Rice Making
 

So how does one go about making rice. I dont mean like soggy crappy minute rice, I mean like the rice they serve at Japanese restaurants. Do I need to shell out some money for a special rice cooker or is there like a special type of rice to use or something.

Japanese rice is a special kind of short grained rice that becomes sticky when cooked.

Because I hate cleaning pots and pans, I'll usually cook it in the microwave.

My local sushi place, says that you should rinse the rice before cooking it, I honestly have never seen a difference in taste.

Never put salt in the water.

1 1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice

Cook in microwave according to microwave's instructions-- mine's usually about 10 - 15 minutes on high.

You can put a dash or rice wine vinegar if you choose

Buy a rice cooker. Perfect every time. All those japanese restaurants use them. Even the Iron Chefs use them. You can get them fairly inexpensively now, and they're worth it.

thanks. Im thinking of getting a rice cooker.

Get a rice cooker...way worth it. And sometimes people like to rinse out the rice for a while to make it less starchy.
Aaaandddd....when I use my rice cooker and don't rinse out the rice first...it always leaves this weird residue....so I always rinse it first. But experiment.....find what YOU like.

I picked up a rice cooker second hand with no books, what is the ratio of rice to water for one? I would assume they would all be the same.

for a long grained rice or wild rice it's 2 parts liquid to one part rice.

Medium grained rice -- it's slightly less than that... (about 1 3/4 cups liquid to 1 cup rice)

Short grained rice - it's about 1 1/2 cups water to 1 cup rice.

Those amounts vary depending on time of year, and how much humidity is about.


althought less scientific witih my rice cooker (I still prefer the microwave) is to put the rice into the cooker, and then fill will water so that it covers the rice by about an inch.

Rice cookers -- if they're good enough for Chinese restaurants, they're good enough for you. If you add the right amount of water, they make good rice, and you don't have to watch the pot.

Use the same proportions in the rice cooker as for regular rice. I do, and it usually turns out fine. You can add more, if you like you rice a little -- what's the technical term? -- ah, mushier.

Brown rice is also two cups water to one cup rice; seems to be the same whether we use short-grain or long-grain brown.

Rice cookers are inexpensive, and a cheap one will do the job. We are thinking about getting a more expensive one, though, maybe one of the Japanese models that looks like a robot head, as we've just killed our second cheap Chinese-made rice cooker.

If you get a rice cooker, you just want one that's easy to clean -- that's what I hate about mine --

Plus I made the mistake of getting one the size of a Volkswagen, so it sits out on what little counter space I have as it won't fit in a cupboard.

I love mine, and I scoffed at the idea for years before I got one.

Usually, there are lines on the pot portion of the cooker. That's how far you fill it with water for the marked amount of dry rice.

in other words, put a cup of dry rice in, and fill up to the mark labeled "1".

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.

Put the rice in a pot and add twice as much water as rice (volume, not weight.) Add a bit of salt and a tiny bit of butter (1/4tsp) to the water

Let rice soak for 15 minutes

Cover, turn to high until it boils, then turn down teh heat so it simmers. Once no water is left in the pot (you'll probably have to try a few times before you get the timing right, it'll be drippy or burnt the first time you try,) remove it from the heat.

yup, rice cookers rule!

I do it the old fashioned way - a pot on the stove. 1 and a half times water to rice, dump them both in, bring the water to boil with the pot uncovered, turn to low and cover, cook for 20 minutes, then fluff and eat.
It is essential to turn the heat down to low once the water comes to a boil. I set off the fire alarm in my dorm when i forgot, and cleared the whole building at 10 pm on a sunday in winter. woops.
Later just let the pot soak and it is easy to wash

Rice cooker > all

I put in the rice, water, and a tiny bit of salt (sometimes garlic for fun) flip to 'cook' and forget.

^^^^^
That's the way.
For short grain brown rice you'll need to wait 40 min...and don't peek:o

I have a rice cooker now and would highly recommend getting one. Buy one with a non-stick coating if you can. Get fuzzy logic if you can drop more money;)

i'm in the minority here...
just the good ol' pot on the stove.

and i measure with my knuckles.
put a level amount of rice in the pot
however much you think you want...
(i think i use a 2 qt. pot)

put your finger in the pot so it just touches the rice, and fill with water so the water comes to the first joint in your finger.
bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 min.
perfect every time.

for the sushi restaurant variety that is super sweet and sticky...
when your rice is cooked,
spread it out thin on a cookie sheet, so it cools quickly (you can have an assistant fan it while you...) pour a little bit of rice vinegar and sugar (mixed, so the sugar dissolves) over the rice and fold it to mix. don't add so much that your rice is soggy - you'll lose your stickiness. sorry i don't have amounts, i never measure anything twice.

i'll see if i can find some thing my cook book library.

well, i scanned in the relevant page from a book called Sushi by Mia Detrick, but i can't seem to attach an image. oh well. the short story is 2 cups rice, 2 cups water, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar (you can heat sugar and vinegar to dissolve), a little salt. it even suggest flavoring the rice with a little bit of seaweed, but remove just before the water comes to a boil initially.

enjoy!

