joe_melling wrote:

tips on making 'fluffy' rice please?
made some last night and apparently, it was too sticky :(

iuval wrote:

Don't cook it for too long.. as soon as any hint of crunchiness is gone, take it off the heat and rinse it a couple of times to get rid of the excess starch. If you are using thin-grained varieties (basmati...) then the cooking time is pretty short and it's easy to leave it too long and end up with mush.

joe_melling wrote:

simple as that eh? fair enough, better luck next time.

Anita_Schmetterling wrote:

Next time in FFFF, we teach Joe how to boil an egg!

joe_melling wrote:

hey - its a lesson i never learned.

md wrote:

Getting rice right can be quite difficult. I know people that can't do it at all!

What type of rice are you cooking with Joe? I've pretty much perfected my technique for white basmati recently:

Measure out as much rice as you need. Then wash it several times in cold water. Just put it in the pot, fill with water, swish it around, then pour off the water, refill and do it again, about 5 times. Rice is often coated with stuff to prevent it sticking in the packet (tapioca flour is sometimes used) so depending on how you cook it, it's important to wash it as this coating can increase the stickiness.


Then drain the washed rice well, shaking out as much water as possible.

Return the rice to the pan and then measure approx. 1.75 times cold water to rice. i.e. if you use 1 cup of rice, use 1.75 cups water.

Add some salt and bring the water to the boil. Give it one quick stir to separate the grains, then put a lid on it as it starts to boil and reduce the heat to the lowest setting.

Let it cook for 10 minutes, pretty much exactly. Then switch off the heat and leave it with the lid on for another 5 minutes. Get a fork and carefully dig the rice up to separate it.



Using 1.75 times water to rice rather than the usually recommended 2 times, plus the washing, gets nicely cooked and un-mushy results.

If you like to fry your rice for egg fried rice or whatever, doing it this way works really well too, but it works best after the rice has cooled or even been refridgerated for a day. That's why I usually cook up more than I need.

md wrote:

I also keep US made Japanese-style rice, but that's a slightly different cooking method. Do the same but use 1.3 times water to rice, cook for 15 minutes with the same technique, then let stand for 15 mins. I always let Japanese rice cool before eating it.


Brown rice can be done the same way as white basmati but it needs about 30 mins.

Sub.Frequency wrote:

The only rice I've had to wash before cooking was bulk organic, because it had some natural coating that standard packaged rice gets removed.

When I cook basmati I don't wash it, and I only use 1.5 times the amount of water per rice, and it turns out perfect.

Here's a tip: when you're cooking a pilaf, after you sautee your vegetables in the butter (or oil) add your rice and sautee for a few minutes before adding the water or stock. Thoroughly coating the rice in butter or oil prevents the grains from sticking together.

DJFrodo wrote:

I suck at making rice, my last batch came out too buttery. I can cook soooo many things.....yet this simple item still eludes me.

White rice is only good fresh & warm. My mom makes some good rice. Think she puts a bit of bullion and gives it a yellow tint.