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Cooking Rice

incorporating Recipes and Cooking
stewamax
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Re: Cooking Rice

#400930

Postby stewamax » April 1st, 2021, 7:01 pm

ReformedCharacter wrote:I don't think I'll ever bother to cook rice again from scratch. I'm a convert to Tilda microwave rice packets. Plenty of choice of rice varieties and cooked in 2 minutes better than I generally cook it. There's a small amount of salt and vegetable oil added but I don't find it noticeable. Not expensive either

I always said I would ever use 'instant' rice, but having tried Tilda's 2-minute Basmati Wholegrain and Wild Rice (ex Sainsbury's) I am converted!
Usual disclaimers.

AleisterCrowley
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Re: Cooking Rice

#400934

Postby AleisterCrowley » April 1st, 2021, 7:39 pm

Crikey...

Rice, whatever type. Sainsbury's boil-in-the-bag 125g pouches
Boil for 10-18m (depending on type) in large pan of salted water (Maldon sea salt of course)
Lift out by hoop
Drain
Serve

Nowt wrong with it

SDN123
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411225

Postby SDN123 » May 12th, 2021, 3:39 am

Am married to an Asian and so we eat a lot of rice. Definitely buy a rice cooker. Anything from the cheapest you can find up to several hundred pounds will all work extremely well. Doesn’t take much counter space, very economical to run, perfect rice every time. What’s not to like?

MaraMan
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411295

Postby MaraMan » May 12th, 2021, 10:58 am

I feel like right heathen. I just slosh a bit of boiling water in the pan, add the rice and boil until ready (about 10-11 mins), then drain off any excess water. I have never burnt rice in my life, but then I am probably just doing it wrong. I prefer the rice made this way to the instant microwave stuff which never tastes as fresh or has the same texture.

MM

kiloran
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411299

Postby kiloran » May 12th, 2021, 11:06 am

SDN123 wrote:Am married to an Asian and so we eat a lot of rice. Definitely buy a rice cooker. Anything from the cheapest you can find up to several hundred pounds will all work extremely well. Doesn’t take much counter space, very economical to run, perfect rice every time. What’s not to like?

Several hundred pounds??!! To cook rice??? Utter madness.

Put rice in saucepan, add same volume+50% of water. Put lid on saucepan. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Do NOT stir. EVER. Check when water has been absorbed by moving rice from the base of the saucepan with a fork. Turn off heat, and leave lid on for 3-4 minutes.

Absolutely foolproof.

--kiloran

UncleEbenezer
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411328

Postby UncleEbenezer » May 12th, 2021, 12:20 pm

kiloran wrote:
SDN123 wrote:Am married to an Asian and so we eat a lot of rice. Definitely buy a rice cooker. Anything from the cheapest you can find up to several hundred pounds will all work extremely well. Doesn’t take much counter space, very economical to run, perfect rice every time. What’s not to like?

Several hundred pounds??!! To cook rice??? Utter madness.

Put rice in saucepan, add same volume+50% of water. Put lid on saucepan. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Do NOT stir. EVER. Check when water has been absorbed by moving rice from the base of the saucepan with a fork. Turn off heat, and leave lid on for 3-4 minutes.

Absolutely foolproof.

--kiloran

Not Foolproof at all. See the first post in this thread! :roll:

-- the Better Fool.

kiloran
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411335

Postby kiloran » May 12th, 2021, 12:30 pm

UncleEbenezer wrote:[
Not Foolproof at all. See the first post in this thread! :roll:

-- the Better Fool.

I said foolproof, not Foolproof! :lol:

--kiloran

SDN123
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411516

Postby SDN123 » May 13th, 2021, 1:15 am

kiloran wrote:Several hundred pounds??!! To cook rice??? Utter madness.


If you have rice twice a month then I agree with you totally. If you have rice four or five times a week a rice cooker starts to make sense. If you have a family of six that have rice three times a day then spending several hundred pounds on a rice cooker may make sense. (FYI we are in the middle group.)

And a UK analogy... cooking toast under the grill is “utterly foolproof”. But most Brits buy a cheap toaster anyway. Some, like my way too rich brother, pay several hundred pounds for a toaster. (Now that is utter madness!)

Anyway, if you’ve never tried a rice cooker why not borrow one and find out what you are missing :D

Itsallaguess
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411522

Postby Itsallaguess » May 13th, 2021, 5:52 am

We have rice at least once a week, and often more.

We bought a microwave rice cooker years ago, and it's been one of the best and most-used items in our kitchen -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KitchenCraft-Microwave-Cooker-Steamer-Plastic/dp/B0001IWD7O

It still looks as good as new, even after years of heavy use, and it delivers perfect results every single time.

I'd highly recommend them.

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

MDW1954
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411720

Postby MDW1954 » May 13th, 2021, 6:35 pm

SDN123 wrote:[
Anyway, if you’ve never tried a rice cooker why not borrow one and find out what you are missing :D


Agreed!! Chinese semi-girlfriend (don't ask) introduced me to them in the mid-1970s.

Superb: compact, easy on the eye, efficient and economical.

And the same goes for the rice cooker, of course. :D

MDW1954

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Re: Cooking Rice

#411743

Postby GoSeigen » May 13th, 2021, 7:54 pm

kiloran wrote:
SDN123 wrote:Am married to an Asian and so we eat a lot of rice. Definitely buy a rice cooker. Anything from the cheapest you can find up to several hundred pounds will all work extremely well. Doesn’t take much counter space, very economical to run, perfect rice every time. What’s not to like?

Several hundred pounds??!! To cook rice??? Utter madness.

Put rice in saucepan, add same volume+50% of water. Put lid on saucepan. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Do NOT stir. EVER. Check when water has been absorbed by moving rice from the base of the saucepan with a fork. Turn off heat, and leave lid on for 3-4 minutes.

