All Ingredients

Rice

Cheap, filling, and keeps for a long time. Rice from the pantry often comes in a plain bag with no directions. That's fine. White rice almost always cooks the same way.

How to cook white rice

Makes about 3 cups, enough for 3 or 4 people.

  1. Put 2 cups of water in a pot with a pinch of salt (a small amount, what you can pick up between two fingers) if you have it. Bring it to a boil.
  2. Add 1 cup of rice. Stir once.
  3. Put the lid on. Turn the heat to low, as low as it goes. The water should bubble gently, not hard.
  4. Cook for 18 minutes. Don't lift the lid. The steam is what cooks the rice.
  5. Turn off the heat. Leave the lid on for 5 more minutes.
  6. Gently stir the rice with a fork to loosen it and break up clumps. This is called fluffing. Then serve.

Easiest way, for beginners

Cook it like pasta. You don't have to measure the water, and it won't burn.

  1. Fill a big pot with water and bring it to a boil.
  2. Add the rice and stir. Leave the lid off.
  3. Boil for 12 to 15 minutes. Bite a grain. When it's soft all the way through, it's done.
  4. Pour it into a strainer (a bowl with holes, also called a colander) in the sink to drain off the water.

How to use it

  • Use 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice. To make more, double both.
  • Brown rice takes longer. Use 2½ cups of water per cup of rice and cook for 40 to 45 minutes.
  • Instant or "minute" rice is different. Use the same amount of water as rice. Boil the water, stir in the rice, cover, take it off the heat, and wait 5 minutes.
  • Rice stuck to the bottom of the pot? The heat was a little high. Leave that part and scoop out the rest. Next time, turn the heat lower.
  • Rice still hard after 18 minutes? Add a few spoons of water, cover, and cook 5 more minutes.
  • No strainer? Hold the lid on the pot, leaving a small gap at one edge. Tip the pot over the sink so only the water pours out. Use oven mitts or a towel, because the pot and the steam are hot.

Storage

  • Keep uncooked white rice in a jar or container with a tight lid. It keeps for years. Brown rice goes bad sooner, in about 6 months.
  • If you see small bugs in a bag of rice, throw the bag out. A tight lid keeps bugs out.
  • Put leftover cooked rice in the fridge within an hour or two. Rice left out on the counter for hours can make you sick.
  • Cooked rice keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, or a couple of months in the freezer. Reheat it with a splash of water until it's hot all the way through.
  • Cold leftover rice is the best rice for Fried Rice.

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