Rice: The secret is good rice and patience

[Too Tall]

For some yrs. now I've depended on a fancy pants Japanese rice cooker to do my dirty work. When I cook for camp it is a lifesaver and makes very passable rice esp. if you use the good stuff. Passable is just not good enough and wanted to pass on some tricks and gather your insights.

Long Grain Basmati

This is a hands down fav. rice for many reasons. The best qualities are that this is more nutritious and will cook into separate grains that are really plump and it reheats very nicely.
I do not saute basmati or soak it or rinse to remove starch. Why would you wash off flavor?! For stock I like to use homemade or in a pinch Superior Touch either "better than chicken" or "vegetable". Both are really quite decent.
Choose an heavy pot for cooking that when filled with rice and water nearly contains everything leaving room at the top for expansion. My go to pot for making 2 or 3 cups is a small Le Cruset' cast enamel round oven:

The heavy cast iron is perfect for the way I like to cook rice.
Add cold water at a ratio of 1-1/2 cups liquid to 1 cup of rice. Most folks bring the rice to a boil than lower to simmer. I do not and rather will set the stove to simmer and leave it and forget it. If you have patience this will result in great rice that is steamed and if you are REALLY on your game there will be an carmelized layer on the bottom of your pan that is waiting for you to scrape up and mix in with the rice when you give it a quick scrape/fluff.

There are some real chefs here and would like to know what they do and if the above method passes muster.

[Ben]

Can't add anything to your rice cooking method, but wanted to +1 your recommendation of Better than Bouillon. I've never felt the need to make chicken or beef stock since I found this stuff.

[Too Tall]

Can't add anything to your rice cooking method, but wanted to +1 your recommendation of Better than Bouillon. I've never felt the need to make chicken or beef stock since I found this stuff.

Guilty pleasure. It's too good. I just gave a jar to my India neighbor and am waiting to hear.

[Tom]

I'll have to try your stove top method this afternoon, I'm making a fish biryani for some people coming over tonight. I'll be interested to see if I can tell a difference... but I'm also stopping over at the incredible Indian grocery at the foot of the hill for fresh turmeric among other things so that'll throw off the results. I like the Neuro Fuzzy (if not just for the name of the thing) for the timer function, having the rice ready when you get home makes for fast dinners. Plus I think it makes excellent brown rice.

[Dorman]

Rice Select Basmati from TX rocks. 1 cup rice:1 3/4 cup liquid of your choice with a dash of salt and butter if desired. Bring to a boil, stir once, put on the lid, reduce to simmer and cook 15 minutes. Take off the heat and let rest 10 minutes. Done perfect every time. If I'm feeling naughty I will start with the butter, some diced onion and garlic and soften in the bottom of the pan. Then mix in the rice for a couple of minutes stirring to make it a little nutty. Then add the liquid and go from there as normal.

[Too Tall]

Rice Select Basmati from TX rocks. 1 cup rice:1 3/4 cup liquid of your choice with a dash of salt and butter if desired. Bring to a boil, stir once, put on the lid, reduce to simmer and cook 15 minutes. Take off the heat and let rest 10 minutes. Done perfect every time. If I'm feeling naughty I will start with the butter, some diced onion and garlic and soften in the bottom of the pan. Then mix in the rice for a couple of minutes stirring to make it a little nutty. Then add the liquid and go from there as normal.

Excellent results assured. That is THE classic method. Awesome.
Link for that rice pls? Always seeking sources for the good stuff.

Can anyone comment wrt making rice afgani style? They seem to take exquisite care with preparation.

[billrick]

Long grain basmati is wonderfully versatile. But my number favorite rice for a dense rice/bean combo is short grain brown rice. It has a really nice tooth and flavor, almost like a brown sushi rice. Also good vinegared. And it can handle getting reheated without the grains falling part. This is the stuff that a lot of gourmet veggie burgers rely on for density.

Big fan of Le Creuset here, too. I don't use my Zojirushi rice cooker as much as I thought I would.

[Dorman]

Excellent results assured. That is THE classic method. Awesome.
Link for that rice pls? Always seeking sources for the good stuff.

Can anyone comment wrt making rice afgani style? They seem to take exquisite care with preparation.

that would be:Home - RiceSelect

Oh yeah, forgot to add I'm using an All Clad stainless rice pot.

[ZenNMotion]

Having lived in Nepal, in a traditional kitchen, Basmati would be washed to avoid stickiness and simmered slowly and then drained when almost fully cooked, then removed from heat completely to allow the final bit of cooking from its own steam. Never boiled hard, never left in it's cooking pot.

A little rice story-
In that area of the world, there is a variety of red basmati, called Chomrong, from the area of the same name that is reserved only for the most elite porters as it is relatively low yield and hard to grow and found in only high altitude environments but is super high protein and sustained energy. I watched a porter inhale this stuff at a mid-day meal on a trek to the Everest base camp. He was spending his day carrying a full size refrigerator for a tourist guest house by himself on a tumpline up through a section of the trail that was too steep and narrow for the yaks- nearly 1500 meters of altitude gain (starting at around 12,000 feet), nearly all on stone steps carved into a valley wall. In bare feet, no matter the occasional squalls of nearly freezing rain that day. One of the few local porters capable of doing this he earned roughly double the normal daily wage for this- about $15 for the delivery that would take him about 12 hours.

The closest thing I've ever found in domestic import stores here is red "cargo" rice. It's not the same as Chomrong, but it's by far may favorite rice, and I think of that porter and how lucky I am to just go to the store and buy rice without a second thought to its cost or availability. If you want to try something new, the red cargo rice can be found in asian markets and I highly recommend it.

