How to Cook Rice

The best way to cook rice consistently without fail is with a rice cooker. It is smart, it knows what you want, it can make it soft, hard and in between. It will cook bad rice and it will make great rice sing.

Rice is like olive oil. The good is killer good and the run of the mill is bad. Bad rice does not in any way represent rices full potential of flavor and taste.

Ok, you don’t see a reason to cook rice and stay home. And no way you’re going to buy a rice cooker.

So how do you cook rice with success?

This is how.

Wash your rice in water in the pan you are going to cook in. Three complete changes will do.

Then add water to cook. The depth of the water should be twice the depth of the rice in the pan. Place a finger in the rice, touch the bottom of the pan, use your thumb to mark the depth of the rice on your other digit. Then use this mark for the high level water mark in the pan.

This works for any pan, really!

Next, and this is the only time you need to pay attention. Cover the pan, place on high and wait to boil.

When boil happens, turn down heat to simmer. Wait for the water to simmer away and you're done, fluff with fork.

Like it wetter, fluff sooner. Like it drier? Just wait. And if you forget for a little bit? Just don’t scrape up the bottom burnt stuff (not blackened as that is bad) and you’re still good to go.

Foolproof!

Ok, so fine nothing is fool proof. I had a friend put the rice in and then added the water. Unfortunately, the friend forgot the inner pot of the electric rice cooker!!! So no, even a rice cooker is not fool proofed.