Make Steamed Rice
Cooking is something that almost anyone can do. It's a relaxing and rewarding way to end a day and it doesn't have to be complicated. Steamed rice is a versatile staple of many different regional cuisines. It is the backbone of a meal and fairly easy to make, if you follow some basic steps. See Step 1 below to get started.
Contents
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried rice
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 2 cups water
Steps
Preparing the Rice
- Use the right amount of water. Remember that the measurement to making steamed rice is "one part rice, two parts liquid". So, if you use a cup of dried white rice you should use two cups of liquid. One cup of dried rice is plenty to serve two people. If you're serving more people than that you should increase the amount of rice and water accordingly. Make sure the pan is big enough to accommodate the amount of rice and liquid you are using.
- While the style of pan you use does not matter too much, you will want to use one which has a tight-fitting lid.
- Add in some oil. Put a tablespoon of olive, peanut, or other oil into the pan. Add in more if you are making a large amount of rice.
- Add in the rice. Turn the burner on medium and heat the oil slightly, then add your rice to the pan. Stir it to make sure all the rice is well coated with oil. At this point, the rice will have a translucent look to it.
- Cook or fry the rice in the oil just a bit longer if you want a drier, crispier rice.
- Keep stirring the rice while it heats. After a minute or so it will turn from translucent to a hard white color.
- Add the water and bring it to a boil. Add your water and give it a slight stir to make sure all the rice is in the water. Then stir occasionally until the water comes to a boil.
- Lower the heat. Turn the heat down extra low when the rice comes to a boil. The dial should go as low as you can go on a gas burner and then put a lid on the rice.
- Simmer. Let it simmer, without removing the lid, for 15-20 minutes. Any longer than this and you're risking burning the bottom of the rice. Make sure you don't remove the lid! This point is very important because this is the "steaming" step.
- Remove the rice from the heat. Turn the burner off completely after simmering. Set the pan aside with the lid on. It can sit like this until you are ready to use it, but let it continue to steam for at least 30 minutes.
- Finished. Enjoy your steamed rice!
Making it Better
- Use a rice cooker. A rice cooker will always make a superior cooked rice. Invest in one if you plan on eating rice often. It will make your life much easier.
- Choose your rice carefully. Different rices work better in different dishes. Depending on what you want to use the rice for, you might want to change which rice you buy. Different rices will be drier or stickier, have different flavors, or have more or fewer nutrients.
- For example, basmati makes a dry final product, but jasmine will be a lot stickier. This is because of starch content.
- Wash your rice. Wash rice before you cook it, if you don't want it to be too sticky. This will remove some of the starch and improve the final texture.
- Soak the rice before cooking. Soaking your rice in warm water before you cook it will greatly improve the texture of the final product. Cover the rice in warm water and allow it to soak.
- Adjust the water to the rice. Long grain rices need about 1 1/2 cups of water to every cup of rice. Brown rice will need at least 2 cups of water and likely more, but short grained white rice will need less than the standard to get it perfect the first time. You should always adjust the water once you see how a new rice cooks up.
- Cook with spices. Before you close up the lid for your rice to steam, add in some spices to give it a little flavor, and then give it a stir. Good spice options include a slight sprinkling of celery salt, garlic powder, curry powder, or furikake.
Tips
- As long as you keep the same proportions, you can use any liquid you'd like. Chicken broth is a good choice. You could also add a little white wine to the liquid if you'd like.
- The beauty of cooking is that you can add or remove anything you want according to your own tastes. Seasoning oils, roasted sesame oil is a good one, are also a flavorful addition. You could also put garlic, onion, or other spices into it if you'd like. The main thing to remember is that you need to add these at the beginning, right after you add the liquid to the sautéed rice.
Warnings
- When you sautéed the rice in oil, you need to watch it carefully. At this point it can burn very easily. If it seems to be starting to turn brown, the best way to stop the cooking process is to lift the pan off the burner. This is a simple process that is easy to remember and very effective.
Things You'll Need
- Saucepan with lid
- Wooden spoon
- Stove
- Measuring utensils
