Idiot Proof Rice

[rockyracoon]

Rice eludes me, I never get it right, it always turns out sludgy. My youngest gets excited when I cook it as she thinks it's authentic Thai Sticky Rice!

Please, please can someone give me a fool proof method to make nice fluffy rice that separates.

Many thanks for any replies.

[237SJ]

I`ve never been very good with basmati rice but an Indian lady in our canteen told me that you should wash it with at least five changes of water before you cook it.
I`ve given up though, and just buy American Long Grain which I find hard to cOck up

[ubasses]

I always buy Uncle Ben's. Boil for 10 minutes, empty into sieve, place on top of saucepan, put back on warm hob for a minute and serve.

[ummmm]

Get easy cook rice and follow the instructions. Most of them are...bring a large pan to the boil (salt) add rice, bring back to the boil, stir once. turn down to a simmer and put lid on. Simmer for approx 10 minutes.

Are you boiling it too hard?

[ladyalex]

Measure out the amount of rice you want by volume.
Put it in a pan with a tiny amount of oil (just a drop) and some salt (to taste).
Meanwhile, boil the kettle..
Warm up the rice a bit and swirl it round to get it coated with the oil.
Measure exactly double the amount of boiling water from the kettle as you measured rice and pour it into the pan. Bring the rice and water back to the boil, give it one stir round then reduce the heat , put a lid on the pan and simmer it for exactly 15 minutes.
Works for me.
Alternatively, buy a rice steamer.

[pusskin]

My rice always turned out stodgy too, untill a friend told me ---

Boil rice till softish, empty in colander in sink, tip on boiling water and drain--
perfect every time now.

[rockyracoon]

Righty-O, I've got Long Grain Easy Cook, dreading it. I would've used the microwave packets but I can't be arsed to go back out shopping. Ummmm, you'r pribably right, I may be boiling the bejaysus out of it. Thanks all for the advise, I'll let you know how it goes.

[Prudie]

I'm a dolt in the kitchen but don't have a problem with rice. Use easy cook variety and pour boiling water over it in a sieve when done.

[rockyracoon]

Oh my, the typos in that response!

[HowardKennitby]

If you buy general purpose long-grain rice then I agree about rinsing well before cooking. Also don't rely on timings, check the rice to see how near done it is.

[tiggerblue10]

I usually measure the rice, one cup to two cups of water. I always rinse the rice first.

[sophie_1003]

I use a rice cooker, bought from Iran by MrS's dad and always get delicious rice.
I rinse it before cooking; just measure out into a sieve then rinse with medium speed tap running until washing up bowl is full. Then put in rice cooker with same amount of water (e.g. 2 little cups of rice=2 cups of water) plus a bit extra so it's about an inch above the rice, tiny bit of salt then just turn rice cooker on to how dark I want the crust (using this type of rice cooker does give a sort of crust to the rice which some people might not like but it is fluffy underneath) and when it's stopped bubbling away I add a bit of butter. When it's finished you just turn it out onto a plate. It ends up looking like this- http://tinyurl.com/bsz4264

[pusskin]

Have to agree with you Prudie--works wonders x

[cupid04]

Mr.cupid and I often have a chinese take-away and find we have too much and
reheat it the following day. I've been told in the past that to eat re-heated rice
is bad for you. It's never done us any harm. Do any of you know any reason
why you shouldn't eat re-heated rice?

[seadogg]

Whole grain long rice is hard to ruin and has a nutty flavour. Rinse. before and after boiling

[rockyracoon]

Many thanks all. Cupid, there is a bacteria that can be found in rice which can be deadly to us, I was watching a program a while ago about it and it seems heating at domestic temperatures is futile so it's treated before it's packaged in a special machine which I think makes the rice safe.

[cupid04]

thankyou rockyracoon.

[rockyracoon]

Hit submit before I should have.

So reheating won't make any difference, if the bacteria is there you would have been ill from the first time you ate it, not the second. Commonsense dictates that you'd put it in a fridge blah blah if it's leftovers. I sometimes get extra rice from the take away to have for lunch the next day.

[boxtops]

Go to the supermarket and look for instant rice in pouches - Batchelors do it, also several other well known brands. Tear top off packet, place packet in microwave, fire up for 2 mins - Bingo - good rice. Saves all those pans and rinsing, and it tastes fine.

[boxtops]

^ reheated rice is only dangerous if you leave it out - I've eaten rice on day 2 or 3 many times. We often buy Asian rice dishes in a big pot from Aldi's chiller cabinet, that'll last me 4 days.