few minutes before the end of the package recommended cooking time. Ideally, you should see tiny little bubbles around the edges, but the surface of the rice should not be covered. Don't stir or you'll miss these signs! Once you see many holes in the rice, cover the pan and turn off the heat. This is an important step and allows the rice to steam under a small amount of pressure created by the lid. Let the rice steam for 20-25 minutes without removing the lid. When the time is up, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork – and it's ready to serve!
