How do I improve on my standard rice cooking? Ok, I can cook a risotto that I’m happy with, but the plain rice that I do (Basmati or Thai fragrant usually) is decidedly average, not in the same league as I’ve had cooked by others. The problem is that I’m lazy so I don’t want to go through the whole palaver that seems to be involved with doing Basmati the full-on proper way, but I’d be willing to do a bit more than the usual “rinse, boil for 10-12 mins, drain” if I got better rice at the end of it.
So, are there any tricks I should know about? Is a rice-cooker thingy the way to go? (and are there different kinds?)
I have a rice cooker and it certainly makes perfect rice every time.
The only suggestion that I have for picking a rice cooker is to find a small one. I could make enough rice in my cooker to feed a small army and it is hard to find a place on my counter for it.
I am getting bored of plain rice though and wish I could find something easy to add to it to give it a tad more flavor.
I always get fool-proof rice by following two simple rules:
[ol]
[li]Put the lid on as soon as the water begins to simmer, and don’t open it for 10-12 minutes.[/li][li]Never, ever, stir your rice while it is cooking.[/li][/ol]
Sometimes I put a couple cubes of boullion into the water. (I makes rice by boiling the water, adding the rice, then reducing heat to low for 20 or 25 minutes.)
if you can add chicken stock (or bouillon cubes, for the lazy) to mashed potatoes for extra flavor, why not try it as a substitution for the water when cooking rice? there are even vegetable-flavor ones, if you’re so inclined.
i’ve also seen (and occasionally done) adding butter to the water when cooking. adds more richness and a tad of flavor.
there are also spice mixes you can add. i used to have a tube of herbs and seasonings that contained whatever is required for making Cajun-style “dirty rice”. it was quite good while it lasted.
if you REALLY want to go for rich flavor, though, try adding a pinch of saffron. (given the price per ounce of saffron, a pinch is all you ever want to use. but it’s so intense, that is more than adequate anyway.)
and rice cooker??? phah. any good pot and 20 minutes will get you there just fine. what a waste of money.
What’s been said, plus I always measure out 3 parts water to 2 parts basmati rice…and simmer it GENTLY…it’s when grains get broken by being knocked about that starch gets into the water, causing sticking. When it’s just cooked, stir through gently with a fork, put the lid back on and leave for a few minutes (without any heat).
At a party at work, we got talking on the subject of cooking. My Asian boss was there. The topic came around to some saffron rice that a Pakistani co-worker made, and he (the co-worker) talked about how easy it was to make and described just boiling the rice, adding the seasoning, etc. I mentioned that any time I try to cook rice it always comes out very sticky. My boss then said “Well, you need to. . .” (and here’s where I was expecting to hear an Ancient Chinese Secret) “. . .buy rice cooker. Works for me every time.”
Wouldn’t you know, he was right. The only time it didn’t work was the first time, because the manual contained instructions for two (slightly) different model numbers and we looked at the wrong one. That was a mess.
In the pot you’re going to cook rice in, fry up some garlic in butter. When it’s golden, add the rice, and stir until it becomes coated (it will be shiny and approaching translucent). Be careful not to burn it, there’s no liquid so it can burn quickly, keep it on medium heat ! Once it’s all shiny, add the measured water and pop the lid on.
It makes it a bit chewy and garlicky, very nice !
Pilaus are also nice: fry onions and garlic in the pot, add chopped up veggies and lots of seasoning with the rice and water.
Mix up different kinds of rice (after you’ve cooked it) : brown, wild, etc, makes for interesting flavours.
And finally, for leftover rice: fry it up with chopped-up leftover veggies and meat, soy sauce and egg.
Or go the whole hog…fry a cinnamon stick, a few green cardamon pods and a few peppercorns and then cook the rice in them (remove the items as you serve).
Or…a pinch of turmeric in the water gives you instant yellow rice, with a nice earthy taste.
The best way of cooking rice (without a rice cooker which I haven’t tried, but am interested in especially after the good reports in previous posts) is the way my mother does it. Measure the water depending on the type of rice (basmati is usually 1 cup rice, 1.5 water but it usually says in the packaging) and bring rice and water to the boil. Then put it in your bed with the duvet wrapped around it. Leave for at least 4 hours. You will have to plan ahead but the rice comes out perfect.
If you’ve not planned ahead then I agree with was said before about simmering really carefully. I find that if your cooker is electric just the residual heat from bringing it to the boil is enough to steam the rice.
