Food and Cooking

My method is similar to a few other people in this thread, but thought I’d write a really verbose essay about it all. I love rice, man.

My parents are from Hong Kong. For me, rice is simple — cooked with just water. No salt, no stock, no veggies. There is a time and place for that, but I’ll go to Texas for good mexican rice.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, a rice cooker is the easiest way to get perfect rice. Still, just like knowing how to do dishes by hand or how to mince garlic with a knife not a press, making rice in a pot is something I take a silly amount of pride in. (And I find it marginally faster — 20 min vs 30-40min)

Add rice and water to a non-stick pot. I have made rice in a stainless steel pot, but would not recommend it. If you cook your rice perfectly, cleanup is mildly annoying. A minute over, and it’s a bitch. If you burn the rice? God help you. (My tip? A one hour soak to loosen things up.) Non-stick is way more forgiving.

The proportion of rice to water here is KEY. If I were less lazy, I would measure out how much I use. But frankly, I never touch my measuring cups in the kitchen anyway, unless I’m baking. The best tip I can give you is something my mom taught me. Stick your index finger so it’s hovering right above the rice, then fill the pot with water up to your first knuckle-joint. I wish I had more precise numbers to give you, but I think they’d be useless rather than instructive. The amount of water you add varies depending on the type of rice, the diameter of your pot, and the amount of rice you put in. I promise you though, as you keep making rice, you’ll nail down the ratio.

Too much water and the rice will be gummy. It will have the consistency of a soft cheese. This is pretty much one of the worst sins you can commit in the kitchen. At this point, salvage the batch by making congee with it.

Too little water and the resulting rice will be puck-like in the pot. The grains will stick to itself and generally feel tacky in the mouth. This is hard to do as long as you add water above the level of rice. As a general rule: err on the side of less water rather than more.

Turn on the stove. The goal here is just to get the water boiling. If you’re impatient and hungry like I am, and the rice is the last thing standing between you and digging into a delicious curry/stir-fry/chicken and broccoli leftovers, then blast that shit with as much heat as you can, and put the lid on your pot. Don’t worry about anything burning. The water should insulate the temperature of everything in the pot until it starts to boil. Do not, under any circumstances, leave the pot unattended at this step if you are an impatient pot blaster. You will ruin your rice.

Immediately, once the water boils, turn the stove to the lowest setting possible. In the previous step, we put a lid on the pot to help the water boil faster, but in this step, it keeps the pot insulated and the water boiling. The water will continue to simmer and cook the rice. You let this sit until…

You don’t see water in the pot. When you look at the rice it should look slightly moist, not wet or soggy. When this happens, kill the stove. Next, just let it sit for 10 minutes. LEAVE THE LID ON. Under the lid, something magical is happening. The moisture from the rice is evaporating into steam, cooking the rice even further. Excess moisture is condensing on top, dripping back down, and then evaporating again. This step will ensure that the any extra moisture disappears, leaving the rice clump-free. Remember: just like a good steak, a perfect pot of rice requires a little rest.

This entire process should take around 20 minutes. Take off the lid and stir the rice with a fork. Ideally, nothing sticks to the bottom, and the rice is beautiful and fluffy and separates grain by grain. (This is made easier if you wash the rice beforehand, which lowers starch content overall, but who has the time?!)

Clean the pot immediately to minimize starchy stickiness. Enjoy your rice. Leftovers can go in the fridge and make great fried rice after a day. Alternatively, the microwave is a perfect method for reheating old rice, as it resteams the rice from the inside out

Rice cooker. Seriously, even the shittiest $20 rice cooker is heaps more convenient than manually boiling rice.

3-5-2-2 Brown Rice - Cooked in the oven

This works great to make a batch of rice on the weekend to have plenty to use as a base for various meals throughout the week.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Get a large casserole dish.
3. Rinse 3 cups of brown rice and add to dish.
4. Add 5 cups of hot or at least warm water to dish (I just microwave it in a pyrex measuring cup before pouring in.)
5. Add 2 Tablespoons of butter
6. Add 2 teaspoons of salt
7. Cover dish with aluminum foil and put it in the oven for an hour.

Congratulations you now have a giant dish of tasty brown rice, you absolute rockstar.

I've been cooking and eating rice for 35 years.
Buy a Japanese rice cooker.
Read their included english manual.
Don't skip the instructions on washing the rice, wash the rice properly and follow the water line.
Perfect rice

Hongkonger here. We usually bought Thailand jasmine rice, and cook it with rice cooker.

I’ve tried both cheaper and expensive rice brands and the difference in both taste and smell is really significant, even though they are both jasmine rice.

As for cooking it, you really can’t go wrong with a rice cooker

1/2 to 3/4 cup of rice per person. Rinse the rice with cold water 1-3 times. Both the bowl and the cup have those scales on it, so that gets the water-rice ratio covered (E.g. fill the water up to the “—— 2” if you put 2 cups of rice). That line gives you the standard fluffiness, so adjust slightly to your preference. Plug in the cord, flip the switch, let the rice cooker do its job and work on other stuff.

