A side of rice can change an unassuming weeknight meal into a substantial feast. Rice is easy to pick up anywhere, low-cost and the flawless base of most of the classic dishes like curries, casseroles, stir-fries and stews, to name just a few.
A rice cooker is convenient if you regularly cook rice and if you have enough space to store it, but you do not really require any special apparatus to cook spectacularly tender and fluffy white rice. Rice is so easy to cook on the stove. It is quick to make and is great for sopping up sauces, balancing out a somewhat spicy main. When everything else has failed, rice is usually what you can give to a picky eater — children love rice. Below are some tips on how to cook rice on the stove.
Rinse The Rice
Rice is an agriculture produce, which means that it likely comes straight from the field to the processor. You will want to rinse the grains as it’s possible for there to be some dirt and also starch even when it comes to you packaged. Before you do anything in relation to cooking, rinse your rice as this will be the first line of defense against any bad stuff lurking among the grains. Rinsing will also wash away any loose, dusty starch which will stick to the grains as you cook. If you do not rid your rice of starch, it will make the rice grains stick together and you may end up with a gloopy mess. At all times, use a fine strainer to rinse rice by placing it underneath cold running water, regardless of whichever cooking method you are going to use.
The Correct Ratio of Water to Rice
There is a fool-proof ratio to cook the perfect rice. The straightforward water to rice ratio will be 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. By keeping these proportions, you may then simply just double up or even triple up the quantities depending on how many people you are serving. Ensure you are using a big enough pot to hold the expanding amount of rice because rice as it cooks tends to double up in size. Some rice varieties like brown rice might be slightly different in terms of these proportions and cooking timings; however, this 2-to-1 ratio of rice to water is going to guarantee that you will get perfect white rice all the time.
Simmering Rice
As soon as you bring the pot water up to a boil, it’s at that point that you can begin to simmer the rice. Once the water has boiled, you will need to quickly reduce the heat, put a lid on the pot, and keep the rice at this level of simmer, which essentially means keeping it just below boiling point to cook it out. When you are simmering rice, the top of the water needs to be gently bubbling, but not so much that you can cause the water to bubble over.
How Long to Cook Rice?
A small cup of white rice usually takes around 20 minutes to cook, but this depends on the amount of rice that you are using to cook with, and it might take a few further minutes for bigger quantities. You can also leave the rice covered on the stove for a while after you have turned the stove off to allow the rice to continue absorbing the water and any other flavors that you may wish to add and this will also let it become nice and fluffy.
How Long You Can Keep Cooked Rice
Once you have cooked your fluffy rice, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so you might want to make extra rice in one go to serve with your meals later in the week for your convenience.
How to Cook Rice on The Stove
You may wish to use a different method for different types of rice as there is a difference between White, Brown, and Basmati Rice. For long-grain rice, it prefers to be simmered and steamed to cook it to perfection. This is where the rice simmers in water until it has been totally absorbed. Move your pot from the heat to steam it through, and with a hasty fluff with your fork your rice is complete.
Brown rice can be a little trickier to cook as it has lots of flavor and a chewy texture that needs a little extra thought. It likewise has a hard-hitting reputation, and frequently after cooking it turns out to be underdone. You need to get a big pot of water to the boil and then stir in your brown rice. Taste a grain of rice every so often and as soon as the rice is tender, drain the water, return the brown rice to the pot and then steam it.
When basmati or jasmine rice are appearing on your menu, you will need to use the pilaf technique. You need to toast the rice first in butter and then cover in boiling water. You will need to cook the rice until the water has disappeared. Next steam the rice off the heat for aromatic rice.
How to Cook Rice on the Stove — 3 Ways
Ingredients for all methods of cooking rice
- 1 cup rice
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Method 1: Simmering
Rinse your rice by putting it through a strainer and rinse underneath cold until the water begins to run clear. This will get rid of starch that leads to sticky grains.
Boil water in a pan where you have placed your white rice in a pot ready to simmer and steam.
Bring water to a boil on a high heat in a pot with a lid.
Add salt and butter and give the rice a stir.
Leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Cover the rice, reduce the heat on the stove on a low heat and cook through until all of the water has been absorbed.
After it has been cooked, rest your rice away from the heat for a few minutes and then fluff with a fork.
- Method 2: Cook like pasta.
Begin by rinsing the rice through a fine strainer and rinse under cold running water.
Boil 8 cups of water in a saucepan over high heat.
Add brown rice and cook through in an uncovered pan for 30 minutes.
Stir as you boil, uncovered, until the rice is tender but still a little chewy.
Drain off surplus water in a fine-mesh strainer.
Return the rice to the pan which you now need to cover, and steam away from the heat for a further 10 minutes.
Add salt and butter at the end to finish. Fluff the brown rice with a fork before serving.
- Method 3: Cook aromatic rice on the stove.
Rinse the rice until the cool water runs clear to remove starch.
You need to boil the water separately. Bring 4 cups to the boil in a small pot.
Use 2 cups of water to 1 cup of basmati or jasmine rice.
In a separate pan on the stove, heat up the butter over a medium heat.
Put in the rice and salt and stir until any surplus water from rinsing disappears and then coat in the butter.
Stir continuously for a few minutes until a starchy film coats the bottom of the pan on the stove and the rice begins to smell toasted.
Cautiously add the boiling water to the rice and cover. Cook for around 20 minutes or until tender.
Remove from the heat but keep the rice covered and let it steam for up to 10 minutes. Fluff and serve.
You can store rice cooked using any method. Refrigerate leftover rice in an airtight container for anything up to 3 days
How to Reheat Rice?
To reheat rice that has been cooked on the stove you can simply cook it in the microwave. Put your cooked rice into a microwave safe bowl and add a splash of water over the top. Use damp paper towel to cover the rice before heating it to ensure that it does not dry out as you warm it through. It is also possible to reheat your rice in a pot on the stove. Give your rice a liberal sprinkle of water and heat it up with a lid on over low heat for a few minutes as you constantly stir.
Learning exactly how to cook rice on the stove is a relatively straightforward process once you understand how too. The minute you see how to make rice that is effortlessly fluffy every single time, you can without difficulty repeat the procedure over and over again, leaving you wondering how your rice ever turned out any other way. Rice of any kind, white, aromatic or brown is an essential ingredient in innumerable dishes, so understanding how to make it really well yourself is a really valuable skill.
