Rinsing rice to use later

[mackthepony]

Making a biriyani for supper. Have washed the rice already and plan to use it in 2/3 hours. Will it be OK? Shall I refrigerate?

I know advice is to chill rice quickly AFTER cooking, but not sure about protocol when rinsing beforehand.

I use Thai jasmine rice from a 10kg bag. I agitate it under the water, changing water a few times then let it sit in some water for an hour or so, then tip this out, put in the final cooking water then into the rice cooker. This is how my Chinese in-laws who run a Chinese take away taught me to do it.

I thought we wash rice to make sure there's no unwanted dusty stuff, to get rid of a bit of starch so the resultant cooked rice is less soupy/sticky and also to reduce the arsenic content which is present in the soil where a lot of rice is grown.

You can leave it soaking for hours, it cooks much quicker and better if you do.

Rinsing also removes some of the arsenic IIRC.

Very shocked to see that people actually don’t rinse rice! You should rinse it till the water runs clear 🤦🏾‍♀️ Couple of hours should be fine OP!

I'm really surprised that so many people don't rinse rice. The instructions are clear on the packaging (except obviously for boil in the bag/micro rice, which has presumably been pre-rinsed before packing). If you don't rinse the starch off it'll be a clumpy starchy mess, rather than fluffy individual grains!

Is the washing before or after you tear the packet and microwave for 2 mins?

Me! I never rinse rice. Life's too short. Plus I have no desire to run the tap endlessly, and waste water. My rice works out perfectly fine (I always cook it in a LOT of water though, so maybe that does the same job).

I rinse my rice by putting it in bowl and letting a slow running tap fill the bowl till it overflows and the water runs clear of starch.

Op, I’d put the rice back in cold water in the fridge if your kitchen is hot till it’s ready to be added to your biryani sauce. Next time you make it though just try and soak it for about half an hour and always use a good quality long grain rice like Basmati.

For those people nutcases who say they don't rinse their rice beforehand with cold water, do you rinse it after cooking with hot water, cos' if you do it's probably cheaper to do it beforehand with cold water.

No. There would be a big difference in the starch in your rice water and in the water where the rice has been rinsed. And you don’t have to use a running tap to clean the rice. Just rinse it out in a few bowls of cold water and even that woukd improve on the finished product.

I think this might be a cultural difference. In my culture, where rice is a staple food, we ALWAYS wash/rinse rice to remove the starch. We then leave it to soak for several hours. Therefore, OP, you are absolutely fine. I'm horrified so many people on here don't!

I rinse it in cold water in a bowl (rubbing the rice around in the water and replacing the water unail it runs clear). Then cover with cold water (some people add a teaspoon of salt) then leave it until ready to cook (rinse the salty water before cooling).

cook in boiling water until almost done, rinse in cold water then steam for at least 20 mins.

Also, OP, you don't have to refrigerate just leave it in a cool dry place in the bowl of water until ready to use.

This is why I use boil in the bag. I find cooking rice an absolute faff.

Until very recently, white British thought you cooked rice by boiling then rinsing in a sieve so the grains were all wet and separate. So people thinking it's ok but to rinse rice does not surprise me. Rinse your rice people. Cultures that have eaten rice as a main staple rinse the rice before cooking

@ReviewingTheSituation you boil rice in a LOT of water. Do you cook it like pasta? Please don't. Learn to cook it properly. Wash the rice. Use the right amount of water so it absorbs. Fluffy rice. It's not pasta

It really doesn't have to be a faff though! I have never rinsed rice. I just cook it in boiling salted water. As long as you don't over cook it, you can have perfectly fluffy, separated grains of rice.

If you cook it too long, it's a starchy mess. So the only trick is to test it after 7 mins and then keep checking every minute or so after that if it's not done.

Boil in the bag is nasty! I had a pack once (it was in a supermarket food box) and microwaved it - DH almost fainted…

Have you seen all the starch that comes off basmati when you rinse it? I couldn't imagine not rinsing it 😑

Well that's me told!

I always rinse my rice in cold water, then add boiling water and cook it for 12 minutes, rinse again in boiling water and serve!

Can anyone tell me how to do it properly?

I would guarantee that anyone who rinses their rice could tell from the smell of your rice cooking if it had been rinsed or not. They wouldn’t even have to taste it or see it at the table. They’d smell it cooking and they’d know.

I measure out a cup of rice, put it in a bowl and soak it and rinse it, replacing the water until it runs clear.
Put it in a saucepan with 1.5 cups of water, turn the heat up then once you can see some bubbles on the top, put a lid on and simmer for 12 minutes, not removing the lid. Then take it off the hob so it's not drying.

Not quite as much water as pasta, no. But I do boil it rather than use the absorption method. And it's perfectly fluffy, thanks. No stodge or stickiness, and perfectly separated grains.

If I'm making a nice curry I sometimes make pilau using absorption, but for everyday dinners boiled rice works just fine for us. Having done both, I'm more than happy with the easy way for standard dinners.

It's no wonder people have a fear of it though when it's suggested that it MUST be rinsed first, and HAS to be cooked using the absorption method. Both of those are options, but they are by no means the only way to get decent rice.

I would guarantee that anyone who rinses their rice could tell from the smell of your rice cooking if it had been rinsed or not. They wouldn’t even have to taste it or see it at the table. They’d smell it cooking and they’d know

And? Am I supposed to feel some sort of rice shame? what if they know?

There are two methods.

one is to bring it to a rolling boil in plenty of water then discard the water just before it looks ready before putting it back in the pot and steaming on a low heat for about 10 mins.

another method is to cover the rice with the same amount of water, slowly bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and steam till it’s ready.

Culturally (Indian heritage) we rinse/soak rice, it just cooks and tastes better.
Not sure I’d do it hours in advance of cooking it though.