When the switch pops, the rice is cooked. Pull the cord, open the lid and gently mix/stir the rice a little bit with the spoon that came along the cooker. Doing so prevents the rice from sticking to the bowl (that’s what I’ve been told and it seems to works), and to “add some air in between the rice” as it taste better this way. Where I’m from, people usually prefers the feel of discrete/individual grains of rice, instead of a “blob”/”goop” of rice.

I have a wheat allergy so I eat a lot of rice. I wanted the best rice cooker and got one from Zojirushi that uses a microcontroller with fuzzy logic to sense and compensate for if there is slightly too much or too little water. It does take noticeably longer for it to cook the rice, but it comes out perfect every time. It also has different modes for white rice, brown rice, semibrown rice, and rice porridge. The white rice setting is also perfect for quinoa, although for quinoa the water ratio is 1:2 instead of following the marked lines on the pot.

For rice porridge: I'll season with garlic salt and ginger, and cook it with onion and black mushroom. Serve with lime and jalopeno.

For quinoa: I like to substitute 25% of the quinoa with millet, and cook it with Consommé, golden flax seed, and lemon.

For brown rice: diced or shredded carrot works really well since the brown rice cooks for longer. I'll usually season with garlic salt, ginger, cumin, and curry powder.

For white rice: it normally has to be plain to add to something else like curry or a stir-fry, but my favorite white rice dish is cooking it with lots of bok choi, season with salt, fresh ginger, white pepper, sesame oil.

Oh hell yeah my time to shine,

I make a large quntity of fried rice once every 3 or 4 days, then portion it out for multiple meals.

Fried rice needs to be day old rice+.

So first off, I use a rice cooker. It was $5 at a thrift store, and I have 3 different types all the same price. they all do the same quality. I take 3 cups of raw rice, rinse it off, and fill the water up a half inch over the rice level. I add beef bouillon, a healthy amount of garlic powder, onion powder, msg, and pepper. Mix into the water as well as you can.

Let the rice cook, don't take the lid off once it starts. then let it sit in the fridge at least over night.

Then the next day, I cut up bacon into small bits, and cook it in my wok. Depending on how healthy I'm feeling, I either cook it until the fat is gone then drain the fat, or cook it until it's still soft but cooked thoroughly. Put the bacon on a paper plate with a paper towel on it to soak up extra fat, then in the wok (if you drained the fat put in oil) scramble some eggs in the bacon fat. Once it's scrambled, put in the rice and the bacon, cook it until it starts to seem 70% cooked. If it starts to stick put in cooking oil or butter depending on preference. Then I mix in two bags of 12oz mixed frozen vegetables. When those are thawed but not cooked, generously pour in soy sauce, more garlic powder, onion powder, and msg. Done!serve in a bowl and around here they sell bottles labeled 'yumyum sauce,' top with that and mix in. Otherwise mix up some spicy mayo with teriyaki sauce and use that

I just use a rice cooker.

I tend to buy jasmine rice and I use a 1:1 rice to water ratio.

Calrose rice, sometimes add 1/2 cup of brown rice for a total of 3 cups. Wash until water is clear. Put in rice cooker and press cook button :)

If I want it to smell really nice I put in either a bay leaf or star anise.

I skipped the pain and just bought a rice cooker. It’s easily my most used kitchen gadget.

Filipino here. Rice is a staple of our diet, and traditionally we've mostly eaten Dinorado or Sinandomeng rice. I'd say in the past 20-30 years though Jasmine and Basmati rice have also gained popularity in our dishes. I've always been taught this method:

1. In a pot, rinse the rice 2-3 times, draining the water each time. Rinse just enough that most of the cloudiness of the water is gone, but some still remains. You'll want that starch.
2. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the rice. Use enough so that if you dip your middle finger to touch the rice underneath, the water line hits the second joint on your finger (I believe the anatomical term is proximal interphalangeal joint lol). It'll be enough water for whatever amount of rice you have - everytime.
3. Cover the pot, put it on the flame, let it boil. Once it's boiling, turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the water evaporates.
4. ???
5. Profit.

South Louisiana and we grow (and eat) a lot of rice out this way; my primary rice is locally grown (usually Cajun Country) long grain rice. If there's a need, I'll do basamati, jasmine, sushi, etc. but I don't always have those in stock in my pantry. I would get value from the $$ and space used by a rice cooker, but I just cook it in a pot on the stove. Always salt in the rice, sometimes I'll swap water for stock, but typically not.

