Basics, Cooking, Imported from Tumblr

Peter’s No-Fail Long Grain Rice Method

Backstory
Peter's Notes
Recipe

This issue seems to become important at unpredictable intervals. There was certainly an uptick in interest that coincided with the appearance of COVID on the scene, and some folks took notice.

A comment on would-be post-apocalyptic heroes

It’s unfortunate that something of an air of mystery has attached itself to what’s essentially a simple process. See the “Recipe” tab at the top for the details.

Also: please note that this method is intended for long grain rice. Short-grain rice (of the kinds used for risotto or sushi) won’t work with this method. But if you’ve got a long grain rice, or basmati, this method’s what you want.

I searched “Why use a rice cooker” and got more or less the same info from several different sources. The writer of this Huffpost article said:

I tried cooking rice over the stove and ended up with a soggy mess, then tried making it with an Instant Pot and got uncooked grains.
…
Instead of having to boil water over the stove, stir in the rice, cover it and simmer (all while keeping your eye on a timer), all you have to do is put the rice and water in the cooking pot, place it in the cooker, and press a button.
There’s no need to peek under the lid to make sure your heat isn’t too high or low, or worry about babysitting a pot to keep the rice at the bottom from burning.

This is from Tom’s Guide:

Anyone who cooks rice regularly knows it can often be tricky to get it right each time. Much like a science, if the water levels in the pot are not precise, or the stove temperature is not adjusted carefully, you’ll end up with either soggy, crunchy or worse still, burnt rice.
…
After all, who has time to stand by a pot of boiling rice, constantly stirring, and having to scrub it clean at the end?

Here’s my response.

I get it right every time.
Once, very early on, I ended up with soggy rice, but I’ve never had crunchy or burnt rice.
I don’t have to stand by the pot constantly stirring, in fact my method doesn’t involve doing either.
I don’t have to peek under the lid, in fact my method says Don’t Do That.
I don’t have to keep an eye on the timer, it’s got a loud beep.
My saucepan is as easily cleaned as the pot of a rice cooker.

The basic rule is simple, but works with any size of measure and any amount of rice:

Use 1 measure of rice to 2 measures of water.

That’s basically it! And now for the details.

This demonstration was done using a relatively small amount of rice (1 US cup). I used a smaller pot than in the image at the top, and :the standard US 1-cup (8 fl.oz / 250ml) from our set.

2 cups water + 1 cup rice + 12 minutes stove + 30 minutes warm oven = enough perfect fluffy rice for two people.

How it’s done: Boil your water (2 cups for this demo).

Add rice (1 cup of it in this case), stir, and bring back to the boil.

Cover, turn the heat down to the lowest available setting, and allow to cook for 12 minutes. DO NOT PEEK.

At the end of the 12 minutes, uncover the pot and something very like this is what you should see:

Fluff the rice up a little with a fork, and it’ll be ready to serve.

And that’s it!

There is, however, one more thing you might have to do. If at this fluffing stage you discover that your rice hasn’t absorbed all the water, cover it again and put the pot into a VERY low oven (say 100C / 200F) for 30 minutes. That should fix the absorption problem. (You can also keep the rice hot for serving this way.)