How to cook perfect rice every time. It sounds simple enough but in the years I’ve been teaching people to cook it’s been a question I’ve been asked time & time again. Steamed rice that’s cooked perfectly without the need for a rice cooker, just a saucepan & some measuring cups. How hard can it be? It’s not when you have the correct ratios, heat & time.
If my father, John ever reads this he’ll laugh because I’ve called him from places such as Cody, Wyoming & Alberta, Canada for the rice to water ratio. Until one day I wrote it down & actually remembered it. Since then my rice has always been cooked perfectly. And he taught me how to cook it.
The ratio is simple: 1 1/2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. Then adjust the quantity as needed according to how many people you’re serving – 1 cup of uncooked rice will realistically feed 4 to 5 people.
I always salt the water when I cook any starch, including rice. My Chinese friend tells me not to. But rice needs salt so I always add a good pinch. Salt is a matter of preference so I will let you decide. To make good rice, bring the water to a boil, add a pinch of salt (or not), pour in the rinsed rice, give it a stir, turn the heat down to low, cover the pot & cook for 20 minutes with no peaking. The rice will steam & develop holes in the surface of it when it’s ready, just like in the photo above.
Then fluff the cooked rice with a fork. Rice is very starchy & you will have parts that stick together which is perfect if you’re eating it with chopsticks. I use this same method for jasmine (fragrant), basmati, short grain & long grain rice. For brown rice I ditch the instructions on the package, double the water to rice ratio (2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice) & use the same method as white rice except I cook it for 60 minutes. If you follow the recipe below exactly, you’ll arrive at your perfectly cooked rice destination each & every time.
Oh & if you’re a lover of coconut rice like I am, you’ll want this recipe for heavenly coconut rice. People say their comfort food/starch of choice is pasta, bread or potatoes. Mine is rice. And potatoes. Until next time, toodles xo
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- salt
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium (about 2 quart/2 litre) saucepan with a heavy base over a small burner or hot plate.
- Rinse the rice in a fine metal sieve (this removes any dust or dirt).
- Stir the rinsed rice & a pinch of salt into the boiling water. Reduce the heat to low (as low as the burner will go). Cover tightly with a lid & cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat fluff the rice with a fork. Serve hot.
- For every 1 cup of rice you need 1 1/2 cups of water. So if you want to cook 1 1/2 cups of rice, that will be 2 1/4 cups of water.
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