In China and Japan, they don’t add salt to the rice.
Japanese add water and then let it sit for 10-20 minutes before starting the cooking process.
Chinese always wash the rice first.
I would reiterate that Zojirushi rice cookers are the bee’s knees.
LONG-grain rice? I’ve heard that people eat this. I’ve also heard that people put ketchup on their hot dogs, and wash it down with Budweiser.
Easier rice-cooking: 1 part rice, 2 parts hot tap water. Cover and put on medium-low heat for 20 minutes. When the craters form and the rice doesn’t look wet on top, it’s done. Don’t stir during the cooking process. I make white rice all the time, and we lived on it in college. I also worked in a Chinese restaurant.
The restaurant used a very large rice cooker and then left the rice out to dry overnight. That rice is used for the fried rice.
Lovely thread. Belongs in IMHO now, so off it goes!
Jill
1/4 lb BBQ pork (or shrimp)
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sherry
1/2 cup water
1/2 a brick of firm tofu, cubed small
4 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp chili oil (or less if a wuss like me)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 green onions, sliced
1 litre chicken stock
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 beaten egg
a few sliced mushrooms
1 julienned carrot
Prep the veggies and tofu. Combine vinegar, chili oil,sesame oil in wee bowl and set aside. In another bowl,stir cornstarch and water together. Add stock,sherry and soy sauce to pot and bring to simmer.Add mushrooms,tofu,carrots and pork/shrimp-simmer 10 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture to broth, lower heat and stir to thicken. Add vinegar/oil mix and stir.Slowly stir in beaten egg, then top with green onion. Make sure the egg cooks-about 1 minute. Eat like a god.
You’ve never had a good Basmati, have you?
Here’s how I make rice.
First, I don’t like rice when made with plain water (unless I’m using it in a recipe). It’s too bland for my tastes. I like to use beef, chicken or vegetable broth. Use the same amount of broth as you would water. TIP: Use a non-stick saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.
Second, I don’t wash the rice beforehand. I put the rice in, then add the liquid. I turn the stove on, watch it carefully until it comes to a rolling boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer. Then I re-cover the pot and I LEAVE THE RICE ALONE!!! I don’t stir it at all, because the rice gets all gummy. When it’s done (and this is an art, because it requires a kitchen timer and fast reflexes), I take it off the stove immediately and let it rest for about a minute or so. Then, I take the lid off and fluff it a bit. Sometimes, I dice and lightly sautee an onion in butter and throw it in there, just for fun, but don’t add anything till the rice is done.
Really, once you’ve done it a few times, it’s not that hard.
Good luck!
Robin
I have gotten nearly “restaurant style” white rice by steaming it instead of boiling:
Wash rice. (Mandatory, in my experience. Nutrients? We don’t need no stinking nutrients!)
Place in ceramic bowl, cover with 1/2 inch of water.
Place bowl on steaming rack in larger pot, with a couple inches of water in the bottom.
Cook 1 1/2-2 hours. Do not lift lid or stir.
I have also gotten suprisingly good results by mixing two types of rice before cooking, like long grain and jasmine rice.
Someone please tell me what’s so great about a rice cooker. I know they are used in Asian households, but I never understood the advantage. You mean I need to surrender more of my valuable counter space to yet another appliance?
Just my WAG, but if you eat rice often, it’ll give you back one of your burners on your stove. Otherwise, I can’t see why you should get one.
I had one during my first go-round as a batchelor, and found it more of a hinderence than a help. Even with a family of five, we still cook enough rice in one of our large pots to make enough for a meal plus leftovers.
I suspect we’re not serving rice with the veggies/meat/TVP in the same ratio as most Asians. If I understand right, the bulk of the meal should consist of rice, with the additional goodies flavoring it, not the other way around.
Huh. Now, see, I always thought that cooking rice was the easiest thing in the world, and reading what everyone else has written I seem to be doing it all wrong. This is what I do:
~1 c. white rice
~2 1/4 c. water
bit of salt
bit of butter or oil
Put it all in a pot & bring it to a fierce boil. Turn the flame down–not down to a simmer, it should still be boiling pretty well–and put the top of the pot on askew so that it doesn’t boil over. Go about other meal-prep duties, checking on the rice every couple minutes, stirring it to keep the rice from sticking to the bototm of the pot. 5-10 minutes later, when it looks like most of the water has been absorbed, taste the rice to see it it’s done. If it’s done perfectly, turnt the heat off & leave the top off and give it one more good stir before serving. If it’s close to done, give it one more stir, put the top on tight, and turn the heat off, and it should be perfect-done in a minute or two. It’s usually quite fluffy; the butter/oil keeps the rice from getting sticky. If I specifically want sticky rice I leave it out, but then I have to watch it more closely cos it’s more likely to burn a weensy bit at the bottom. It’s never occured to me to rinse my rice.
