Ok, this might sound werid but I love putting sugar and butter in my rice. When I was about 10 years old, I lived with my grandparents and they taught me this recipe when I always wanted a filling snack after school. After the rice is cooked, I just add a good amount of butter. Not too much or it will be soupy. Then I add enough sugar just to make it sweet. Some days I will add more butter just because I have a random craving for butter. Or I switch with adding more butter. Now you didn't mention if it had to be healthy so I hope this helps!
I usually add bouillon cubes to the boiling water before adding the rice. I use low sodium vegan cubes. I have one that vegetarian with herbs. It gives the rice great flavor and looks colorful. Sometimes, I toast the rice with crushed garlic before adding it to the water. Delicious. I also make cilantro rice with lime juice. I add the cilantro and juice after the rice has been cooked.
I do it the traditional way my parents and siblings taught me since I was a child strong and tall enough to do so. The special rice cooking pot [aluminum] can be purchased at most Asian stores, with the bottom created as the water reservoir, which once it is boiled the steam rises up through the attachable top that has cut holes on the bottom. To prepare the rice, one needs to soak it the night before with cold water or if in a hurry soak in hot water, then pour rice on the top piece of rice pot. Grab another regular boiling pot to heat water, which will be used to soak the rice a second time in a separate large bowl, after 20 to 30 minutes of steaming. Once the hot water has soaked the rice to be more softer, check rice to see if it has soften almost to fully cook, then filter rice back onto the attachable rice pot and continue steaming for another 15 to 30 minutes [dependent on how much rice are you cooking] until done. This is a summary of how I cook rice, which is way more tasty and hearty to eat.
Here in the Philippines, rice is pretty common, and we eat rice as our main meal with viand. We just cook it using our rice cooker.
I cook rice in my rice cooker, that's been an absolute god-send and steal of a price. I think I spent something like $25 on it and I use it just about every day and it cooks my rice perfectly in around 30 minutes. Usually, I'll do a 1cup/1 and 1/2 cup of water ratio in the cooker. Nothing else is really needed to cook it.
Whenever I cook rice, I buy it in those bags for boiling, because I'm an awful cook. When someone else in the house makes the rice, they usually buy normal rice and cook it in the pot the traditional way.
I prefer brown short grain rice that I usually soak overnight in water before I cook it. I use it in all kinds of combinations with vegetables, fish and salads. One of my favorite recipes is wild black rice with curried root vegetables, fresh garden salad and a home made avocado sauce.
Rice is very good for you and is very diverse in cooking. There are thousands of recipes for cooking really good rice, but one of my favorite is jasmine rice. I have a book that teaches you how to make over a hundred different rices and they all taste brilliant, so I think you could make a meal with rice at least once a day! Especially on a tight budget!
I cook rice on the stove and in a rice cooker whenever it's time for me to make some for dinner. I prefer cooking rice in a rice cooker because you just pour the ingredients in and then you press the button and you wait for it to be done. Rice always comes out excellent in a rice cooker.
I've wanted a rice cooker for a long time but I kind of feel like it may be a waste of money when I can easily make it on the stove. It really doesn't change that I want one though. I have WAY too many gadgets as it is.
We love rice at my house and eat it several times a week. I always had cooked it on the stove top, but a few years ago I got a microwave rice cooker and love it. Perfect rice everytime. I sometimes use either beef, chicken or vegetable broth to flavor my rice. I also like it with a small dice of carrots, onions, peppers, celery and mushrooms cooked in with the rice. It does not change the cooking time at all.. We also like home made Mexican or Spanish rice with sausage or such in it and fried rice made with leftover beef, pork or chicken and vegies. And of course we add rice to home made soups, pour chili over it and add leftover cooked rice to our meatloaf. No matter how I fix it, it is always a hit at my house. OH,,, and I have even added cream of mushroom soup to the water when I cook rice,, makes it creamy.
I cook rice in countless ways, including boiling or frying it. If you can't at least boil a pot of rice without the aid of a rice cooker, then you need to improve your skills in the kitchen as far as I'm concerned. Rice is a mostly healthy food, but you can't have it with every meal, which is true of just about every food and drink item imaginable.
I boil it for 15 minutes also, very similar to toradrake. I sometimes like adding flavor too. I have never bought a rice cooker, but I have been told they are good. I might have a look at doing so, because apparently your rice comes out perfect then.
