# Undercooked rice… **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 22, 2026, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305 "2026-05-22T07:32:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/81 "2026-06-02T03:48:01Z")
That’s easy to believe. I like cauliflower, but i don’t want it mushed up into rice shapes, that’s just gross. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/82 "2026-06-02T11:44:20Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’m told that regular basmati rice has a lower glycemic index than other rice, though. Depending on how much the stuff messes up your blood sugar, that’s also something maybe worth trying. Seconding this notion. Anyone who likes rice but has glycemic problems would do well to try basmati, and brown basmati in particular, before paying high prices for special weird “diabetic-friendly” food. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/83 "2026-06-02T12:00:00Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I like cauliflower, but i don’t want it mushed up into rice shapes, that’s just gross. Strong disagree here. Of course, vegetables in their natural state are generally preferred for a variety of reasons, operations that simply cut up the flesh are the most benign form of “processing” and often enable opportunities to broaden the use of plant-based foods in our diets. Using riced cauliflower as a substitute for rice is hardly its strongest application. When I started making noodles out of butternut squash I made a huge shift away from wheat in my diet. Sounds silly, but just cutting things differently makes a huge difference. Like grinding wheat or corn into meal, the applications multiply. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/84 "2026-06-02T19:14:13Z")
I’m not **puzzlegal** but by my experience it isn’t just the processing, but it’s the contrast between expectations and taste. When I was low-carbing, I tried many options for substitute rice, and while several met appearance test, it made the dissonance _worse_ when tasted. So by making a faux version, it may end up being _more_ disappointing as a substitute because of that mental disconnect. So, assuming you like/tolerate the less carby base option, I think you’re normally better off going with something that doesn’t trigger the dissonance. I didn’t have that happen nearly as much with the spirallized veggies though - I expect the vibrant colors compared to traditional wheat/rice noodles kept that from being an issue for me. And homemade, or carefully sourced purchased options are fine… but it’s worthwhile to be extra careful when throwing things in the cart, because some of the mushed up options have a lot of other … stuff… in there. Obviously from your post though you’re the careful sort, and most of the stabilizers, preservatives, thickeners and such are likely safe, but … it’s something to be mindful of. Spaghetti squash, and ribboned (if you don’t have a spiralizer) veggie noodles are just less worrisome and still darn easy to make. But (and more back to the OP) - trying to cook with konjac “rice” was a disaster. Rinsing it carefully (and a LOT) and using it as a serving base, or adding it to a wet curry for example was… okay, but actually cooking it (especially anything in a skillet or wok) was a major mistake. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/85 "2026-06-02T19:24:36Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Spaghetti squash, and ribboned (if you don’t have a spiralizer) veggie noodles are just less worrisome and still darn easy to make. Indeed. I went through four or five different spiralizers in search of a consumer grade one that could handle butternut squash, my fave. Never found one, now I use a ribbon cutter and pray that I don’t slip. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/86 "2026-06-02T19:28:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If I still had it, it’d be coming up on 40 years old and as good as the day it was born. I’m here to say that those simple rice cookers can fail. Ours is now consistently turning off (to the warm setting, actually) about 5 minutes too soon. I suspect the little temperature sensor in the base has gone haywire. > [@DPRK](#): > > Anybody want to share their tips on making the perfect rice ball It depends on what you consider perfect, but if you’re talking about _onigiri_, those balls shaped like a Wankel rotor, it just takes a lot of practice. I was a sushi chef for several years and could do the _nigiri_ kind of balls in my sleep, but forming _onigiri_ like my mom and grandmother did was elusive. It wasn’t until I decided to practice and pay attention to what I was doing that I got better at it. Eventually you can do it without looking it at, because you learn how it feels as you’re forming it, and you know just by feel when you’re done. You have to cup your hands just so, toss the ball a bit, cup and press a little more, toss to rotate, cup and press, and eventually you have a finished _onigiri_. Or alternately you have a mess. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/87 "2026-06-02T19:33:15Z")
Cut resistant gloves became my new best friend _very_ quickly. My prayers were not effective! And yeah, even the good spiralizer was… finicky, more difficult to clean than ideal, and was too much a unitasker to justify. A quality couple of ribbon cutters are useful all the time and easy to clean. Just use the cut resistant gloves! > [@ricepad](#): > > It wasn’t until I decided to practice and pay attention to what I was doing that I got better at it. Eventually you can do it without looking it at, because you learn how it feels as you’re forming it, and you know just by feel when you’re done. I never made it anywhere close to enough to develop that sort of muscle memory, say once every other _month_ or so. Thus me cheating with the mold. I know for a fact that it’s not as good, and that’s leaving out the operator error (mine) in generally overstuffing my “filled” variants, but hearing your comments makes this extreme amateur feel slightly better about my many semi-success and failure moments with homemade onigiri. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/88 "2026-06-02T21:47:21Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > … because some of the mushed up options have a lot of other … stuff… in there. Eschew weird science! ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/89 "2026-06-04T01:15:14Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’m told that regular basmati rice has a lower glycemic index than other rice, though. Depending on how much the stuff messes up your blood sugar, that’s also something maybe worth trying. I’ve seen a couple-few studies showing that cooking rice, then freezing, then re-heating it makes a substantial difference in the glycemic index. [Or to be exact, it increased the resistant starch content.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26693746/) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/90 "2026-06-04T01:34:17Z")
It does change the texture, so that’s very plausible. It looks like that study was done at 4°C, so in the fridge, not the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/91 "2026-06-04T02:39:11Z")
Either I am completely inept or my new little rice cooker is faulty. It only came out pretty good once. I tried water ratios from 1.25:1 to 2:1 and every time it was crisp on the bottom after being in warm mode for a few minutes or longer. The switch flips to warm mode but it seems like it stays hot. I called customer support and the person was very good. They told me that this is not a typical failure mode but it does sound faulty. I returned it and it’s on back order and I won’t get a new one for like a month. I had such high hopes for the little guy. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/92 "2026-06-04T02:58:15Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > I’m here to say that those simple rice cookers can fail. Did anyone claim they can never ever fail? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/93 "2026-06-04T06:17:42Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I tried water ratios from 1.25:1 to 2:1 and every time it was crisp on the bottom after being in warm mode for a few minutes or longer. That’s a feature, not a bug. 🙂 No, really. A lot of Japanese love [_okoge_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_rice#Japan). ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2026, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305/94 "2026-06-04T06:23:55Z")
No. Have some more coffee. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/undercooked-rice/1030305.md?page=4)