cooking risotto for first time. having issues

[peacefuloptimist]

Help. I'm cooking risotto and it's been nearly 25 minutes and the rice is still a little hard. I didn't add wine as I don't drink it but just increased the amount of stock used. What can I do if it's still not cooked by the time I finish my stock (very nearly finished)? Also what consistency should it have? I'm not really familiar with risotto.

I don't really follow recipes and just keep adding a bit more liquid of any kind (if I've used stock cubes/powder then just add more hot water) until it seems cooked. The rice should still have some 'bite' to it but seem cooked; not crunchy and unpleasant, not mush, somewhere in between - where you are happy to eat a plateful of it!

The rice shouldn't be a 'mush'. It needs to have a little bit of 'bite' to it - a bit like when you're cooking pasta.
I'd just use boiling (or nearly boiling) water to finish it off. I tend to take it off the hob and leave it for a few mins to finish cooking.
The consistency needs to be 'sloppy' although anything goes. As long as it tastes good, I'm sure you'll be fine.

I make risotto for ds without wine - its just as good.

Bon Appetite!

X post with Mushy!

Just add a small splash of boiling water, no rocket science to risotto, just patience.

Many recipes give quantities to leave the rice "el dent "

ie. not sodding cooked!

Stuff tradition, cook your risotto until the rice tastes right to you.

can you make a bit more weak stock from a cube, are you making sure its not cooking too ferociously?

What are you doing typing on Mumsnet? You should be stirring, stirring, stirring until you can stir no more!

Consistency, erm, a little bit rice-puddingy but with firmer rice. At least the one I made yesterday was and it seemed fine. Burnt the backside out of the pan when I stopped stirring for a millisecond but tasted nice anyway.

Make sure the stock you are adding is hot

Thanks for the replies everyone. Lol BigGalah. I was trying to type on my phone and stir at the same time. It's done now and looks sort of like the picture in the book. Not as liquidy though. I think I went over because it's a bit mush . Doesn't have the bite it had to it when I was posting. But tbh it tastes lovely and now I've done it once I'm not scared of trying it again (and getting the texture right next time). Thanks all.