How to Cook Perfect Fluffy Rice Easily
Rice is such a staple ingredient and yet so many people are frightened of getting it wrong. Most people say they don’t know how to make it or it gets either too sticky or it gets burnt. Sound like you ? We’ve all been there. So what’s the secret to cooking the perfect rice ?
There is no secret really, but here are some really simple tips to get that perfect fluffy great consistency.
When making rice, the 2 most important things to keep in mind are timing and ratios.
If you don’t cook it for enough time it can be hard and if you cook it for too long it can just be gummy and mushy nobody wants to eat that !
With regards to ratios if you have too much water you can just have a really wet rice and if you don’t have enough you can burn your rice.
For long grain white rice you want 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water; and for short grain white rice you want 1 cup of rice to one and a quarter cups water.
For brown rice you want one cup of rice to 1 and 3/4 cups water.
But whatever type of rice you’re making you need to follow the 4 step process below :
- Before cooking it rinsing rice helps remove any extra starch if you’re short on time you can skip this step but it’s a foolproof way to help you get really fluffy beautiful rice. Some people rinse the rice until the water runs clear but a good rule of thumb to go by is just rinsing it 3 times.
- Add the rice and the water and a pinch of salt (totally optional) but it’ll give it some extra flavor and bring it to a boil over high heat.
- Once the water begins to boil, give it a quick stir put the lid on and turn the heat down to simmer which is the lowest heat there is on your cooker.
- For long grain white rice you want to cook it for 18 minutes on simmer and for short grain white rice you want to simmer it for 15 minutes. Brown rice is a bit longer you want to simmer it for 45 minutes.
One really important thing to note is to not remove the lid as you’re cooking it. You’re steaming the rice and you don’t want to let the hot air out, just let it be, trust the timing and it’ll come out perfectly.
Pro tip – once you remove the pot from the heat let it steam for an additional 5 to 10 minutes with the lid on and that’s another way to ensure you get really fluffy beautifully cooked rice. Again if you’re short on time you can skip this step but I’m trying to help you get the best fluffy rice so it’s worth the extra five to ten minutes to get really fluffy rice.
Long grain white rice is perhaps the most common rice at least in the Western world. You can use for side dishes, pilafs, salads or just on its own with a protein. Short grain white rice is typically used for sushi, puddings, paella, risotto and sticky rice.
Brown rice is considered to be a healthier option than white rice it has more fiber, iron and vitamin B. Did you know white rice is actually brown rice with the bran and germ stripped away ? So you’re losing some of those nutrients when you’re choosing white rice and while it does take longer to make it’s a bit earthier and nuttier if you do it correctly.
If you follow this cooking method carefully, you should actually get a really nice result. But now that you know how to make a really simple pot of rice I’m going to tell you how to upgrade it with a few super simple tips and tricks.
- First add olive oil over high heat in the pan.
- Next up add shallots or you can swap this out with any other Allium (you could use onions, scallions, garlic, anything that’s gonna give it a bit of flavor
- Fry the shallots for 30 seconds to a minute until it’s aromatic and golden brown then at the rice give that a stir to make sure that it’s fully coated with the shallots and the olive oil.
You only need to do this for about 30 seconds so right now you’re just toasting the rice. That’s a really easy way to add some extra nutty flavour.
- Then add a splash of white wine this is totally optional the alcohol burns off and it’s just a really nice way again to add flavor you can also swap water for stock – vegetable stock, chicken, beef or whatever you want to use and again a pinch of salt will go a long way so from here the process is the same you’ll get a really flavorful result without spending too much extra time on it.
The thing is you can mix and match with whatever you want to add to upgrade your rice it’s a really easy way to trick your friends into thinking you’re extra fancy in the kitchen – it’s true and they’re gonna love it !
Now if you’re someone who makes rice all the time it might be worth investing in a rice cooker – this amazing piece of cookware rice is super easy to use, they’re way less fussy, much easier to clean, and everything’s marked out for you in terms of proportions. In fact it’s a foolproof way of getting a consistently perfect batch of rice every time.
The first steps to becoming a better cook is to master the basics and since rice is such a staple dish, if you can make it perfectly it’ll just make you a better cook. It really doesn’t have to be scary and it doesn’t have to be boring either if you just pay attention to timing and ratios and add a few flavor boosters you can have the best rice ever.