How to Make Perfect Rice Every Time

Published on Thursday, September 10, 2009, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

How to Make Perfect Rice Every Time

Poppy Tooker, author of the Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook, says that stirring rice while it cooks is the easiest way to wreck it. The mechanical action (stirring) plus the starch and water means gluey, sticky rice. Instead, bring the rice and water to a full boil, put a lid on the pot, and turn the heat down as low as your stove will go. Then leave the rice alone for 20 minutes. When it’s done, fluff it with a fork and admire the unsticky, lovely grains.

CHOW Tips are the shared wisdom of our community. If you’ve figured out some piece of food, drink, or cooking wisdom that you’d like to share on video (and you can be in San Francisco), email Meredith Arthur and tell us what you’ve got in mind.

ALLCHOW Tip
POST A COMMENT |16 Comments

COMMENT

  • I hadn't made steamed rice in awhile, but recently purchased a wok and wanted to make fried rice, so I just cooked a perfect pot of rice 2 days ago. Many moons ago, some friends from Guam taught me how to make "perfect" rice, and it's gonna sound crazy, but works every time. You pour as much rice as you need into the pot you will be cooking with (remembering that the rice will double in size,...+READ

    I hadn't made steamed rice in awhile, but recently purchased a wok and wanted to make fried rice, so I just cooked a perfect pot of rice 2 days ago. Many moons ago, some friends from Guam taught me how to make "perfect" rice, and it's gonna sound crazy, but works every time. You pour as much rice as you need into the pot you will be cooking with (remembering that the rice will double in size, don't put too much!), and rinse in the sink under cold water until the water is no longer cloudy. Now here's the funny part, place the tip of your finger on the rice, and fill the pot with water up to your first knuckle (that's right, about 3/4 to 1" of water above the rice, no measuring necessary, just up to your first knuckle, doesn't matter how long your finger is!). Bring the water to a boil, remain boiling until the water level reaches the top of the rice, cover, lower heat to as low as it will go, and simmer for 20 minutes. Don't uncover, don't stir, don't measure, very simple, very easy. And believe it or not, it turns out perfect every time!!-COLLAPSE

  • Ask an Asian how to make perfect rice and the answer is invariably: "use a rice cooker."

  • Like Akitist said, different rice should be treated differently. Anyway, I have never heard of stirring ANY Asian rice - sushi, jasmine, basmati... lid or no lid, just don't touch it! Get a cue from rice cookers.

    One exception, sticky white glutinous rice with Chinese sausages, shiitake mushroom, and some dried shrimps and scallops. That has got to be cooked in risotto style.

  • I guess this works, but quite frankly, I don't understand the obsession with having the grains separate.
    A little bit of stickiness in the rice is much more appealing to me than the bland, grain-separate rice that gets served in most restaurants...which is usually quite un-appetizing.
    But...To each his own, to be sure.

  • I found a rice recipe in an old Graham Kerr Galloping Gourmet cookbook. All you need is a colander and two pots. You just bring the water to boil in one pot (any amount will do, as long as it's more than the rice), add the rice, and cook for 10 minutes. Then strain the boiling rice through the colander into the other pot, cover the colander with a pot lid, and steam for another 10 minutes....+READ

    I found a rice recipe in an old Graham Kerr Galloping Gourmet cookbook. All you need is a colander and two pots. You just bring the water to boil in one pot (any amount will do, as long as it's more than the rice), add the rice, and cook for 10 minutes. Then strain the boiling rice through the colander into the other pot, cover the colander with a pot lid, and steam for another 10 minutes. Bulletproof. No sticking. No gumminess. And it works with every type of rice I've tried (converted, basmati, japanese, brown). I have since given away my rice cooker. One less gadget to clean.-COLLAPSE

  • if you want sticky rice, then for heavens sake buy the right kind of rice. A medium grain, like calrose, will always give you sticky rice.

  • The best ratio water/rice is usually 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. I usually fry the rice in a bit of butter first (like Pilaff base) then add water, bring it to a boil, then cook the rice for about half an hour on simmer or super low with the cover on. No stirring needed. Perfect rice every time;)

  • Try frying your rice with some canola oil and onions in a large frying pan for 2 minutes and then adding about an inch of water on top of it. Best success!

  • not colandar
    c o l a n d e r

  • I have found the orange box of Uncle Ben's plain white rice and that is all I ever use anymore. I just follow the directions on the box exactly and the product is always perfect.
    My mother-in-law made rice as if it were pasta though and until recently I did as well. You fill a large pot with salted water and you bring it to boil. Then you pour in whatever measure of rice you need and you allow...+READ

    I have found the orange box of Uncle Ben's plain white rice and that is all I ever use anymore. I just follow the directions on the box exactly and the product is always perfect.
    My mother-in-law made rice as if it were pasta though and until recently I did as well. You fill a large pot with salted water and you bring it to boil. Then you pour in whatever measure of rice you need and you allow that to boil for about ten minutes or so. You turn off the heat and cover it and begin checking the rice for doneness within a few minutes. You pour the rice out into a colandar and it is never sticky. The only downside to this method is that you have to stay with it.-COLLAPSE

  • This woman is scary! I think she could be Joker's sister!
    Back to rice: Rinsing first helps with less sticky rice. You can stir it at first so it is all wetted and you have no lumps. Don't stir it after the first few minutes!
    I was taught to cook rice by an Indian and he added a little more water and cooked it with the lid OFF. Like 2-1/2:1 rather than 2:1.
    I don't hear anyone talking about...+READ

    This woman is scary! I think she could be Joker's sister!
    Back to rice: Rinsing first helps with less sticky rice. You can stir it at first so it is all wetted and you have no lumps. Don't stir it after the first few minutes!
    I was taught to cook rice by an Indian and he added a little more water and cooked it with the lid OFF. Like 2-1/2:1 rather than 2:1.
    I don't hear anyone talking about this method.
    And, this is fair advice if you don't want sticky rice... Some of us do, as noted.-COLLAPSE

  • I've got a better idea. when the rice boils on the stove, don't finish it on the stove, put it in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. then let it sit for 5 after. that's why we finish all proteins in the oven, heat from all around and not just the bottom is the way to go.

  • Hokay, but not every ethnic cuisine demands fluffy, non-sticky rice. Try it as a base for sushi.

  • Vorpal, you are correct. It's the starch that makes rice sticky; gluten doesn't come into it. Still, overstirring remains the enemy.

    rich in stl: Poppy talks about the proportions here:
    http://www.chow.com/stories/11869
    And we do try to explain the content of the video in the blurbs below the player, for people who can't watch/don't want to watch.

  • I think the ratio of water to rice is important - don't you?

    Using textt instead of a video is good too.

  • Poppy is wrong; stirred rice may be gluey, but it is NOT because of gluten: rice is completely gluten-free unless it is enriched with certain starches.