[zetroc]

I've been using the Alice Waters method for long grain white rice (basmati/jasmine) for a while, and it never fails me. Here's my take.

2:1 water:rice
Soak for 30 minutes.
Add salt if desired. I use Morton's kosher.
Add a pat of butter.
Heat uncovered on med-low/med until you can barely see liquid. It's OK to stir until this point.
Cover.
Reduce heat.
10 minutes.
Remove from heat. Do not remove cover.
Let stand, still covered, for 7 minutes.
Fluff.
Serve.

[Too Tall]

Thanks Zen, I'm much enamored by food stories.

[Too Tall]

Thanks Zen, I'm much enamored by food stories.

Dorman, I did not recognize the name. Yes yes open my dry goods cupboard and you will always see a container of Texmati. Very reliable stuff.

[sonny]

most useful thread ever

giving Toot's no-boil cruset method a go

i'm ditiching my rice cooker
it sucks :(

[Derek Raymond]

Paella is the best way to cook rice for American/ European/ Indian style dishes in my opine. Medium grain brown from Lundberg is my go to for asian cooking. If you buy a decent rice cooker to start, it makes perfect rice. Every great Thai restaurant I know uses a rice cooker instead of a pot.

[Too Tall]

The trouble with rice cookers is that the rice is never as good as when I slow cook it in cast enamel. The rice cooker is very convenient, does a darn good job and I could not feed large groups without it but the thing produces just so-so rice. I am using two diff. zojirushi cookers, one is a medium and the other a small commercial.

[maunahaole]

My neighbors tipped me off to mixing some pesto (and sometimes green peas) in with your hot rice. The pesto rice tastes good, just as you would expect it to, easy way to add some flavor to a staple.

[vertical_doug]

The trouble with rice cookers is that the rice is never as good as when I slow cook it in cast enamel. The rice cooker is very convenient, does a darn good job and I could not feed large groups without it but the thing produces just so-so rice. I am using two diff. zojirushi cookers, one is a medium and the other a small commercial.

I think if depends on what style of rice you want. Japanese prefer their rice sticky because otherwise it is a real pain to eat with chopsticks. If you use a typical Japanese style rice like either Koshihikari or Akitakomachi, wash it well and cook it in a rice cooker, you get perfect sticky rice every time. Afterwards you take your white rice and do what you want, whether eating it with a curry, or as part of a meal etc.

If you try to make other kinds of rice beside white sticky in the rice cooker, you get lesser degrees of success. Washing the rice to get all the dust off before cooking in the rice cooker is the real key to success.

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My wife likes her pressurized toshiba model. She can also use it to make Amazake which at this time of year, really hits the spot.

[Dorman]

There's rice under this pile and I made it. I promise...

[summilux]

I am a "faan tong", Cantonese for rice barrel. I eat a lot of rice: Japanese, Thai scented, white basmati and brown. I have been using the same el-cheapo Panasonic rice cooker for twenty years. Perfect rice every time with a minimal of fuss. Here's my rice cooker suggestions:

1. Don't overdo the water: 6 parts water to 5 parts rice for all the white rices. 2 parts water to 1 part rice for brown.
2. Washing the rice is super important. Really. Wash the rice with 10 changes of cold water. According to the sushi master who taught me this: 3 times for the Father, 3 times for the Son, 3 times for the Holy Spirit and once for yourself. Don't touch the rice with your hands, just swirl it in the water. Water should be clear. Next, drain the rice thoroughly in a collander for at least 20 minutes. This limited hydration and then dehydration has a tremendous effect on flavour and texture. Trust me.
3. After rice has cooked in the rice cooker, let it sit undisturbed and unplugged for 20 minutes. Patience and planning, Grasshopper.
4. Find a Chinese/Korean/Indian ethnic store to buy your rice. If you can, smell the rice before you buy it. For Thai scented and Basmati, you want the rice with the most intense aroma. Don't cheap out. If in doubt, buy the most expensive.

[Too Tall]

I am a "faan tong", Cantonese for rice barrel. I eat a lot of rice: Japanese, Thai scented, white basmati and brown. I have been using the same el-cheapo Panasonic rice cooker for twenty years. Perfect rice every time with a minimal of fuss. Here's my rice cooker suggestions:

1. Don't overdo the water: 6 parts water to 5 parts rice for all the white rices. 2 parts water to 1 part rice for brown.
2. Washing the rice is super important. Really. Wash the rice with 10 changes of cold water. According to the sushi master who taught me this: 3 times for the Father, 3 times for the Son, 3 times for the Holy Spirit and once for yourself. Don't touch the rice with your hands, just swirl it in the water. Water should be clear. Next, drain the rice thoroughly in a collander for at least 20 minutes. This limited hydration and then dehydration has a tremendous effect on flavour and texture. Trust me.
3. After rice has cooked in the rice cooker, let it sit undisturbed and unplugged for 20 minutes. Patience and planning, Grasshopper.
4. Find a Chinese/Korean/Indian ethnic store to buy your rice. If you can, smell the rice before you buy it. For Thai scented and Basmati, you want the rice with the most intense aroma. Don't cheap out. If in doubt, buy the most expensive.

110% agree wrt rinsing until the rice water is clear. I do that for the camps using super long grain Basmati and you are right it really makes a difference. That rice stands on hold for up to 4 hrs. while we are out playing in the hills of Virginia and on return it is pretty darn good.
Honestly, I have a hard time finding the good stuff locally. We have one Persian store that only sometimes has the top shelf Basmati. There is a huge amt. of garbage on supermarket shelves. The a fore mentioned Texmati rice is superior stuff but boy howdy it can get pricey when cooking for hoards of hungry people.