An easier way to judge the amount of rice/water is to measure your rice by VOLUME, e.g. 1 cup or whatever. Then add double that amount of water. Never fails.
I haven’t seen my method here yet, so here goes:
Put rice and water in pot. Normally, twice as much water as rice works out great, but I’ve heard that a little less than double is better, so I’ll often short the water by a quarter cup or more, depending on the amount. For most meals, I find that 2/3 of a cup of rice per person is more than enough. Put in a bit of salt and butter and set the burner to high to bring it to a boil.
When it boils, back off the heat to about medium and cover the pot. Peek back in a give a little stir every 5 minutes. Fifteen minutes after you first put the lid on, start watching it closely. When you see dark “holes” in the rice, most of the water is gone/absorbed. Take the rice off the heat completely, but leave the pot covered for 5 more minutes. The rice will absorb the rest of the water and you won’t risk burning the bottom. Then, remove the lid, fluff, and do whatever you like with it. I usually just cover it with my yummy stir fry, so that it may absorb the sauce and become even yummier.
Check every 5 minutes? Blasphemy! Seriously, that’s the easiest way I know to ruin rice.
Thing is, skeptics ruin rice. Blind theism is the way to go. You must have faith, my son.
No kidding – NEVER lift the lid. After the boil, put it on the lowest heat imaginable. I usually move the pot halfway off the burner so that only the barest flicker of a flame waves at the pot from a distance. And I have absolute faith that for 20 minutes, things will go right. Faith is the secret ingredient.
If you’d rather take a scientific approach, then consider the Heisenberg Uncertainty method – the act of observing the rice will ruin the rice.
NEVER. LIFT. THE LID.
I have heard the same thing. Never lift the lid. Not even for a second.
I agree. Don’t lift the lid.
The best way to burn rice to the bottom is to not have a good seal with the lid. If you have steam pouring out, the rice will dry, then burn. Try to make it so there’s no steam, and don’t lift the lid.
The best way to make your rice too mushy is to use too much rice for the pan. Only use like 1 cup of rice, 1.5 tops, for a normal size (4 quart?) pot.
I use Basmati rice and japanese Kokoho (sp?) rice.
For Indian dishes, I use Basmati rice and twice as much water. I boil this, stirring occcasionally, until the rice expands to fill the water, then move to low heat for 10 minutes or so.
For asian dishes, or regular dishes with fish or chicken, I usually use the Kokoho. I bring this to a boil. I stir at this point so that the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom right then. Then, it’s well-covered, low-heat for 20+.
Fluff all with fork.
I don’t use butter, salt or stock for my rice.
Different rices for different purposes.
Nothing wrong with converted rice…it’s been zapped to drive the brown-rice nutrients into the kernel, so you can feel healthy even while eating your white rice.
I keep basmati around for all Indian and other Asian (and most European) rice dishes, and converted for Cajun and Creole and Low Country dinners. It’s specified in most Southern cookbooks.
Also Arborio, sushi, brown, jasmine, etc., etc. For when those are necessary.
Basmati rice can be tricky to deal with. Here are some tips and recipies from the Food Down Under database of recipies from people around the world.
All recipies with “Basmati” as a keyword. Basmati rice is relatively tempermental and needs more preperation than many other types of rice.
A couple I’ve found interesting.
Basmati Pilaf, with cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, etc.
Basic Basmati Rice with tips on rinsing/soaking and prep work for a good batch of rice.
General tips on preparation of Basmati Rice pre-cooking. Washing, soaking, sorting out hulls and bad grains, etc. Also recommends buying “aged basmati”.
Enjoy,
Steven
I…I don’t even know what to say. To read this…coming from you of all people.
I’m so disillusioned now.
Oh, man, I’m disillusioned, too. Put it this way: Uncle Ben’s will never so much as *enter * my house, let alone be cooked in it. My poor old Nani (gramma) would be spinning in her grave.
Well. If she had one. Seeing as how she was cremated and all.
Wow, you guys sure know how to make something difficult. I’ve been making rice all my life and never went through so many steps.
Try this, (and it works with any good long grain rice, white, jasmine, basmati)
Put however much rice you want in a pot (we usually make 2-3 cups) and rinse till clear.
Add water, and it doesn’t matter how much. Add salt if you like.
Bring to a boil.
Pour out excess water (and the starch thats floating up there) until you have just brought the water to the rice level. (the water and rice are the same level in the pan)
Add a little butter if you like.
Cover with a tight lid, and put on a low burner for about 20 minutes or so.
So far, perfect every time…
I disagree completely and utterly with these statements. Basmati rice has got to be the simplest and most foolproof rice on the market. Even if overcooked, it won’t stick to the pot. I’ve been using it for years and NEVER had a problem with preparation. Ever.
Oh how I wish the parents of the vast majority of my school friends from age 4 and up had encountered this thread. The rice they made was without exception horrible, soggy and stuck together in clumps, the only place to get it how I like it is at a restaurant or at home.
Given how simple it can be to prepare rice perfectly, I honestly don’t know how so many otherwise perfectly capable cooks failed so often. The fact that it never raised any comment at the respective dinner tables leads me to the frightening conclusion that perhaps they weren’t aware that the rice was not as it should be! Silly country, this.
One trick i learned is to use a clear glass top on the rice. You can see the water bubble up through the rice. As soon as it stops, the water is gone, the rice is done perfectly.
Actually, I’ve never in my life had trouble making rice. It was always 1 part rice to 2 parts water, bring to boil, reduce to simmer, wait 15 minutes (most people are saying 20, but I always did 15 and never had a problem).
To each their own. The OP and the people who posted those messages on the preparation of Basmati rice on the FoodDownUnder site seem to think it takes more work than Uncle Ben’s.
Enjoy,
Steven
I’m sure your rice is lovely and fluffy and receives a special endowment from Rice University. Still, I’ve never had any problems with my method, so I’m keeping with it. Besides, telling me NOT to do something is the quickest way to get me to do it…
Go look at Paul Prudhomme’s cookbooks, ya meatballs. Better yet, go eat at one of his restaurants. (Are there any left?)
I went to his joint on Royal Street back around 1991, with two good friends from college (class of 1982) whom I hadn’t seen for years, and we shut our mouths after the first bite. Just ate. And silently rotated the plates after we got a third of the way through. And again a third later.
I believe the jambalaya was made with converted rice.
“Shut our mouths” = stopped talking to each other.
I was kinda wondering how you ate anymore.
And Ike, I’m sure Uncle Ben’s rice is good. it’s a matter of principle. I don’t know any Asians who would buy that stuff. True, there may be some, but they’d have to get over their parents’ horrified looks first.
Thanks, Ike. I am not ashamed! Different strokes. 
Well, first, I’d have to get over the shame of going out and buying it first.
I rarely do rice on the stovetop. Rice in the microwave, when I don’t have much time, or when I’m preparing a fancy meal, rice in the oven - 1 part rice to 2 parts water, a bit of salt, a tiny bit of butter or ghee, and some cinnamon sticks. Stick it in the oven, on a very very low heat for an hour. Amazing rice.
Again, I only ever use basmati, for basic rice dishes, or arborio if the recipe calls for it. I have sushi rice as well, but I need to plan ahead to make some really good sushi at some point.