Is there a trick to cooking rice?

[Anonymous]

I use a rice cooker -- like, a cheap one that I bought at Wal-Mart and it has been ten years and is still going strong. Yes, I rinse both brown and white rice before putting in the cooker.

[Anonymous]

I use a thermal cooking pot. Comes out perfect every time.

[Anonymous]

What's the easiest way to rinse?

[Anonymous]

I rinse in a fine mesh sieve.

[Anonymous]

Or take it in a bowl, pour some water, swirl the rice grains with your hand and tip off the excess water. Repeat 3 to 4 times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get a decent rice cooker and hit the "cook" button. You do have to rinse the rice a few times.

this is the secret.

[Anonymous]

If you ever saw what people do on the banks of rice paddies, you'd rinse your rice. It's not pretty.

[Anonymous]

You don't need to rinse. the secret to doing it in the pot is to let it sit for 10 minutes after it is done to absorb every last bit of moisture. And use chicken/vegetable stock.

[Anonymous]

Rinsing to help take care of the arsenic. Or, whatever, enjoy your arsenic.

[Anonymous]

There's not enough arsenic to cause a problem. Rinse, don't rinse, up to you. But do use chick or veg stock instead of water if it is to be eaten plain or mostly plain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Directions on the bag usually say to put the rice in at first, when the water's cold. But in my experience, it works better if you wait until the water is boiling, then add the (unrinsed) rice, wait for it to come to a boil again*, and then turn it down to low and cover.

Be warned, brown rice takes FOREVER to cook. (White rice is something like 20 minutes after you lower the heat, while brown rice is more like 45 minutes after you lower the heat.)

*A friend of mine's mom called this the "fish eye" stage, because the bubbles coming up through the rice look like fish eyes -- she grew up in Thailand, and I don't know if that wording was a her thing or a Thai thing, but I think it describes what you're looking for perfectly.

I learned to cook rice from a Vietnamese friend, who could cook rice by the smell. I, on the other hand, learned the above white rice method from Yan Can Cook, back in the day, although I don't boil the water first.

I cook my brown rice in the oven or microwave. The package usually has directions.

[Anonymous]

Place a paper towel under the lid of the pot while it cooks. This soaks up moisture!

[Anonymous]

I think Iranians cook some of the absolute best rice.

I have asked a couple of Iranians as to how to do it and they have told me the precise approach but I am not able to get the same result.

[Anonymous]

May I tag on to this thread to ask how you get "Indian" style rice, by which I mean rice that isn't at all sticky, like I get at Indian restaurants? My rice always turns out at least a little bit sticky (even when I rinse well), much like the rice I get in Chinese restaurants. What's the secret to the Indian style? The type of rice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:May I tag on to this thread to ask how you get "Indian" style rice, by which I mean rice that isn't at all sticky, like I get at Indian restaurants? My rice always turns out at least a little bit sticky (even when I rinse well), much like the rice I get in Chinese restaurants. What's the secret to the Indian style? The type of rice?

The secret is rinsing the rice several times until the water runs clear, and then soaking. If its pilaf rice, adding a bit of oil/ghee also helps.