Rice is a staple food in most Asian households. It is made by cooking rice with just enough water until it is tender and fluffy. While not the main dish itself, rice is an essential part of any Asian meal. Therefore, for every Asian person, learning how to cook rice is a must-have skill.
Rice cookers have made cooking rice much easier and more convenient. With just a few simple steps, you can have a pot of perfectly cooked rice ready to enjoy in no time. Here’s a basic guide on how to cook rice for beginners:
Why Should You Use a Rice Cooker?
While there are many ways to cook rice, using a stovetop can be time-consuming and require constant monitoring. You need to watch over the pot, wait for the rice to cook, turn off the heat, and then fluff the rice. Since the invention of the rice cooker, cooking rice has become a much simpler process, especially for home use. It is an incredibly convenient way to achieve perfectly cooked rice that is fluffy, soft, and flavorful for every meal.
Cooking rice in a rice cooker may seem like a straightforward task, but there are certain techniques involved to ensure that the rice turns out fluffy, not mushy, and cooked evenly. So, what is the secret to cooking delicious rice in a rice cooker?
Choosing the Right Rice
Selecting the right type of rice is crucial for achieving flavorful, fluffy, and delicious cooked rice. The choice of rice often comes down to personal preference, but understanding the different grain sizes and their characteristics can help you make an informed decision. Here’s a guide to the three main rice grain sizes:
- Long-grain rice: Long-grain rice is characterized by its grains being at least four times longer than they are wide. This type of rice has a light and fluffy texture when cooked, making it a popular choice for dishes that require separation of the grains, such as pilaf, salads, and stir-fries. Some popular long-grain rice varieties include basmati rice, jasmine rice, and American long-grain rice.
- Medium-grain rice: Medium-grain rice has grains that are about twice as long as they are wide. This type of rice cooks up with a slightly sticky and tender texture, making it well-suited for dishes that require some clumping, such as risotto, paella, and sushi. Popular medium-grain rice varieties include arborio rice, calrose rice, and koshihikari rice.
- Short-grain rice: Short-grain rice is characterized by its short and plump grains, with a width close to its length. This type of rice is known for its sticky and glutinous texture when cooked, making it ideal for dishes that require a cohesive and chewy consistency, such as Japanese rice dishes, mochi, and onigiri. Popular short-grain rice varieties include Japanese short-grain rice, sushi rice, and sweet rice.
Measuring Rice for Perfectly Cooked Grains
Accurately measuring rice is an essential step in achieving perfectly cooked rice. Most rice cookers come with a measuring cup specifically designed for rice, ensuring precise measurement for each cooking session. Typically, one cup of rice (150g) yields approximately two cups of cooked rice. However, you can also use regular cups or even a standard-sized canned milk can as a measuring tool. The amount of rice you need will depend on your appetite and the number of people you are serving.
Washing Rice with Water
You can wash rice directly in the rice cooker by using your hand to move the rice grains around, rubbing them together, and then rinsing the water from the rice 1-2 times with water to remove excess starch buildup from broken grains or other debris. Pour the cloudy water out of the bowl and repeat once or twice if necessary.
It is important to note that some types of white rice produced in the United States do not need to be washed because the rice contains some important nutrients such as vitamins and iron. Washing rice will remove these nutrients. If there are no instructions on the rice packaging, you can wash the rice thoroughly with water to remove pesticides and rice bran dust. Be careful not to rub too hard to avoid breaking the rice and losing nutrients.
Measuring Water for Rice
The basic principle for measuring water to match the amount of rice is:
Number of cups of rice = number of cups of water
Water Measurement Method
If you are new to cooking rice, it is best to use a measuring cup or measuring bowl to measure the rice and water accurately. You can also adjust the water ratio depending on the type of rice. It is important to use the same cup or bowl to measure both the rice and water.
For any type of grain (short, medium, or long), you can follow a 1:1 ratio of water to rice. If you want to add more rice, you can adjust the recipe in the same way, 2 cups of rice to 2 cups of water. This method will produce fluffy but slightly sticky rice when cooked and can cook up to the maximum number of cups indicated on each rice cooker.
This ratio will give you perfectly cooked, fluffy rice every time. However, you may need to adjust it slightly to suit your taste and the recommendations on the rice label.
Note that these ratios are different from cooking rice on the stovetop or cooking white rice in the microwave. This recipe is also different from cooking brown rice in the microwave and brown rice in a rice cooker.
Fingertip Measurement Method
If you are Asian, measuring the water for cooking rice using the first knuckle of your index finger will not be unfamiliar. This method can be effective, but the accuracy is not high, so you will need to have some cooking experience to get it right.
However, fingertip measurement is a method that many people use when they have washed and drained the rice, then gently shake it from side to side so that the rice is completely horizontal in the pot. Place your index finger straight down into the rice so that the tip of your index finger just touches the top of the rice. Then add water until the water level reaches the first knuckle of your finger, which is about 1 inch.
If you are trying to adjust a recipe for different types or volumes of rice, then the variations and measurements by the finger length method will be quick and not beyond control.
Turning on the Rice Cooker
After adding the rice and water to the rice cooker, place the pot back in the rice cooker, check that the power is plugged in, and press the cook button. Some rice cookers only have a power switch and no options, so you’re ready to cook. For more advanced rice cookers, it may have a normal or quick cook setting, so be sure to read the instructions before using the cooker to make sure you know how to use it. The cooking time will vary depending on the amount of rice from 10-30 minutes.
Once you press the cook button, do not open the lid, unless you want to lose the precious water/steam essence in each grain of rice. Trust your cooker and it will do its job. Most modern rice cookers will make a sound or have an indicator light to let you know when the rice is done cooking.
Letting the Rice Rest in the Pot for 5-10 Minutes
After the rice cooker indicates that the rice is done cooking, let the rice rest in the pot for 5-10 minutes. This will help the rice to dry out on the surface, cook evenly, and prevent the rice grains from sticking to the bottom of the pot. After that, open the lid, fluff the rice with a fork, and enjoy a delicious meal.
Through the instructions on how to cook delicious rice using a rice cooker, I hope this article will be helpful for those who are cooking rice for the first time. I wish you all success in cooking rice and have a delicious meal with your family and loved ones.
