ok my friend and i were agruing about the right way to cook rice. he said that rice is cooked only one way: boiled for 20 minutes and its done. with american rice its supposed to take less than five minutes to microwave i said that it takes almost an hour for me to cook rice, and he said that i'm weird. i'm not weird, there's more than one way to cook rice!

the traditional way i was taught to cook was to boil the rice for 15 minutes then steam it for 30 minutes, depending on the amount being prepared. i prefer long rice. i also like sticky rice. sticky rice needs to be soaked but it only takes less than 20 minutes to steam and its ready. i have childhood memories of beer rice at parties...haven't found that recipe yet.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mYuuki
[B]ok my friend and i were agruing about the right way to cook rice.

 

Yep

Quote:

How? You mean you boil it and the you scoop it out into a container and then put it into a steamer?

After boiling the rice for 10-15 minutes, check the water for foam and the rice should be done. Pour the rice into a strainer and move it to a steamer. After 20 minutes the rice should be ready, but its best to taste and test before taking it out. Unlike normal boiled sloppy gooey rice, this traditional method makes the rice fresh and fluffy. Leftovers are still good for a day or two if refrigerated.

 

I have tried Indian Basmati rice and generic rice, but I usually buy Kukuho Rose Japanese rice. I use the "finger method" for the water (equal height rice and water) then add a little extra water after that (I like my rice a bit moist). I put it in the rice cooker until the light goes from "Cook" to "Warm" (Boiling Stage), then let it sit another 10 minutes or so (Steam Stage) before eating since it's not really fully cooked after the "Cook" stage. Serve and Enjoy!

 

mingster's rice cooking advice:

1. use a rice cooker. any japanese brands like zojirushi or hitachi will do. no need to buy anything with fuzzy logic or spend hundreds. i use a traditional Tatung (from Taiwan) rice cooker, and i find it to cook the best eventhough the rice cooker's design is more than 50 years old.
2. when measuring, use cups. two people can go through 1 cup of rice easily in one sitting. i'm a big rice eater, so two cups for my wife and i
3. 1 cup of rice requires 1 cup of water (minimum). i like soft, sticky, and glowing rice, so i use 1 and 1/10 cup of water for each cup of rice
4. don't wash the rice too much! three to five cycles of wash and drain should be plenty.
5. buy short grain, high quality rice if you like good, soft rice. i only buy Tamaki Gold (super expensive but totally worth it).

 

I'm finding this thread really interesting. Mingster, what happens if you wash the rice too much? Do you prefer the short grain calrose to the long grain rice for Chinese food? I've always prefered the long grain myself.

 

Bernie, if you wash the rice too much the essential rice "taste" (and aroma) won't stay with the rice. I can't really explain it properly, but there are details about water if you ever get that anal about it (i only do if i'm doing a special meal or something). my advice is to wash it until it's semi-transparent (the water).

calrose is ok, like i said i prefer Tamaki - but i don't know if it's available outside of CA (and it's probably the most expensive rice you can find at 99 Ranch Market). i use short grain rice for meals, but if i really want to make a killer fried rice, i use the longer grain (so called "Thai-rice") rice because it has a differen moisture property and react very well with the ingredients when fried.

 

Thai long grain aromatic is about the best we can get here. Is Tamaki a calrose?

 

I have the best results when I use 1 3/4 cup water to one cup of rice. Boil the water, throw in the rice, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. THEN, shut off your burner - don't take off the lid - and let it sit there for another good 20.

Texmati is the best rice round here. nice aromatic popcorn smell. I usually don't rinse it prior either. does that make it less sticky?

 

i think calrose is just a name, not a type of rice. Tamaki is the highest quality short grain rice (and $$$) i've had.