Wash it. This is the most important step, everything else is secondary
this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2023
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Add a small handful of cumin seeds to your batch. It imparts a wonderful aroma and taste to it for such a simple addition.
Rinse rice, cook in boiling water until al dente (10ish minutes for me), drain well, return to the still hot pot to stream off for a minute, then serve.
Tldr cook it like it's pasta.
I find it's hard to avoid the rice being a bit wet with this method, and it's also very easy to overcook it. It's super easy though, so I usually do it this way anyway.
I don't find it to be too wet, personally. I think a minute or two sitting in the hot pan after draining it helps to alleviate this.
For plain white rice, I just use a rice cooker with basmati and put in my soy sauce and the like.
For fried rice, ALWAYS let it sit in the fridge over night after steaming it, and be sure to break it up as much as possible before frying it.
Instant pot. High pressure, 0 minutes. 20 minute natural release. Water and rice measured by weight, not cups. Each type needs a different ratio. Generally less water needed than other methods as the steam has nowhere to go.
I just make sure I wash the rice enough times and put the correct amount of rice and water to my rice cooker. And when it's done I let it set for like 10 minutes at least before I fluff it.
Also buy better quality of rice if I want a better end product.
But there are many ways to cook rice nicely, like persian steamed rice or at work we got some really nice rice with the oven.
Make sure to buy good rice. I decided to get the store brand rice. It's just rice, right? Wow there is a noticeable difference in taste, also I got sick of picking random black things out of it while I was washing it.
You don't need a rice cooker. Just use a regular pot. I never wash/rinse the rice unless there is significant visible trash in it. The only variable factor is the kind of rice you are cooking. Take basmati for example. That long grain white basmati is really great. Put rice in pot and cover it with one inch of water. Put lid on and put pot on heat to boil. When it boils turn heat down to low. Lift lid after about ten minutes. If grains look cooked and the pile of rice is puffed up then it is done. Serve and enjoy. If it is brown basmati use same method but put slightly more water in the pot. I never measure the water, just check to see that it looks like one inch in depth and add more or pour off extra as needed. This works just fine. Other options include adding oil and/or vinegar (like rice or suchi vinegar). I never add salt but that is also an option. Adding oil does make it more interesting as does vinegar. Long/medium/short brown rice, brown or white basmati, jasmine are all cooked the same way. The Asian brown, black, red rice would be cooked more carefully to make sure it is fully cooked and not scorched. A cast iron pot or pressure cooker can also be used, method is same as previously described and with rice to water ratio. It doesn't matter what size pot you use, always add one inch of water above the rice, a little more for brown/unpolished. It is usually better to add less water than more and use lower heat and longer cooking times. This produces a delicious just-barely-done rice, particularly good with white basmati (they are really long grained when cooked). Cooking rice is easy and can produce near perfect or perfect results with little effort.
I love sticky rice. You're supposed to steam it, but I just soak it for 40 minutes and then cook it in a rice cooker. Comes out alright.