For as long as I’ve been making rice by this method, I have never once ruined a pot. But when ever I tried to cook it with exact measurements and times it never came out right. ::shrug::
I love basmati! 
Precisely! If you’re relying upon rice as a central source of your nutrition, odds are that you’re in a third world country and have never seen this message board.
PS: Annie, would you please post that Hot and Sour Soup recipe over at The Ultimate Recipe Thread?
I have always lived in a home with a rice cooker and I had never in my entire life worried about how to cook rice. It seemed unreal to me that people had problems with rice cooking, because to me it was (by far) the easiest food out there. Small children with short attention spans could be totally successful at making rice.
And yes, rice needs to be washed. There’s non-rice stuff in those bags.
My preferred method for cooking rice is to use a pressure cooker.
For one cup of rice I use 1.75 cups of water, put in a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of butter. Bring the rice and water to a boil and then close the lid on the pressure cooker and reduce the heat to very low. When no steam escapes from the release valve remove the cooker from the heat and let sit for five minutes.
The two to one (water to rice) ratio is fine for short grained rice, one and one half to one is better for Basmati.
Also, if you have a tendency to burn your rice, cook it in the microwave. I tend to only use Basmati (cause bagkitty lives for curries) but I believe that the following will work for short grained rice as long as you stick to the ratios mentioned above.
Cooking rice in microwave (or what the appliance is for other than popcorn)…
Rinse rice with cold water. Let soak in more cold water for about 15 minutes. Boil water in kettle. Put rice and boiling water into casserole dish with loose fitting lid or microwave rice pot (with nifty little vent holes on top) into microwave, run on high for 10 - 11 minutes. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then fluff rice using two forks.
Well, seeing as I eat rice daily for most of my meals, I guess I’m about qualified to post on this subject =P
Most households where I live have a rice cooker, simply because it makes it sooo much easier to cook the main staple of out diet, that is, rice. Noodles too, but most of us don’t have the equipment to make noodles (too much of a hassle, and likely to turn out bad anyway =P)
That being said, with a rice cooker, rice(the way I eat it) could not be easier. Basically,
2 cups rice, into the rice cooker.
Water to cover the rice to a depth of about one figer joint (maybe less for “big fingered Americans” :P). Feel free to replace water with chicken stock or beef broth or whatever…
Depress button. 
The rice cookers also keep the rice warm until you want to eat it, too… and with regards to the amount of rice we eat, you’re talking about 6inches diameter plate, 1 inch deep (big serving) with maybe 100 grams of stir fried meat and 2 100 gram servings of stir fried veggies…
And to us, potato is a side dish.
–
NyaO?
If you’re using a post on the stovetop, it’s important to make sure the lid of the pot fits nice and tightly, otherwise too much steam will escape and the rice will be dry. If the lid is slightly loose, put a piece of kitchen foil between the pot and the lid to help keep the steam inside the pot. Pleat the foil once in the middle, and make sure the piece of foil is big enough to give about an inch and a half overlap around the edge of the pot. You can also use a flour and water paste to seal the pot.
Done. Just trying to get that thread hopping again?
Ummm, why not just add cold water and boil it with the rice in the microwave? I’m not trying to be difficult, I am just wondering if I am missing something.
What I seem to be hearing about the rice cookers: If I’m happy with the results I get (I am) and stove top real estate isn’t at a premium (it isn’t) but counter space is (check) there is no need for me to get one. Thank goodness! I agree that cooking rice well is laughably simple once you get it down. One thing that helps is non-stick pots!
I–also-use-slightly-more-than-2-to-1-rice-to-water.–I-bring-it-to-a-boil-then-cover-tightly-and-turn-the-electric-burner-off.Don’t-peek–After-twenty-minute-it-should-be-done-and-nice-and-fluffy.-