Hooorah! I have discovered the secret to cooking rice!

[tarannau]

That stuff's shit and ridiculously overpriced. My mum has to leave Uncle Ben's bags for my poor incompetent dad when she's away. It's not even very good.

And what sort of cunt buys ready to microwave rice. Laziest invention ever.

 

[zenie]

That stuff's shit and ridiculously overpriced. My mum has to leave Uncle Ben's bags for my poor incompetent dad when she's away. It's not even very good.

And what sort of cunt buys ready to microwave rice. Laziest invention ever.

urgh not uncle bens anything, thankyou

Now now, no need to be nasty, some people can't be fucked or don't enjoy cooking innit

 

[Sweaty Betty]

the steamer is your friend

 

[gentlegreen]

This thread has reminded me I have a couple of packets of that - guess what's for tea ?

Uncle Ben's wholegrain, can of beans.

 

[tarannau]

I'm not claiming to enjoy cooking rice, but I certainly wouldn't gain more pleasure by paying 5x more for it in a bag and then having to bung it in the pan and then drain it anyway. Bizarre.

Point stands about microwave rice. Worst example of a 'value added' product for absolute nobbers that I've seen for a little while, perhaps only surpassed by 'ready to wok' noodles - shite egg noodles covered in dodgy grease for incompetents who can't manage to boil noodles for 5 mins. Who buys this stuff

 

[pinkmonkey]

Bollocks -what a faff. Besides the rice 'crust' at the bottom of the pan is highly prized in some cultures. It should never be sticky either - you're using too much water.

The absorption technique is the only way to cook perfectly fluffy, as opposed to drowned, rice. Fabriclive's along the right lines - roughly 2 to 1 water to rice ration (basmati I'm talking here), up to boil quickly, then the gentlest bubble your hob can manage for 10-15 mins. And I'd suggest leaving the lid on the pan (no peeking!) for a further 10 mins for added fluffliness.

I was always quite proud of my rice, but I must admit that I've barely touched a ricepan in anger since I got given a rice cooker. Marvellous bloody things - now I know why so many oriental students had them at uni. If you eat a lot of rice I'd strongly recommend.

If cook it for 10 mins I end up with an overcooked gooey mess - I stick to the 5 mins then 10 mins to rest off the hob. I had to learn how to cook rice in desperation, when we had no mains electricity last year thus rendering the rice cooker useless. Anyway, whatever works for you innit?

 

[tarannau]

Definitely. And once you find brand(s) of rice that you like, stick with them.

Some rice is just gooey shit ime

 

[Structaural]

so many ways... mine which has worked perfectly for 20 years is:
Rinse rice in sieve under cold water for about 1 min
Put in far too much boiling water (big pan), bring back to boil and stir once
Cook 11 mins. Drain, serve.

 

[Herbsman.]

The OP is a trick question; there is no secret to cooking rice

 

[Detroit City]

all you need is a microwave and a covered casserole that will let steam out. put in 2 cups water and 1 cup rice, some salt and butter and micro it on high for around 14 to 16 minutes. comes out perfect each time

 

[e∞a]

3) Put some salt in

so wrong...

 

[Herbsman.]

so wrong...

Why?

 

[e∞a]

Why?

cos there's no need to season rice - period!
salt in rice is just plain wrong

 

[Sweet FA]

The absorption technique is the only way to cook perfectly fluffy, as opposed to drowned, rice. Fabriclive's along the right lines - roughly 2 to 1 water to rice ration (basmati I'm talking here), up to boil quickly, then the gentlest bubble your hob can manage for 10-15 mins. And I'd suggest leaving the lid on the pan (no peeking!) for a further 10 mins for added fluffliness.

/\ this is definitely the way.

 

[purves grundy]

The secret to cooking fluffy rice that doesn't leave a sticky residue on the bottom of the saucepan is to boil it in loads of water then rinse it after draining with a couple of kettles of boiling water.

absolutely! I never bother with oooh how much water per cup, measuring this or that or whatever. The kettle method works perfectly.

 

[lighterthief]

1) bring 1.5 mugs slightly salted water to boiling point (cardamom pods are a nice touch here)

2) add 1 mug rice (no need to wash)

3) bring back up to boiling point

4) turn heat down to lowest point, stick a lid on and cook for 15 minutes.


You're done, or rather the rice is

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Two words:

rice cooker

 

[cesare]

absolutely! I never bother with oooh how much water per cup, measuring this or that or whatever. The kettle method works perfectly.

Glad to see that not everyone's a wrong un on this thread purves

 

[Orang Utan]

I really don't understand this issue with rice, i've cooked it thousands of times using various methods (including the drunk leave it on for a bit and see method) and it's never gone wrong!

Me too - it's the easiest thing in the world to cook

 

[CharlieAddict]

been cooking rice all me life.

best ones are 3:1 water to rice ratio.

always wash rice until the water is clear.
blast the pot on full heat.
leave it boiling until you see no more water.
then cover with lid.
and set on a very low heat for 15 minutes.

that's how you make perfect, non-sticky rice.

 

[Orang Utan]

I find it doesn't really matter how much water you use - I've never been precise, just as long as it doesn't boil dry and stick to the bottom

 

[tarannau]

Doesn't need to be exact, particularly when the strength of your hob varies.

Rice that's been drained just isn't as nice mind - without that absorption stage it's just soggier and not as fluffy.

 

[cesare]

Rice that's been drained just isn't as nice mind - without that absorption stage it's just soggier and not as fluffy.

Tisn't

It's all about teh skillz

 

[tarannau]

Yep, because the way you make rice taste dry and fluffy is to rince it in more boiling water at the end isn't it?

Next week Cesare tells us how to dry hair using a super soaker...

 

[citygirl]

the steamer is your friend

i have an electric one with a "rice compartment" but lost the instructions. how do you do it that way? or i have a smaller traditional stove top one with holes, that the rice would fall through...it's a minefield out there

i just throw it all in a big jug and microwave it to within an inch of it's life. but i usually use brown basmati. which is tougher to cook than white.

and i think a twist of seasalt and pepper when cooked is more favourable than loads of salt in to cook with.

 

[cesare]

Yep, because the way you make rice taste dry and fluffy is to rince it in more boiling water at the end isn't it?

Next week Cesare tells us how to dry hair using a super soaker...

Fluffiest rice in the world

<shakes head sadly>

You're missing out tarannau

 

[tarannau]

(((((Cesare's rice))))))))

So soggy, so young.

 

[cesare]

We need a rice contest via pics

 

[Orang Utan]

The rinsing gets rid of the starch ie the stickiness

 

[tarannau]

But introduces moisture and clagginess. Rice needs a little starch, but a quick rinse before cooking should be sufficient - outside of cheap short grain I've never had a problem with sticky rice. In fact I've always wanted to make Jasmine rice, for example, a little 'stickier' - I suspect I'll never match the sticky rice in Thailand simply because we get rice stocks of an older vintage.