Help! How to cook rice!

[Guest]

.

[Sherri]

Hi everyone!

I really need help with something kinda silly. One of my favourite things to eat with dinner is White Basmati rice. My mom always cooked it perfectly, but following her advice I always end up with sticky on the outside, crunchy on the inside.

-I've tried bringing it to a boil before adding the rice VS adding the rice upfront.
- I've tried simmering on low, I've tried medium heat and high heat.
- I've tried 1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cups water to 1:2, to 1 cup rice to 2 1/2 cups water.
- I've tried keeping it covered with a lid, vs no lid.

Nothing. Same result every time. How do I get the water to penetrate to the center of the rice grains? More heat at the start? More water and longer simmer? Is there some secret?

*cry* I miss eating rice and this is driving me mad! The recipes on google don't work for me either.

I have an electric stove and stainless steel pots.

Any tips for water-rice penetration?   

Thank you!!!

[Sherri]

Update: I think I'm running out of water too soon, b/c the lid is not perfectly tight, and I have to open it to stir.

I just had another failed batch. This time I rinsed out the starchy water and rice, drained, added another 3/4 cup of water and re-simmered and it turned out much better. Perhaps I should try a ratio of 1:3 next time, and try to minimize opening the lid.

This is so silly... but I really miss rice!  LOL

[smallpotatoes]

I *just* cooked another perfect batch of Jasmine Rice

The secret is getting a rice cooker  .  The plastic kind that goes in the microwave work just fine in 15 minutes.  I was told this from a Thai friend and have never cooked a bad batch of rice again 

[Henry]

now you tell me...   

try to find some himalayan red rice!  I highly reccomend it! 

[mejane]

I use the microwave and have perfect rice every time.......
I LOVE rice and I have never had success doing it on the stove.
The container I use in the microwave is ceramic and has a hole in the lid.  Believe it or not, it was a free "give-away" from something..........been so long I can't remember.  I handle the dish like it is gold as it makes PERFECT RICE EVERY time.  I hope you find a solution.
Jane

[Tomcat]

I cook rice on an electric stove in a stainless steel pot and it seems to turn out fine.

I use 1 cup rice to 2-1/4 cups water. Bring the water to a boil, then stir in the rice. Cover and simmer on very low until the water is all absorbed, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom. If you have water left over, then the rice probably isn't done. It doesn't hurt anything to taste it to see if it is still hard in the center once the water is mostly gone.

This works for me, but after reading the earlirt posts, I may just have to buy a microwave rice cooker.

[Sherri]

Hmmm.... I actually forgot about the microwave... lol

[Buchanan Family]

Not that it's useful... but I figured I'd add my own rice cooking opinion to the mix.  I usually cook either basmati or jasmine rice.  Generally slightly less than two cups of water to one cup of rice.

I put the rice in a pot with hot water from the tap (about as hot as it gets).  Then I use high heat just until the point that it boils.  At that point, I cover it and immediately turn the heat down to a low simmer.   Cook for 17-20 minutes.

I think it's important not to open the pot - the lid should be a pretty tight seal so you don't have lots of steam escaping or water dripping out and down the sides.

[cpbailey]

I cook brown rice.  I used to have rice either soupy or undercooked.  I used a rice cooker which worked great, but it got scratched up and tossed.  Then I got a nice set of pots with tight lids.  I follow the water to rice ratio on the packages.  Then I follow the recipe, setting the timer for the time it should take.  DON'T remove the lid before then.  When the timer goes off, check for excess water by stirring.  If there is excess water, return the lid and cook for 3-5 more minutes.

Colette

[fredr1c]

WARNING -- CONTAINS BRANDED CONTENT

If you're looking for a carefree way out and want a decent electric rice cooker, I can recommend any of the recent Zojirushi cookers that are made in Japan.

We have an NS-ZCC10 that we usually use twice a day -- once for great oatmeal made from steel-cut oats (aka pinhead oats, Irish oats, coarse-cut oats, Scotch oats) which I'm eating now as I write this, and again virtually every afternoon to make enough rice (usually brown rice) for my wife and myself.

The thing cooks a variety of grain dishes perfectly, and it'll hold two timer settings so I set it for one time in the morning for oatmeal ("porridge", in Zoji lingo), and a second time in the afternoon for brown rice.  The timer thing is especially nice in the morning because my oatmeal is ready when I get up. 

And cleanup, as the ancient TV ads used to say, "is a breeze!"

I also agree completely with the posts above that reference having good pots with tight lids in order to cook decent rice.