I need help
I am not good with rice. I am bad with rice. It my single greatest cooking flaw. I was helped immensely by Rachael Ray's advice to measure out the amount of liquid the recipe suggests, and then to dump a bit out of the cup. I can handle the technique of coating the grains in oil and cooking them for a moment before adding liquid, but boiling rice without doing that always gives me a gluey mess. Can someone please help me? I don't care if half of your rice routine is superstitious rituals as long as it works. I need help!
posted by saraeanderson @ 7:07 PM
6 Comments:
If I am not making pilaf where I am sauteeing the rice, I use an electric vegetable steamer / rice cooker combo made by Black and Decker and it gives amazing results. Perfect rice every time.
Concur with what kalyn said. Get a rice cooker, preferably a Zojirushi. Perfect rice of any kind at any time. To hell with cooking rice by hand - use the right tool for the job.
Yeah, what they said. One billion Asians can't be wrong (quoth Alton Brown).
That being said, I don't have one myself, and can make decent rice. I've been using medium grain, semi-sticky rice, and have used the same technique with basmati. YMMV with other varieties.
I use the rule of thumb of 2 parts water to 1 part rice, add salt and butter (for basmati). 18-24 minutes should do the trick.
It's my first comment here, so it's a good time to thank you for your blogging.
From a fellow chowhound,
VC
I should have mentioned that I have a kitchen that severely limits my appliance options with only one electrical outlet above the table. Basically, I don't plan on getting any new appliances until I get a new kitchen. (Lease runs out in May...)
I also asked around and think I learned how to get rid of the source of the problem: rinse the rice off in cold water until the water runs clear before cooking. I doubt that all the excess starch that's gluing my rice together is just seeping out from inside the rice. I think I have a lot of it floating around in my water to begin with from rice being scuffed up in transport, etc.
I'm going to try the rinsing thing tonight and see what it does for me. I'll keep you guys posted, and thanks for commenting!
Please let me know. I've tried the rice-washing before (during a rather unsuccessful attempt at rolling sushi), but I was there rinsing for a looong time and the water was still cloudy. How long have they said to rinse?
The "secret" that my Vietnamese stepmother-in-law taught me was to bring the liquid to a roiling (sp?) boil BEFORE adding dry rice... Stir well, plop the lid on the pan, & LEAVE IT ALONE. Foolproof! (at least for this fool)
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