White, Brown, Spanish, Jasmine, even Basmati: How to Cook Rice
Unless you know how to cook rice, you’ve probably had few opportunities to savor the many delicious and popular varieties. There’s a rice for every taste and every dish, and each one possesses its own unique flavors and characteristics. Basmati, for example, is said to resemble popcorn in both flavor and aroma. The sooner you learn how to cook rice, the sooner you can begin experimenting with this wonderful ingredient. Here’s some more rice information on how to prepare it:
Rice Cooker
These days, most people use a rice cooker, a small appliance specially designed to cook any variety rice to perfection. Typically, you add measured amounts of water and rice to a dish inside of the cooker and set it for a certain amount of time. The documentation that comes with the rice cooker should give instructions for preparing different amounts and types of rice.
This method of preparation is often more preferable than stove-top cooking because the rice won’t stick or burn. Using a rice cooker is also a great way to save time. The fact that the cooker uses a convenient timer means that it requires no supervision. You can let it cook while you’re busy in another room. Rice from a cooker always comes out fluffy, tender and moist.
Stove-top
If you don’t have a rice cooker or don’t want to buy one, then your next best option is cooking your rice on the stove. While it’s not as easy as using a cooker, with some patience and a little practice, you can make perfect rice every time. As a general rule, the measurements are one cup of rice to two cups of water in a medium saucepan.
Some types of rice have different requirements. Brown will require another quarter cup of water due to its fiber content. Sticky rice uses a ratio of a cup of rice to one and three quarters cups of water. It must also be soaked for at least 30 minutes.
Some people advocate adding a tiny bit of cooking oil to your rice just before it starts boiling. This will keep the individual grains from forming globs and will also reduce their ability to stick to the pot.
Slow Cooker
Not many people realize that they can cook rice in a slow cooker. These kitchen appliances are designed to cook things for a long time on low temperatures, making them perfect for preparing fluffy and scrumptious rice. They’re especially convenient for making rice porridge as a nourishing and satisfying hot cereal.
Simply add 2 cups of water for each cup of rice to prepare normal rice. Add another cup of water for porridge. Cooking rice in a slow cooker is an excellent way to save time on food preparation. Turn it on before you go to bed and wake up to a tasty breakfast. Add more rice and turn it on before work for a fast and healthy dinner ingredient!
There are many ways to cook rice, but these are some of the best and most reliable methods. Now that you know how to cook rice, it’s recommended that you research more rice information to find out about the qualities of each variety.
This post was written by R. Wilcox
The stove top always gives me problems. I always over cook and sometimes burn the bottom. I never thought of adding cooking oil to prevent it sticking together. I really should invest in a rice cooker or get a slow cooker. Thank you, for an informative post.
I always cook my rice in a rice cooker because I have the recipes that I want to make with rice,and my rice always turns out soft and fluffy! I like cooking rice and having it instead of potatoes! I make different dishes with rice! And rice is filling!
I have 4 slow cookers in different sizes and I never thought to cook rice in it. I was considering buying a rice cooker because I mess the rice up half the time. Now I will try the slow cooker. Thank you for the tip.
I am awful at cooking rice so thanks for the tips!
I always mess up rice. Thanks for posting
I love rice especially the way my mom use to make it for us when we were kids and then I did it for my kids too… which is to cooked rice add sweetener and cinnamon and boiled raisins and then some WARMED milk! yummy yum yum. I can’t eat pasta or rice or anything of grains anymore bc I’m sensitive to carbs and it makes me gain weight really fast .wahhhh lol
thanks for this post. I actually love rice! I’m from Peru, south america and rice is part of every meal pretty much . having dinner for me without rice is like something that’s incomplete. I’ve used the rice cooker always but once it broke and i had no idea how to cook my rice! i had to go online but there are so many different types of rice, like the ones you listed, so this is a great resource! thanks again! 🙂
Thanks for the tips!
Brown rice always is complex for me to cook. I either add too much water and it ends up mushy, or too little and it becomes very chewy. But since I gave up white rice because brown is healthier, I have to learn how to make it delicious! Thanks for the detailed instructions for each method of cooking.
thanks for all the great tips.
Thank you so much for this – my husband makes fun of me because I can cook anything but rice – I always seem to mess it up! perhaps this will set me straight!
Great tips for cooking rice. We want to get a rice cooker. It is a nutritious and economical food!
I had no idea you could cook it in a slow cooker…great tip!
i can never get rice to come out right on the stovetop, it is always sticky! i have thought about buying a rice maker but after reading your instructions i think i will just try cooking it in a crockpot. thanks for the information!
I didn’t even know you could cook rice in a slow cooker!!! WHAT!?!? Awesome!!! I can’t wait to try this now!
I really didn’t know that you should cook different types of rice in different ways; I thought rice was rice, all cooked the same!
I did not know that you could cook rice in a slow cooker. I’d like to try that more as an experiment than anything because my husband refuses to eat rice. Silly man.
I’m going to have to pin this – I cook different rices often and this is a big help!
My husband loves rice. When we were married, I was given a rice cooker, which just took up space. I cook rice over the stove top, but, thanks to you, I’m going to try cooking rice in the slow cooker. Thanks for sharing.
How long should it cook in a slow cooker? I love rice but haven’t a clue how to make it unless it’s instant rice in a box with instruction!
We love rice! Done it in the microwave with one of those rice cookers but it makes a big mess every time. Going back to the old way of doing it on the stove. I do like your method of doing it in a slow cooker though, might just try that. Thanks for sharing.
good tips! I didnt know you could cook rice in the crock pot,,im for sure going to try that
i hears of the rice cooker and i want to buy one so i can try making rice.
never thought to cook rice in a slow cooker.
I’ll admit, I’m terrible at cooking rice. I just use the microwave. I really should invest in a rice cooker.