I'm usually pretty "lazy" about my rice cooking. Most of the time I'll go just shy of 2:1 water-rice ratio. Boil water, throw in rice, cook ~20min. I usually forget to set a timer so I just keep an eye on it as I'm typically cooking other stuff at the same time. When done, stir up with a fork and cover until I'm ready to eat. Usually that ends me up with rice good for gumbo, gravies, or any other "sauce on top of rice" dishes (etouffee, curry, courtboullion, etc.). Making other dishes where you don't necessarily want the rice to stick together, different types of rice or have different consistency I may have to use a different method.

If making a pilaf or something equivalent (Mexican rice, etc.) I'll throw some oil, fry the dry/uncooked rice, add a bit of garlic, then definitely stock instead of water. Extra seasonings depending on what I'm cooking.

I started getting big ol bags of rice, but those are harder to deal with on a day-to-day basis, so I have one of those OXO pop top containers I'll fill with rice and then I can pretty easily pour that into a measuring cup.

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 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.

my perfect rice is rick martinez's arroz verde (green rice)

in a blender/food processor: 1 large scallion, 1 peeled garlic clove, 1 green capsicum (recipe calls for poblano but I cant get them in my country) and 1/4 cup packed coriander leaves and soft stems. Blend until liquified with 2.5 cups of water and salt to taste.

in large pot: heat 1 tbsp nuetral oil over med heat, and add 2 cups of rice (I don't both to wash, a think the little bit of starch helps). Toast the rice until translucent but not brown at all.

add the contents of the blender to the pot, bring to a boil and then reduce to low and simmer with a lid for 25 minutes. Let sit for a further 10 minutes to steam and then fluff the rice.

I make it once a week, truly gamechanging.

For me as Indonesian, it's Nasi Uduk (Flagrant Rice). This one is smell so nice and perfect with spicy food. It's fairly easy, so you cook the rice with simple rice cooker with that middle finger trick. Then you put: coconut milk, salt, lemongrass, and Salam leaf (idk what it called in english), which already been boiled. And then, cook the rice with those ingredients.

The rice that I probably recommend is Basmati rice, because it doesn't stick like Jasmine rice.

Any other Indonesian can correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not a cook.

@TheOtherJake after years of cooking rice on the stove and in the rice cooker, I tried it in the Instant Pot and wow, what a game changer. I'll never go back to the other methods

I mostly cook basmati or Thai jasmine rice. I don't have a rice cooker, or space for one in my kitchen, so I use a regular pot with a lid.

1. Wash the rice in the pot by running it under the tap and mixing it until the bowl fills up. Discard the water and repeat 3-4 times, or until the water becomes clear.
2. Drain the pot completely after washing the rice, then add water about 1:1 by volume with rice, or slightly less for basmati.
3. Cover with lid and put on high heat until it begins vigorously boiling (keep an eye on it).
4. Reduce the heat to low and leave for 5-6 minutes.
5. Turn the heat completely off and leave covered another 5-7 minutes.

Different kinds of rice might require adjustments to the time, but the overall procedure stays the same.

My day to day rice is pretty simple. Half a cup of organic which jasmine rice, 1.5 cups of water, a heavy drizzle (a tablespoon?) of olive oil and some salt (a teaspoon?). Bring to a boil, cover, cook for 15 minutes, leave it aside covered for 10 minutes, fluff with a fork.

When I'm feeling fancy I do a different version. I dice half an onion, fry it, add 3-4 cloves of chopped garlic, fry it, add the rice and salt, fry it for a minute, then add the water already boiling. Cook for 15 minutes as well, wait 10, fluff.

Every time I move to a new house I need to adjust the water to rice ratio to keep the cooking at 15 minutes. I'd rather add less water than cook for longer.

I use rice cooker. I don't think I can cook decent rice on a stovetop, I just don't have the skills.

My go-to rice is Thai Jasmine rice, white or brown or a mix of both. Wash the rice at least twice, add water according to the type and amount of rice, let it soak for half an hour or if in a rush, skip. Select the appropriate cook option for the rice, wait, and enjoy.

I find it best to cook the rice plain. Good Thai Jasmine rice has a very subtle sweet flavour when eaten on its own.

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.

2 cups of whatever rice is in the cupboard

4 cups of water

Boil for 5 minutes. Put a lid on the pan. Turn off the heat, but leave the pan sitting on the burner for 45 minutes or more.

First rinse the rice, then put 1:2 rice to water plus a little extra water to account for steam in a pot. After you figure out how much the water comes up it's easy to do the knuckle thing. Wait till it comes to a boil then cover and cook for 20 mins. Proceed to fluff with a fork, spoon, or other object.

I often use a pressure cooker to cook rice faster. Especially cause I know the rice-water proportions (1:1.5) that would always give me a good result in ~5 mins.

I use basmati rice and I follow the recommendations in this scientific journal article

Improved rice cooking approach to maximise arsenic removal while preserving nutrients. Menon et al., 2021.

It makes perfect rice that's also better for you.

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.