Couscous is better. Literally just boil water, pour it into a bowl with the dry granules, cover and let is soak while you reconstitute or sauté the protein and vegetables, and you’ve got dinner.
Stranger
Yeah, parboiled is a bit of an odd one to me. It has a different flavor and texture to regular white rice. I’m not entirely sure if I like it or not, but I use it for jollof rice as that’s typically the rice used, at least the Nigerian kind from what I’ve noticed at Nigerian events and read. I don’t really use it for anything else, but it is supposed to be more nutritious. (It’s not the same idea as just pre-cooking white rice – it’s parboiled in its husk before being further processed.)
Stove top rice:
Give rice a quick rinse in a strainer if you want to reduce starch (I’m lazy, very seldom do this). Add rice to pot, add 1.5-2 times the volume in cold water. Add lid. Turn on heat.
LEAVE POT ALONE.
Check in about 15 minutes. Small “craters” will form as the water boils away/is absorbed. If you can’t see any water in said holes, your rice is done; remove from heat.
Much preferred is instant pot rice: one cup water, one tablespoon of oil, one generous pinch of salt per one cup of rice; pressure cook for ten minutes. Perfect! Can be spread to cool/dry a bit on a cookie sheet for a quick fried rice when you don’t have any leftover rice to use…
The proper way to make rice in a rice cooker is to fill the pot with enough water to measure from the top of the rice to the first joint on your finger. No measuring cup needed.
This helpful hint comes from my Asian-American wife who lists “bringing Minute Rice into the house” as instant grounds for divorce. Rice-A-Roni is justification for murder.
Now you made me curious: Rice-A-Roni? What is that?
Yes, it is harder on the bite, less sticky, has a nutty flavour and more vitamins (they claim). It combines brilliantly with a little butter mixed unter after cooking and a bay leaf really enhances it. But for me it is a side dish, not a rice on its own. As opposite to paella, risotto or Japanese dishes, where rice is the centre of the dish. (Not sure I am being very clear)
It’s the San Francisco treat!
Huh… your wife may be right on that one. 
Put another grain on the teaspoon, baby.
mmm
How do you feel about instant mashed potatoes?
As a side-dish, I too prefer Minute Rice, over regular, or fancier rices. I suppose that’s because Minute Rice is what I grew up eating and I prefer the dry texture.
It’s the same reason I prefer lowly Cheese Whiz on my Philly cheesesteaks over provolone, or American cheese (although Cooper American is pretty dang tasty). But, on my Italian hoagies, it’s gotta be provolone, or I ain’t eating it. It better be drenched in olive oil, and spiced to the hilt, too. 
Your snobbery will not defeat me!
I like Minute Rice. Easy to make, no waste, and it tastes like rice.
As with a lot of U.S. packaged/convenience foods (including Minute Rice) which make non-Americans queasy to even think about, it was a product of the 1950s and 1960s, when manufacturers created all sorts of new brands intended to simplify meal preparation (and which also often took advantage of many Americans being unadventurous eaters, and unfamiliar with actual, authentic foreign food).
In the case of Rice-a-Roni, the brand frequently sponsored television game shows, in which the announcer would say that contestants received “a year’s supply of Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco Treat,” as a parting gift, to the point that the tagline got hammered home into a generation’s brains.
What even is Rice-A-Roni? It looks and tastes like extruded Silly Putty.
What a way to play off contestants who failed to win a real prize!
Well, two of those statements may be true, at least.
Stranger
Am I misremembering or was there two cable car bell chimes after the tagline?
Well it is supposed to be rice and macaroni, but it does leave a bit to be desired if you don’t jack it up by adding your own favorites. It’s cheap and lord knows, I need cheap foods right now so it’s in my cupboard. But not adding your own foodie fave ingredients does guarantee bland and salty.
Stranger
I was about to post the exact same video. The 2 clangs are before the tagline.
I actually recalled it as being after, too, before I looked up the video. I don’t know if there are different versions or I’m just misremembering.
Stranger
I learned how to make rice on the stove when I was a young girl. I love rice made on the stove top. It takes 20 minutes and it is perfect every time. I don’t like minute rice. My daughter calls me a food snob, so there’s that.
I thought it was after, too. Mandela effect, I guess.