Rice is such a staple ingredient yet so many people fear how to make it. To get that perfect fluffy great consistency rice, you have to keep two things in mind. The timing and ratios, if you get too shirt your rice could be hard and if you cook it for too long it can be gummy and mushy. For long grain rice, you want one cup of rice to two cups of water. For short grain white rice, you want one cup of rice to one and a quarter cups of water. For brown rice, you want one cup of rice to one and three-quarters cup of water. The first tip to help make the best rice is to rinse your rice before cooking it, rinsing your rice helps remove any extra starch. First, you are going to add the rice and the water and a pinch of salt then bring it to a boil over high heat. Once the water begins to boil give it a stir put the lid on and turn the heat down to simmer which is the lowest heat.

For long grain rice, you want to cook it for 18 minutes on simmer, for short grain rice you want to simmer it for 15 minutes, brown rice is a bit longer you want to simmer it for 45 minutes. One really important thing to note is, do not remove the lid as you are cooking the rice. You are steaming the rice and you don’t want to let the hot air out. Once you’ve removed the pot from the heat, let it steam for an additional five to ten minutes with the lid on and thats another way to ensure you get really fluffy beautifully cooked rice. The long grain white rice is perhaps the most common rice and you can use it for side dishes, pilaf salads or just on its own with a protein. Short grain white rice is typically used for sushi puddings and sticky rice. Brown rice is considered to be a healthier option than white rice, it has more fiber, iron and vitamin B.

So, white rice is actually brown rice with the bran and germ stripped away so you are losing some of the nutrients when you choosing white rice.
Add olive oil over high heat pan then add shallots or onions and let it cook for 3seconds to a minute until its aromatic and golden brown. Add the rice and give it a stir to make sure that it’s fully coated with the shallots and the olive oil. You only need to do this for about 30 seconds then add a splash of white wine, you can also swap Waterford stock vegetable stock chicken beef, whatever you want to use.

Add a pinch of salt and let it simmer. If you are using a rice cooker, everything is marked out for you in terms of proportions. The first step to becoming good at cooking the rice is mastering the basics, rice is such a staple food and if you can master it, it’ll just make you a better cook.

Ingredients;

  • 2 cups of water
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon butter or oil
  • 1 cup long grain white rice

Instructions;

  1. Bring the water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add the salt and butter and allow the butter to melt.
  2. When the water has returned to a boil, stir in the rice. Let the water return to a light simmer.
  3. Stir again, cover the pot and turn the heat down to low.
  4. Keep the rice simmering slightly, and keep the pot covered.
  5. Start checking to see if the rice is tender and all of the liquid is absorbed in about 17 minutes.
  6. It may take up to 25, especially if you are making a larger quantity of rice.
  7. When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat and let it sit for another couple of minutes to finish absorbing any liquid.
  8. Take off the lid, fluff the rice with a fork and let it sit for another 2 minutes so that some of the excess moisture in the rice dries off.