Absolutely foolproof.


We're in the restaurant trade, the above method is how we do the rice. Agree it's foolproof. The key is the word "simmer" -- very low heat, insulate the lid if you can. Buy decent rice too: basmati or a decent Japanese variety if feeling flush. Rice cooker highly recommended to automate the process.

GS

Mike4
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411749

Postby Mike4 » May 13th, 2021, 8:16 pm

kiloran wrote:Put rice in saucepan, add same volume+50% of water. Put lid on saucepan. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Do NOT stir. EVER.


Deeply curious now. What happens if you stir it? Does it explode or something? Might have to try this method, mainly to find out.


Check when water has been absorbed by moving rice from the base of the saucepan with a fork.


Ummmm..... isn't that dangerously similar to 'stirring'?


Absolutely foolproof.

A risky thing to assert. You know they say the universe will treat that as a challenge and respond by building a better fool, surely?

kiloran
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411770

Postby kiloran » May 13th, 2021, 9:15 pm

Mike4 wrote:
kiloran wrote:Put rice in saucepan, add same volume+50% of water. Put lid on saucepan. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10-15 mins. Do NOT stir. EVER.


Deeply curious now. What happens if you stir it? Does it explode or something? Might have to try this method, mainly to find out.


Check when water has been absorbed by moving rice from the base of the saucepan with a fork.


Ummmm..... isn't that dangerously similar to 'stirring'?


Absolutely foolproof.

A risky thing to assert. You know they say the universe will treat that as a challenge and respond by building a better fool, surely?

Stirring breaks up the grains and you get sticky rice rather than seperate grains. OK if you like sticky rice :)
The fork is used to GENTLY ease some grains aside to see if there is still liquid at the bottom.

I should add that this method is proof against THIS fool. Other (better) fools doubtless exist

--kiloran

AleisterCrowley
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411773

Postby AleisterCrowley » May 13th, 2021, 9:29 pm

What's the thinking behind using a measured amount of water and simmering until it has all been absorbed, as opposed to just slinging rice in a large pan of salted boiling water and draining when done?

kiloran
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411777

Postby kiloran » May 13th, 2021, 9:46 pm

AleisterCrowley wrote:What's the thinking behind using a measured amount of water and simmering until it has all been absorbed, as opposed to just slinging rice in a large pan of salted boiling water and draining when done?

Dunno, you need to ask Delia (or was it Madhur Jaffrey?)

I guess if you boil in a large amount of water, the question is how long do you boil it for? Too long and I would think the grains will break up. And I imagine the rice would still be wet and soggy after draining. A measured amout of water is guaranteed to give just the right texture and unsoggyness

--kiloran

servodude
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411806

Postby servodude » May 14th, 2021, 1:09 am

kiloran wrote:
AleisterCrowley wrote:What's the thinking behind using a measured amount of water and simmering until it has all been absorbed, as opposed to just slinging rice in a large pan of salted boiling water and draining when done?

Dunno, you need to ask Delia (or was it Madhur Jaffrey?)

I guess if you boil in a large amount of water, the question is how long do you boil it for? Too long and I would think the grains will break up. And I imagine the rice would still be wet and soggy after draining. A measured amout of water is guaranteed to give just the right texture and unsoggyness

--kiloran


I think that's probably correct.

My method is pretty much what kiloran posted except:
I normally coat the rice in a bit of oil and I boil the water in the kettle instead of in the pan
- simmer covered on lowest heat of lowest ring for 15 minutes and it's always perfect

-sd

JuanDB
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411811

Postby JuanDB » May 14th, 2021, 6:48 am

Another vote here for the absorption method but with a twist. My method is as follows.

Boil water in kettle
Add a Knob of butter or tablespoon of olive oil to a hot saucepan (medium heat)
Add a stock cube of choice to the heated oil and break it up. You can also add spices such as turmeric, cardamom etc at this point
Once you have a well mixed paste add the rice (using a mug as a measure) and gently stir until all the grains are covered.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, gently moving the rice.
Add the boiling water until it covers the rice by 1-1.5 cm
Stir once, cover
Leave for 10 minutes at a gentle simmer
Turn the heat off, wait at least 10 mins
Stir to separate

Perfect savoury rice!

BobbyD
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411813

Postby BobbyD » May 14th, 2021, 6:59 am

AleisterCrowley wrote:What's the thinking behind using a measured amount of water and simmering until it has all been absorbed, as opposed to just slinging rice in a large pan of salted boiling water and draining when done?


You can't end up with soggy overcooked rice. You also don't have to wield large pots of boiling water around the kitchen.

AleisterCrowley
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411832

Postby AleisterCrowley » May 14th, 2021, 9:07 am

I rarely end up with soggy rice - I just use the timer on my phone and drain immediately after x minutes
More chance of me getting the water volume wrong with the absorption method

Mike4
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Re: Cooking Rice

#411836

Postby Mike4 » May 14th, 2021, 9:26 am

AleisterCrowley wrote:I rarely end up with soggy rice - I just use the timer on my phone and drain immediately after x minutes
More chance of me getting the water volume wrong with the absorption method


But therein lies the rub, what is the value of "x"? I find it different for every type and brand of rice when boiling it with excess water.

So I have taken to using a fork to remove a few grains every minute or so to test by eating. One needs to stop boiling and drain it in a sieve when the "test eat" finds the grains still a bit hard in the centre. The cooking continues for a minute or two after you decide it's time to stop cooking.

Additionally, rice boiled in excess water never seems quite as nice in texture as restaurant rice whatever the degree to which one cooks it, so my mind too has been veering around to investigating better ways to cook it.

I think to start with I'll get one of them microwave rice cookers recommended upthread by BJ (I think, or was it IAAG?).


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