Rice
Did you know that rice is actually seed?
What is rice?
Rice is normally viewed as a cereal grain and is the staple in more than half the world’s diet. It is an agricultural commodity ranking 3rd worldwide after sugarcane and corn.
There are more than 40,000 varieties of rice categorized into long and short grain and also brown and white rice.
Brown rice is whole grain, with the hull of the seed removed, while white rice has both the hull and germ removed during milling.
The most common types of rice are:
- Arborio
- Basmati
- Brown
- Jasmine
- White
- Wild
How to Cook Rice
Rice can be prepared in so many ways. Some people like to add just enough water to cook the rice, which is a broad 2 cups liquid to 1 cup rice ratio, others like to boil and strain it. Some like to bake it and others fry it.
It really depends on the ethnicity of the dish, type of rice and quite frankly, how much time you have.
And it is because of this that it is even difficult to write about rice- there is just literally too much under this broad umbrella, but if you want to learn the basic steps for cooking rice, we’ve got you covered.
- Rinse your rice in a colander before cooking. This removes all of the debris and surface starches, will prevent rice from getting mushy. Rinse until water runs clean.
- Soak your rice. Soaking it gives the grains a head start to absorbing water which makes it cook more evenly.
- You might need to experiment with a brand of rice to get it just right. The package directions aren’t always correct. Generally, the sweet spot for cooking white rice is 1 cup of rice to 1 cup of water for short grain white rice or 1¼ cups water for long grain white rice.
- Give your rice a quick stir to prevent clumping after adding to liquid, but do not continue to stir through the cooking process. stirring releases more starch and will leave you with mushy rice. Yuck! This isn’t risotto!
- Make sure you bring the rice and the liquid to a bowl. This ensures the water it hot enough to create the steam needed to make your rice.
- Don’t peek! I know it is hard not to peek, but opening the lid lets the steam, which is the key to cooking rice, to escape.
- When you do check your rice at the end, press a grain between two of your fingers. It should be firm enough that the exterior holds together, but soft enough to mash with slight pressure.
- Always fluff your rice with a fork. Stirring with a spoon naturally mashes it.
- Allow rice to sit, off heat, for at least 5 minutes after it is done. Just like meat, it needs to rest.
So without further ado, here are some of our favorite rice recipes. Scroll on down for 50+ delicious recipes that use rice!
