Foolproof Way to Cook Rice!

[Theonlyoneiknow]

Hi,

For some reason i am totally incompétent at cookong Rice! And resort to using boil in the bag stuff.

Following the instructions on the pack doesnt work for some reason!

Does anyone have any foolproof ways of cooking Rice??

Find a container that holds the amount of rice you want to cook, cup or mug works well. Put the rice in a small saucepan with a dash of oil and put on low heat while you boil the kettle. Add double the amount of water as you did rice (ie 1 cup of rice 2 cups of water). Turn up the heat to medium, put a lid on the pan and leave well alone for 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave for another 7 minutes. At no stage should you remove the lid or stir.

Works every time for me courtesy of Jamie Oliver

I am rubbish at boiling rice in a pan.

If I am doing plain rice, I do it in the microwave using a steamer (this sort of thing www.lakeland.co.uk/15217/Red-Microwave-Multi-Steamer) pour in boiling water, cook on high for five minutes, stir, cook on high another five minutes, drain and then pour some more boiling water through.

I find it easier to do rice with something in it in a pan. Don't know why but the stage between raw and inedible mush just seems easier to find!

This is how I do mushroom rice

tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/mushroom-rice.html

and this is a tasty all-in rice meal, prawns, chorizo (or chicken if you like)

tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/rice-with-chorizo-and-prawns-sometimes.html

I gave up and bought an electric rice cooker, cost me £15 in Lidl a few years ago. Perfect rice every time, no more soggy rice or scraping burnt on goo off the bottom of my pans. It's just this weird blind spot I have - I'm a good cook, I can cook all sorts of really complicated fancy stuff, but rice eludes me.

There seem to be countless ways of cooking rice. This is my foolproof way of cooking it:

1. Bring water to the boil in a large pan.
2. Add rice (I always use basmati) & stir with a fork until you can see the rice grains moving around in the water.
3. Set a timer for 12 minutes.
4. When the timer goes, drain the rice into a colander.
5. Pour the contents of a kettle of freshly boiled water through the rice to remove any excess starch.

Result: perfectly fluffy rice.

Put rice in microwaveable bowl.
Add just boiled water from the kettle (twice as much volume of water as rice - measure it)
Microwave on high for 5 mins.
Stir v v gently and briefly with a fork (just a quick swish round)
Microwave on high for another 5 mins.
Remove from microwave, cover with a clean tea towel, leave for 5 mins.

Utterly foolproof, works every time.

I like the sound of lokidoki's. Mine is similar but slightly different Works best on gas burners, quite tricky on electric hob.

Put one measure of rice and two measures of water in a saucepan with a close fitting lid.

If you don't have a good lid, put any lid you can find in a tea towel and tie the corners over the top so that it seals well with the saucepan.

Bring the rice and water to the boil and as soon as it is fully boiling, turn down to the lowest heat you can manage - move it to the smallest burner. Cover and leave for 12 minutes.

Turn the heat up for a few seconds, then turn it off. Do not look or lift the lid. Leave it for a further 12 minutes. Your rice is ready.

It should then stay hot for quite a while.

I cook better rice than my Chinese MIL. Rinse your rice about 3 times then add double the quantity of water. Put a lid on the pan and on a low heat let the water evaporate. When you see little crater holes in the rice turn off the heat and leave to steam for about 10 mins with the residual heat. Basmati rice is our preference

Oh wow, thanks!

I will try these! Like naoko I can cook but there is something about rice that catches me out!

I always use basmati (forget long-grain, it's disgusting stuff), get plenty of water boiling with a little salt, put in the rice, bring back to the boil, cover and simmer for exactly 10 mins. Then tip entire pan contents through a sieve and drain.

Add rice to boiling water, bring back to the boil, stir once, and cook for either 9 mins white rice, or 18 mins for brown rice.

Remove from heat, sieve, wash if required and then reheat in microwave for about 30 secs.

Or use 2 volumes of water to 1 volume of rice as above, or 1.5 if you're using the simmering oven in an Aga.