An easy way to cook rice to perfection

^{How to} Cook Rice the Easy Way

Rice can be tricky to cook, especially for inexperienced cooks. Although there are numerous types of rice and ways of cooking it, the basic cooking technique in most of the world involves washing it, bringing it to a boil in a specified amount of water, placing a lid on it, and then steaming it without removing the lid until all of the liquid has been absorbed.

The most tricky part is determining the correct amount of water to use. It can vary according to several factors, including the type of rice, the desired consistency, the cooking temperature(s) and the extent that the rice was soaked before cooking. It can also be difficult to determine when the rice has been fully cooked and the lid should be removed.

The development of electric rice cookers has solved these problems and made it easy, even for the most inexperienced of cooks, to prepare rice with minimal effort and consistent quality. However, not everyone has, or wants, a rice cooker, despite their relatively low cost and widespread availability, and it is possible to make excellent rice without one.

The easiest way is to cook rice without an electric rice cooker is to use a technique similar to that used to prepare pasta. The first step is to bring a large pot of water to a full boil. However, in contrast to pasta, no salt should be added to the water that is to be used to cook rice.

Another difference as compared with pasta is that the rice should generally first be washed, with the exceptions of packaged rices that come with spices or other ingredients already mixed in or whose instructions recommend that the rice not be washed. This is true regardless of whether an electric rice cooker is used or not. Washing removes dust and other contaminants as well as any substances that might have been added to the rice to keep it looking nice and is something that can be done while the water in the pot is being heated.

Washing is accomplished by pouring the rice in a bowl or pot, pouring in some water, and then rubbing the rice vigorously with ones fingers. After the water has turned white, it should be poured out and replaced by clean water. This process should be repeated one or two more times until the water no longer turns white.

After the rice has been washed and drained and the water in the pot has come to a full boil, the rice can be poured into the boiling water. It might be necessary to use a spoon to remove the rice grains that stick to the sides of the washing bowl or pot. Any remaining rice grains can be concentrated by pouring in a little more water, then draining again and spooning the remaining rice into the boiling water.

Stirring of rice while cooking should be kept to a minimum because it makes rice sticky. The only time that cooking rice really needs to be stirred is a minute or two after it has been poured into the boiling water, because it tends to stick to the bottom of the pot at that time. Such stirring should be brief, and only enough to entirely remove it from the bottom of the pot. The best implement to use is a raw (not coated with paint or lacquer) bamboo rice ladle, such as are commonly used in Japan, or wooden spoon.

After the rice has been at a full boil for a few minutes, the heat should be turned down so that it is at a low boil, that is, so that smaller and less vigorous bubbles come up from the bottom of the pot.

Cooking time is speeded up and a lower temperature can be used if the pot is covered. However, this has the disadvantage that liquid can spill up over the sides of the pot and into the stove top.

The rice should continue to cook until just before it reaches the desired consistency. It firm, separate grains, such as is characteristic of the way rice is eaten in China, is desired, the cooking time will be less. If sticky rice, such as is eaten in Japan, is desired, the cooking time will be longer. It is easy to test the consistency by removing a few grains with the bamboo ladle or wooden spoon.

The rice should then be quickly drained in a colander, the same type that is used for pasta, and poured back into the cooking pot. In contrast to pasta, however, it should not be rinsed. A lid can then be placed on the pot. Even though the stove top burner has been turned off, the rice will then continue to steam in the pot because of its own heat and the heat remaining in the pot. This will also help keep the rice warm until it is ready to use.

Another nice thing about this non-traditional way of cooking rice is that it is very easy to adjust the amount of rice that is cooked. For example, it will work just as well with a tablespoon of rice as with several cups. For a single person using rice as an accompaniment for a main dish, usually four tablespoons will be more than sufficient.