Rice. This is an easy food to cook, right?
Wrong. Rice has been the source of my cooking frustration for the last month, as it has been impossible (for me) to cook this seemingly simple food. The only reasons I haven't given up trying to cook this food is because it is one of the most abundant foods available in Madagascar, and it is one of the cheapest (about $2 for a kilo)...(okay, okay, I also haven't given up because it is so easy for Drew to make rice!) So, after 6 failed attempts to make rice, I have finally cooked delicious rice for us! So, do not lose heart if you have tried to cook rice and it has burned, been too watery, or something else (I have also washed rice with filtered water and then stored it in an airtight container for a week before using it...which led to fermented rice that smelled terrible and wasn't suitable for eating! Sheesh).
Here are some simple, fail-proof steps to making good (edible) rice:
Here are some simple, fail-proof steps to making good (edible) rice:
- Memorize the 1:2:3 Rice Ratio: 1 cup of uncooked rice (plus): 2 cups of water (yields): 3 cups of cooked rice.
- Measure (exactly!) 2 cups of water and put in a pot on the stove. Cover the pot with a lid and turn on the heat, bringing the water to a strong boil.
- Measure (exactly! again) 1 cup of rice and pour this into the pot of boiling water on the stove.
- Quickly stir the boiling water and rice in the pot a few times (but not very many times) and then put the lid back on the pot.
- Lower the heat on the stove and let the rice cook in the pot of boiling water for about 10-15 minutes.
- The rice is cooked when all the water has evaporated from the pot and the rice has "grown" in the pot.
- Serve the rice and enjoy! You've conquered the rice at last!
Hi Christina! Cooking rice here in Chile has been different too. I was used to the 5 minute instant stuff in the U.S.A. Mine always sticks to the bottom of the pan if I get distracted. Luckily it hasn't burned completely (yet)! Some other things you might try if you haven't already: 1) Putting oil (I use olive oil) in the water. It keeps the rice from sticking together and forming clumps, and 2) using beef broth (beef bouillon cube with water) or chicken broth (chicken bouillon cube with water) in place of just plain water. Katie, Matt, and I love it! Especially when we are suffering from some illness we have picked up.
ReplyDeleteHope you both are doing well, and getting settled in.
Thanks, Lauren! I will have to try these tips for cooking rice! I appreciate your help :) It's so good to hear from you!
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