How Do You Cook Rice?

Discussion in Food & Drink started by Denis Hard • Nov 3, 2014.

  1. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    Rice is cheap. For that reason, eating rice more often would save you a lot of money on food. But you can only stand eating rice daily if the meal is delicious. Since the key to saving here is cooking the meal in such a way that you can never have enough of [rice], I'd like to know how you guys cook rice. Trying out different recipes could help me and others who might be interested in using the strategy choose one which works best for them.
     
  2. akiii123

    akiii123Active Member

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    Rice is quite good for health. Where I live rice is the major diet of many people. We eat rice at least twice a day. I usually cook rice in a pressure cooker. It hardly takes 10 minutes to cook the rice thoroughly and also cooking can be done quite uniformly.
     
  3. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

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    When I had my electric steamer, I would only use that to make rice. But now that it's packed away in storage, I've just been cooking with parboiled rice, which I've warmed up to. I used to not care for the texture of it, and didn't like how it all stuck together, but I've found little techniques here and there to deal with those issues, as well as learning the proper amount of liquid to use and the right times for my cookware and microwave. Plus you can't beat rice in 6 minutes start to finish, vs the usual 30-35 minutes it would take in my electric steamer for regular rice, and it would take even longer if I made it on the stove, plus you had to deal with scorching.

    For a change of pace from the typical steamed rice, I will often just cook it in broth or a mixture of broth and tomato sauce, then I will toss in some steamed veggies for color. There are certainly other ways you can dress up rice, such as mixing it with cheese and eggs then rolling into balls, rolling in panko and deep frying them - also known as Arancini. But I am seldom in the mood to go through that much work unless it's a special occasion. I don't mind a little Parmesan tossed in the rice though while it's still warm. Too much though and it becomes gummy.
     
  4. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    I usually eat rice only when I'm lazy and don't want to cook something more complex. So I measure the rice and put for each cup of rice one of water, then I let everything on the stove until it reaches boiling point, moment when I lower the fire and let it boil for ten minutes without doing anything else (like stirring). After the rice is done I just mix it with whatever I feel like and eat. Yup, sounds bad and sometime it is, but it gets the job done and it's cheap.
     
  5. pennylane

    pennylaneActive Member

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    I don't usually do anything special to my rice. I'd be interested to hear some recipes if others have them too. I have a rice cooker and I use that for white and brown rice when I want to add it to meals. I'd like to know how to make some seasoned beans and rice...like a cajun type of recipe.
     
  6. Gelsemium

    GelsemiumWell-Known Member

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    The way I cook rice is the most simple as possible. I just add 4 times water the amount of rice, add salt and put in the fire covered until it boils. After that I reduce the fire and let it cook slowly until it's done, works fine for me. :)
     
  7. Sly14Cat

    Sly14CatActive Member

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    Usually when I'm making rice, I just use the same formula, since I like to make the easy 10 minute white rice. I just add the rice along with some water and salt, and wait for it to boil. Nothing too complex, occasionally I would add some flavour so it doesn't taste too bland. I mean honestly it's rice, there isn't too much to it...
     
  8. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I just use a rice cooker and I rarely put in anything and usually just eat it plain cooked in water. Sometimes I'd add in some sausages but most of the time I'd rather just cook them into a fried rice separately. If I only need to cook a small portion then I'd usually just cook it on a stove top which is a lot more difficult but it's worth the effort for the benefit of not having to clean the rice cooker.
     
  9. owesem75

    owesem75Active Member

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    Hello Pennylane, you can try arroz valenciana or arroz caldo.. these are some very nice way of cooking your rice, apart from just steaming it.
     