The brand of rice cooker to avoid is Aroma brand. Usually lower in cost than others, and sold at Walmarts, etc. The rice burns. A good rice cooker prevents this by having a thermostat that shuts off the heat when all of the water has evaporated and the temperature starts to rise above 212 F. National, Panasonic, and Zojirushi are recommended.

Be sure to hit the second hand stores. I have found all of mine, and those for my friends through second hand stores. Also, you probably don't need a big one, and the smaller Nationals are really cost effective.

it's always easy to clean... just let it soak for a spell... like 20-30 minutes.

rinsing the rice removes more starch... makes it less sticky.

Japanese Nigiri rice is short and very sticky.

Risotto
Sautee a chopped onion risotto rice in melted butter and olive oil until both are translucent. Add 1/2 can of chicken broth and stir until evaporated. Continue to add broth a bit at a time until whole can is gone. Always evaporate out broth before adding more. You can also add a splash of white wine if you like. When all liquid is absorbed, "fold" in a ton of grated parmesean cheese until it's melted. You can add cooked chicken, shrip, or pork. This is an easy dish to personalize. It's also great for breakfast the next day. Sorry I don't have exact measurments. I learned ths from my mom and she never measures anything. you can kind of tell if you've got too much/too little of anything.

Although rice cookers are great, it's *another* one-dimensional piece of equipment taking up room in cramped quarters. You also have to be sure that the one you are buying is good for amounts less than 2 cups (if you're only cooking for two, you need 1 cup max). If I had the counter and storage space, I'd get one, but since I don't, I'm fine without it.

I've never rinsed rice, but I think I will soon to see how it goes. I used to do it in the microwave, but now I do it on the stove. I think it's been a lot better since then.

I take 1C rice with about 1-3/4C water and bring it to a boil (uncovered). Once it starts to boil, I cover and reduce the heat to about one line under medium and let it sit for about 22-23 min.

Probably the most important thing that you can do is to resist the temptation to check on it. If you take the lid off, you lose all that moisture and pressure that has built up.

One way to make boring old rice better:

Saffron Rice
Chop 1/4 onion and saute it in ~1/3C butter with a clove or two of garlic till the onion is soft. Add 1C rice and about 2C MINUS the volume of butter used (if you used 1/3C butter, than 1.5 - 1.75C water) and a very small amount of saffron grains. Bring it to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium for about 20 min.

*edit
Most people typically use broth (chicken) instead or water or a bullion cube (or part of it) in lieu of broth. Because my wife is a vegetarian, I don't but it's probably better with the broth or cube.

If you want to avoid stickiness, as everyone has pointed out, wash the rice before you boil it to remove the starch.

I remember my mother telling me she read a recipe by a Chinese cook who mentioned her mother told her that traditional Chinese cooking began with "Wash the rice in nine waters."

Chinese cooking tends to have less "gloopy" rice. Japanese more.


Mr Mephisto

That's how I was taught to cook rice.

Madhur Jaffery, a famous Indian cookery writer, gives come superb advice for cooking rice, paraphrased below:

Spiced basmati rice
-------------------
425ml basmati rice
50g onion
1/2 fresh green chilli
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp garam marsala
1 tsp salt
570 ml chicken stock (if rice soaked, 750ml if not)

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear.
2. Soak the rice for 30 minutes and drain thoroughly for 20 minutes (this can be optional if you forget about it)
3. Heat some oil in a pan and add some finely chopped onion, fry until lightly browned.
4. Add rice, some finely chopped green chilli, garlic, salt and garam marsala.
5. Stir gently until all grains are coated with oil.
6. Pour in some stock (veg or chicken) and bring to boil.
7. Cover tightly, use tin foil to make it really tight. Turn heat to *very* low (as low as it goes) and cook for 22 minutes.
8. DON'T PEAK!

This makes perfect rice without fail and its a very versatile way to cook it too. You can change the spices, leave out the onion or just cook it simple with water and salt. My favorites are with some cardamon pods, fryed for a few seconds first (baghaar) or some roughly chopped onions fryed in lots of butter instead of oil.

If you use stock make sure you either use real chicken stock or a decent veg stock like the Swiss Marigolds. All the other stuff just ruins good rice.

Oh, and basmati or better!

David

Make sure you don't add too much water - even a tiny bit too much can make your rice soggy as hell, and that's no good.

Also, make sure you get a decent rice cooker - the cheapest ones from Wal-Mart, in my experience, aren't as good as the mid grade cookers... they overcook/undercook way too much.