How to: Cook perfect rice
7Our mate Guy shows you how
Cooking rice is one of those irritating skills; easy to learn, impossible to perfect. After years of rice-encrusted pans, we met a guy by the name of Guy, with just enough China man in him to have got the technique down. It takes about 25 minutes, and involves an actual ‘rule of thumb.’
There’s our Guy
Guy says:
Rice is not like pasta; you can’t just whack some water in and come back 15 minutes later. Well, you can if you’re not fussy, but not if you want perfect rice.
- Allow between 50-70g of rice per person
- Put it in a saucepan so that the rice is no less than 1cm in depth (use a saucepan with a smaller diameter for less rice, larger for more).
- Now for the ‘rule of thumb.’ Fill the saucepan with tap water so that it comes to one thumb knuckle above the surface of the rice. It sounds strange, but this goes for any amount of rice and never fails, so just trust me.
- From this point onwards, do not touch or stir the rice. Just leave it. Everyone wants to fiddle with it, prod it and taste it, but you should just let it do its thing. Everything will be OK.
- Bring the water to the boil slowly, on a medium heat, leaving the saucepan uncovered.
- Keep a watchful eye over it, and just as it starts to boil, turn it down to simmer.
- This bit’s important: Just as the water comes level with the top of the rice, turn the heat right down (as low as it will go, so the water is barely simmering), and cover the saucepan about 85% (put the lid on at an angle so the steam can just get out).
- Leave it for around 10 minutes. You know it’s ready when all the water has been absorbed. At this point I will allow you to stick a fork in to see to the bottom. If the rice is still wet down there, leave it a little longer. If it’s dry, and the rice is fluffy then you’re good to go.
- For the best results, take the rice off the heat altogether and leave it fully covered for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve it up, sit back and wait for the compliments.
-
Comments
How to sushi?
What about the starch tho? This method must surely leave all the starch in the rice? Isn’t too much starch bad for you? Most rice recipes tell you to rinse the rice before cooking to get rid of the starch, or like I do, boil for 10 mins then drain and pour boiling water thru the colander of rice. The water comes thru milky looking, which I assume is the starch. Isn’t the rice too sticky with the starch left in it? (Or is it more delicious?)
Define thumb knuckle? From the bottom of the pan or top of the rice? To the joint knuckle or proper knuckle?
Good point Gobblerdegook. Osso Bucco is a very fine dish made using veal knuckle and you’ve got me wondering which knuckle, as calves don’t have hands. Does your name derive from a sixteenth century interpretation of someone trying to speak with their mouth full, or am I coming to the wrong conclusion?
Good old Uncle Chris. He is a one!
I think a calves knuckle is it’s knee. But I’m not a butcher (or a calf owner).
It’s mostly slices through the shin, but unlike beef shin it includes the bone in the slice. This is important as it contains the bone marrow which is a key ingredient. Only “proper” butchers sell this, but it needn’t be too expensive.
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Great rice method, the absorption method can be tricky, but Guy takes the guesswork out of it. Rice is grown around the world and different countries have their own varieties and cooking methods. My favourite food, sushi also requires use of the absorption method although the rice is thoroughly washed before cooking to remove the powder that the American-yes American producers put on it. Fancy a curry? Use the lots of water method, more later.