  10. chiofthenorns

    chiofthenornsActive Member

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    Rice is a staple food here in my country. We eat it every day. So, we just cook it the natural way. We just eat it with different dishes to make it taste good. :)
     
  11. xTinx

    xTinxWell-Known Member

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    I'm Asian so I eat rice almost on a daily basis. There's hardly a day when I don't eat rice. The more I avoid rice, the hungrier I become. So rather than complete avoidance, I try to reduce my rice intake and eat alternative carbohydrates instead. Anyway, you can always buy a rice cooker if cooking rice manually is too much for you to handle. The steps are simple. First, place your desired amount of grains in a pot. Next, wash the grains thoroughly until you can see right through the water (white stuff floating through the water means it isn't clean yet). Drain after every wash. Once you see the water clearing out, leave it in the pot an inch or so from the tip of the grains. Press the "cook" button and leave until the rice cooks on its own. If you don't have this device, then turn the gas range on at medium heat. Carefully watch over the boiling rice until it cooks. That's it.
     
  12. lizzief79

    lizzief79Active Member

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    Usually, I just boil rice and serve it as an accompaniment to dishes like chilli con carne or curry. However, my children love kedgeree and it is a really cheap dish to make. There are various versions of this meal, but I use rice, onions, mushrooms, smoked fish (such as mackerel) and then top it with a poached egg. This meal feeds a family of six for about £3 (roughly $5).
     
  13. Gin0710

    Gin0710Active Member

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    I often use a rice cooker. You can't go wrong as long as you follow the instructions how much rice to put in versus how much water. They always balance eachother out. I would love to mix ingredients too but I'm not sure what.
     
  14. mariee

    marieeActive Member

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    I have a rice cooker, because rice is such a staple of the Puerto Rican diet. I usually have rice once a day but try to eat small portions and eat just a salad for my next meal as too much rice isn't so healthy.

    On the rice cooker I either cook basic white rice with just water and a pinch of salt, or "arroz guisado" with vegetables, or pigeon peas, or corn, or beans, etc and the typical flavorings like "sofrito", "sazon", a little bit of oil, tomatoe sauce, etc
     
  15. eppie

    eppieActive Member

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    Same here. We cook and eat rice 2 to 3 times a day. I can last the day without bread but not without rice. We just cook it with plain water then serve it with different viands/dishes to make it taste different each time. :)
     
  16. H.C. Heartland

    H.C. HeartlandActive Member

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    I rinse the rice in the pot. My ration is usually 1 cup rice to 2 cups water but I do more water if I want to make rice balls. 1 cup rice to as much as 3 to 4 cups water. Sometimes I don't measure the water. After I have rinsed the rice a couple times by churning it with my hand in the pot. Then I begin adding the water and when it is up to my first knuckle, it is usually enough. I also use this method in a glass bowl and put it in the microwave. If it is a large amount of rice then I need 40 minutes even though it is a microwave. But if it is a small amount you can cut the time in half - it will get done quickly. I think the rice tastes better on the stove, but for convenience purposes, I often nuke it.
     
  17. TheViper

    TheViperActive Member

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    We like to cook our rice the old fashion way. I rinse the rice before boiling and then let it go for a good 10-15 minutes. After that I rinse the rice of all the starch and water. Then I serve it up plain with whatever dish I am eating that day.
     
  18. Aurora

    AuroraMember

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    There are many methods that I cook my rice. The simplest method is to use the rice cooker. This is the best method to cook plain white rice because it is difficult to get it wrong using the rice cooker. I may boil my rice in hot water for 15 minutes and drain the excess water away if I am picky and want to serve my rice with juicy meat and vegetables. The rice cooked in this way will taste better. I may fry my white rice with eggs and meat if there are some rice leftovers the previous day. Sometimes I may steam my rice with vegetables and sausages.
     
  19. crazyman1090

    crazyman1090Member

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    I use my Zojirushi Rice Cooker. It cooks rice pretty well, and when I'm in a hurry, it's really easy to just put some rice and water in, and voila! Steamed rice. My family and I are Asian so we eat rice quite frequently. However, when I want to make something out of the box like Uncle Ben's Rice Pilaf, I just steam it in a pot.
     
  20. toradrake

    toradrakeActive Member

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    2 cups water, 1 cup rice. Reach boil, turn to low and put top on. Wait about 15 minutes. Simple white rice.

    If you want to add flavor, either add 1/2 a cube of bouillon of choice. You can add butter and a little salt. You can add butter and saffron. Even cheese. I usually cook the rice first then make a meal around it and mix it with the rice last.

    I have a million recipes for rice. LOL