Sunday 24 March 2013

Back to Basic: Rice

Every cook and housewife has their own way of measuring the water level to cook rice; such as “just up to the knuckles if spreading the palm out on the raw rice” or “the finger’s depth more water than the rice” and other kind of guesstimation. I hope to highlight a more measurable and accurate method of cooking fluffy old crop, long grain rice – the main staple of Asia.

How to cook rice
Ingredients:
Long Grain Rice (Basmati, Thai Jasmine or Persian).
Water (Broth or Stock).

Prep Up Your Rice:
1. Use any cup or bowl to measure the rice (level measure no heaping).
2. Wash rice until the water runs clear and drain away excess water.
3. Use the same cup or bowl that you used to measure the rice earlier and this time measure 2 times the amount of water or broth/stock and add to the rice.
4. Let rice sit and soak in the liquid for half an hour up to an hour. This ensures even cooking later. This is the trick to good fluffy rice. Keep this under a food net or colander, away from possible contamination as we will not be rinsing anymore. If using the electric rice cooker, put it into the pot and cover with lid. Turn on “cook” after stipulated soaking time. If using broth, try not to exceed one hour.
Electric Rice Cooker Method:
1. Put the rice and the soaking liquid into an electric rice cooker and switch on the “cook” button.
2. Keep rice in pot with lid on for a further 5 minutes before serving.
Stove Methods:

Method 1
1. Put everything in a pot and bring the water to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring once or twice during this process to ensure even cooking.
2. Simmer rice in pot until all the water is absorbed and steam holes appear on the surface.
3. Cover the pot with a lid or plate.
4. Continue simmering until dry about 10-15 minutes on very very low heat.
5. Keep rice in pot for a further 5 minutes before serving.

Method 2
1. Put everything in a pot and bring the water to a fast boil over medium-high heat.
2. Boil rice in pot until rice becomes translucent. Stirring a few times during this process.
3. Pour the pot over a big colander to drain the water away.
4. Put rice back into the pot.
5. Cover the pot with a lid or plate and continue simmering until dry about 10-15 minutes on very very low heat.
6. Keep rice in pot for a further 5 minutes before serving.

Method 3 (needs no measurement of water but is another way to cook rice especially when cooking Nasi Lemak).
1. Bring a huge 2 tiered steaming pot of water to a fast boil.
2. Put rice on a muslin cloth and onto the upper tier of the pot and steam for 30-45 minutes until the rice is cooked.


Variations:
To make simple rice more fragrant (experiment with the suggestions below):
Lemongrass.
Pandan Leaves.
Fried Shallots.
Fried Onions.
Fried Garlic.
Ginger.
Butter/Ghee.
Rose Water/Essence.
Saffron.
Using broth/stock instead of water.
Tomato Juice (or add tomato puree/paste with stock).
Vegetable Juice (canned, sodium free).

Steamed Thai Jasmine Rice
Flavoured Rice.
We eat plain rice topped with eggs, vegetables and meat.
Leftover rice can be fried with all your other leftover vegetables and meat so there’s no wastage :)


Happy eating :)

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