WHY CAN'T I COOK RICE??

[catinb0oots]

In the past few years I've tried to improve on basics.

Now I can cook omelettes, steak, basic cakes, roast pork with proper crackling.

BUT I CAN'T COOK RICE

I use easy cook long grain rice which always turns out perfectly after just boiling in water.

I cant cook rice either. I use boil in the bag or the frozen microwave stuff.
I can make curry/chinese/steak/whatever from scratch.
But basics like omelettes, rice and pancakes? Nope.

Rice cooker! We eat rice at least once a day, I'm crap at cooking it without it

My mum taught me this method: get a Pyrex box, put in how much rice you want, boil water and add about an inch more water than rice. Pop in a bit of butter or oil, microwave for 10 mins and leave in the microwave until you are ready to serve. Literally never lets me down!

This method never fails
1 part rice tossed in a tiny bit of oil so all grains are covered
2 1/2 parts water

Rice will be done once water has evaporated and the oil stops it sticking together.

The rice isn't oily , just fluffy and light.

I agree with the others who've said rice cooker. I love mine.

Rinse it well before you start, cook it hard until the water hits the top of the rice then turn it right down and lid on tight. I think rinsing is key.

I can't cook rice either I even blew up the rice cooker when I attempted using one. Hubby cooks the rice in our house.

Boil in the bag rice is easy never messed that up

Rice in sieve, rinse under sold water for a while. (56g per portion)

Then in pan, water covering (can't say how deep, just until it looks right).

Bring to boil with lid on, don't touch it until you think it's probably cooked.

Serve.

Perfect every time

I messed it up for years until my mum showed me Ken Hom's method:

Put rice in saucepan
Fill saucepan with water up to about a finger joint above the level of the rice
Boil without lid until holes appear in the rice
Turn off heat, put lid on, leave 15 mins

Works every time!

Rice is easy...and I’m not a great cook

Full pan of water, add salt, leave to boil.

Then add however much rice you want. Let it cook for about 15 minutes and then check by having a little taste to see if it’s cooked. If it’s not, leave it longer.

If it is, drain it and then rice with boiled water.

Done

Ok here’s how it works:

-Basmati rice
-Rinse in cold water until water runs clear
-Cover in water and soak about an hour (you can skip this)
-Cook in boiling water until almost done (So when you bit it it’s got a small bite to it - not hard)
-Rinse under cold water
-Put pan on hob with water just covering the bottom and a tablespoon of veg oil (full heat)
-Pour on the rice into a cone shape
-Put lid on pan and leave for about 2-3 mins (if you listen it will make a tick-tick noise)
-Take off kid and pour some veg oil around the sides so it trickles down. Pour in about 1/3 of a mug of water over the top (it will hiss)
-Put a tea towel over the top and ram the lid on (tie the towel over to top to stop or catching fire)
-Turn heat down to lowest level
-Steam for 20 mins min.

Rinse with boiled water*

@teacuptale I still can’t do it even with a rice cooker! Still a total disaster, sticks to the bottom and soggy on top. Help!

I never used to be able to cook rice but now I rinse it properly - and I mean properly to get rid of the starch it is always fluffy and perfect. Sometimes I soak it in cold water a few times to make sure it runs clear prior to cooking.

Fuck all that complexity.

Most important: Choose basmati rice, because it doesn't go soggy when you cook it like pasta.

Saucepan. 30-50g rice per person depending how hungry they are.
Pour in loads of boiling water.
Rolling boil for 11 minutes (White rice. 20 minutes for brown basmati).
Drain through a sieve, leave to sit for a couple of minutes.

That's it. Zero risk.

Sistema microwave rice cooker.

Or, 1 cup of rice, two of water, bring to boil then turn to the lowest cooker setting and cover with a lid with no holes. Come back in 15/20 mins and your rice will be cooked.

Cannot abide rice that is even a little bit soggy so always use the microwave pouches. Supermarket own brand stuff isn't dear IMO - 45p (Tesco) for most varieties.

I can’t understand anyone saying they can’t cook rice.

I usually buy bog-standard supermarket long grain. Bring plenty of salted water to the boil, chuck in rice, stir, bring back to boil, simmer until it’s tender, drain in a sieve, bingo.

If you’ve got plenty of worktop space and eat rice at least 3 or 4 times a week, I can understand a rice cooker.
If neither of those apply then it’s just another gadget to clutter up the worktop.

The one time I might have used one was on holiday in France, when it was my turn to cook - for 18 people! - some of whom I didn’t even know. There was a rice cooker, but it only made enough for 10.

For once in my life I bought Uncle Ben’s, followed packet instructions exactly, cooked it in a huge stock pot, and phew, it was perfect.

Basmati rice, I always rinse and soak. Measure in a measuring jug, 1:1.3 rice to water. Put in pan & bring to boil, cover tightly with tinfoil and a lid, boil for five mins, turn the heat off and leave for 10 mins. Perfect every time!

I do the cooking it like pasta thing too, and its great. I can't do sushi rice that way though, so we do have a rice cooker which works perfectly for any rice type and will keep it warm until you are ready

There's no way you'll get fluffy rice with separated grains without absorption.

This never fails:

Boil pan of water.

Randomly tip smallish bit of Basmati in.

Start reading a book.

Remember about the rice.

Stick spoon in and taste rice.

Find that it has expanded to feed about 400 people, and has gone all squidgy, like a tasteless rice pudding.

Eat a bit of it and throw the other 3,000 tons away, cursing self for waste of money and rice.

or perhaps not

This was me for years. Finally cracked it watching one of the TV chefs, not sure which one.

1. boil kettle
2. throw mug of rice in pot
3. fill same mug twice with boiling water and add to pot with salt
4. bring to boil (should be quite quick)
5. put lid on and turn heat to minimum for 10 minutes DO NOT TAKE LID OFF
6. after 10 minutes turn the heat off for another 10 minutes and continue to KEEP THE LID ON

That's it. Perfect rice every time.

A friend told me this years ago, and it hasn't failed me yet - 1 cup of rice, 1.5 cups water. When the water is almost all gone, turn the stove off, put the lid on and leave it for 10 mins. Perfect rice all the time. (Use 2 cups of water per 1 cup of brown rice.)