A lovely bowl of cooked rice
My family eats rice everyday and so knowing how to cook rice is important. I teach my children how to cook rice in a pot. It is very easy. I used to cook rice in a rice cooker but I have given up long ago. I know there are different ways of cooking rice but what is the best way? It is really personal choice.
I grew up cooking rice over firewood. I think that’s the best way to cook rice if you want great-tasting rice. Later, I learned to use the rice cooker. But I have given up on that quite long ago for 2 main reasons. Firstly, I wanted to cut down on the number of kitchen gadgets in my kitchen. The rice cooker does take up quite a big space on the counter top. Secondly, I want to avoid all aluminium cooking utensils for health reasons.
Cooking rice with a pot is very easy. I’ll show you here. Firstly, you need a good stainless steel pot with a thicker base. Measure the amount of rice you want to cook. Wash it a few times with clean water until the water runs clear.
Unwashed rice
The easiest way to measure the correct amount of water to cook the rice is to dip your pointer finger into the water until it touches the rice. The water must come to the first section of your finger. The texture of the rice would be just perfect. Of course you can put less or more depending on your preference. This method applies no matter how much rice you cook, whether it’s 1 cup or 5 cups, long fingers or short fingers. The first section of everyone’s pointer finger is about the same length. Just don’t use baby’s finger!
Use finger to measure
Put the pot of rice on the stove to boil under medium fire. When it starts boiling (about 10 minutes or less), use a spoon to stir it just to loosen the rice sticking to the bottom of the pot. You don’t have to stir again.
Use a spoon to stir
The water will soon dry up and you will see small holes on the surprise. Cover the pot and turn the fire to it’s lowest. Leave it for about 5-10 minutes and turn off the fire. The rice should be cooked.
Holes on the surface
I always cook the rest of the other dishes when I cook rice. By the time the rice is cooked the dishes are also cooked. Besides when I’m cooking other dishes, I’m also taking care of the rice so I don’t forget and it gets burnt. Even my children know how to cook rice this way. My children will put slightly less water because they like tougher rice while I would put more because I like it slightly softer. So, adjust the water after trying it out once.
There may be a little rice stuck to the bottom of the pot but it’s easy to scoop it up. It’s great for making rice porridge the next day.
Do you eat rice everyday? How do you cook rice? What type of rice do you use? Please share, add and comment in the comment box below.
