Know Your Ingredients: How to Cook Rice

Cooking rice is easy, but for some reason it can give inexperienced cooks trouble. Follow these simple directions to cook perfect rice, then experiment with a few of the variations. Fried rice is a good way to use up leftovers.

Cooking Rice

Cover rice with twice as much water as rice. So if you use 1 cup of rice, add 2 cups of water. I usually add a teaspoon of oil or butter to the water to prevent it from foaming and boiling over. Bring it to a boil. Stir once to separate the grains, put the lid on, and turn the heat down to low.  Cook the rice until all the water is absorbed and the rice is done. Fluff the rice with a fork or turn it into a bowl immediately. This prevents the rice from overcooking and compacting into a gooey mess. Different rice varieties take longer or shorter to cook, use the table below as a guide.

Cooking Times for Rice Varieties:

Long Grain White Rice – 15 to 20 minutes

Long Grain White Rice, Baked:  bake in a 350 F. oven, 40 minutes to 1 hour

Brown Rice – approximately 45 minutes

Short Grain Sticky Rice – Soak for 10 minutes before cooking, cook for 10 minutes

Using Leftover Rice:

Don’t throw out leftover rice, add a few vegetables and stir fry it, make a rice salad or refrigerate or freeze it for later use.

Refrigerate or Freeze Rice for Later Use:

Make large batches of wild rice or brown rice and freeze it in serving size containers. When you are ready to use it, add a tablespoon of water and cover it with a damp paper towel. Microwave on high for a minute or two, until hot, then fluff with a fork.

Fried Rice

Recipes for fried rice begin with cooked rice. This is a good way to use up leftovers of either brown or white rice along with leftover meats and vegetables. Stir fry minced cooked meat and vegetables in 2 tbsp. of oil until vegetables are just tender and meat is heated through. Add 4 cups of cooked rice and 2 tbsp. of soy sauce. Stir fry until the rice is hot.

Variations — Making Your Rice More Interesting

Make rice with chicken broth instead of water. Also add 1 teaspoon of dried Italian seasoning and 1 cup of fresh or frozen chopped spinach. Cook as usual. Stir in ½ cup or more of grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

Go for a fresh flavor with this variation. Stir 2 diced tomatoes and ½ cup of parmesan cheese into freshly cooked rice. Sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil and serve.

Add ½ cup of dried fruit such as apricots, raisins or sweetened cranberries along with the zest of one orange and ½ cup of nuts to the rice as it comes off the heat. Mix in and fluff with a fork. This makes a great side dish with pork or chicken.

Rice Recipes: