A lot of westerners get rice wrong, and a lot of non-westerners notice. And a lot of people give in and buy a rice cooker to get it right for them… or just cook crappy rice.
Here’s how I was brought up cooking rice, and it’s foolproof…
Directions:
- Measure out desired quantity of rice into a bowl, and half fill with water
- Wash rice thoroughly to remove excess starch, and then drain (use a sieve so you don’t lose rice down the plughole) – this will prevent your rice from becoming sticky
- Place in large saucepan with a teaspoon of salt, and cover with required amount of water (see below for measurements for different kinds of rice), and place lid on top
- Bring to boil on high heat
- Turn heat to low once rice is boiling, tilt lid, and steam for 15 minutes
- Switch off heat, replace lid, and leave rice to finish steaming for a further 5 minutes
- Serve piping hot
Ratio of rice to water:
2 cups of rice serves 6 people
- White long-grain rice: 2 cups rice | 3 cups water
- Brown long-grain rice: 2 cups rice | 4 cups water
- Basmati rice: 2 cups rice | 3 cups water
- Jasmine rice: 2 cups rice | 3 cups water
- Sushi rice: 2 cups rice | 2 and a half cups water
- Sticky rice: 2 cups rice | 2 cups water
- Arborio (risotto) rice: 2 cups rice | 4 cups water
Kitchenhand confession:
To be honest, I don’t actually often wash rice before I cook it. If you get the quantities and the timing right you shouldn’t have to worry about your rice going sticky – washing it just makes the process foolproof 😉
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