How to cook perfect white rice
If you follow these three steps, we can almost guarantee that you will be able to make perfectly cooked, fluffy rice!
1. You need to use Basmati or Texmati rice. It is a little more expensive than regular long grain white rice but has a much softer and elegant texture. If you happen to have an Indian grocery in your town, you will be able to buy Basmati rice for as low as $1.25 per pound. At Whole Foods it will cost around $2.50 a pound for organic Basmati rice. On Amazon you can buy it for around $1.80 per pound, less if you buy in bulk.
2. You MUST soak the rice for 20 minutes. I don't know exactly why this works, but the results are foolproof. If you soak the rice before you cook it, it will taste fluffier and awesome. You also want to add a tiny bit of salt during the soak.
3. Use a rice cooker. If you don't have one, there is no excuse not to get one. Black and Decker makes one you can get for $12. Follow the exact ratio of rice to water that is recommended on the rice package. Usually it is 1 3/4 cup of water for every 1 cup of rice.
This is such an easy process to follow. After the rice cooker turns off, take a fork and "fush" the rice around a little to fluff it up. Leave the cover of the rice cooker off for a few minutes to allow some of the moisture to leave.
You can also cook quinoa in the EXACT same way. For those of you following the Magic Fridge approach to eating, a rice cooker is a must have piece of equipment.
What About Brown Rice and Don't All The Health People Tell You To Eat That Instead?
Brown rice cooks the same way, but you need to cook it a little longer to make it fluffy. In terms of nutrition, Brown Rice is more nutritious than White Rice. According to Dr. Fuhrman, Brown Rice has an ANDI score of 40 while White Rice has an ANDI score of 12.
To put this into a little better context, Kale has an ANDI score of 1000. We make Basmati rice for the great taste. We usually eat it with a pile of vegetables, which dwarf any form of rice in nutrient density.
That said, if you are in the Type 2 Diabetes or Metabolic syndrome range, studies have shown that whole grains are correlated with better health. This might serve as great motivation for you. If you are in this range, please read this article to learn how a super high nutrient diet will help you get your numbers under control.
How Do You Eat Rice? Do You Eat Rice?
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It seems easy! Can I assume that cooking in a microwave is also ok?
Posted by: Tardis3 | 01/02/2011 at 09:50 PM
Thanks! Rice has always been a challenge, but not any more!
Posted by: Susan | 01/04/2011 at 05:48 PM