How To Make Steamed Rice

By Philip Yiga | September 7, 2015

Cooking is simple in case you know the procedures to follow when cooking and this means that almost anyone can learn how to cook. In fact, cooking is a rewarding and relaxing way to end your day because it is not complicated and this why some people like cooking most especially ladies. On the other hand, steamed rice is a versatile and staple food for many different regional cuisines and this is because preparing steamed rice is very simple and quick compared to other foods. In fact, steamed-rice is the backbone of nay simple-meal because it is simple to prepare and below are some of the basic steps that can use to create steamed-rice:

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SECTION-1: HOW TO PREPARE STEAMED RICE:

1. Use the right water-amount: The best measurement to making great steamed-rice is 1-cup of uncooked-rice and 2-cups of liquid (water). In fact, one of dried rice is enough to serve people after cooking but in case you’re going to serve more than 2-people, then should increase on the amount of rice and water accordingly during the preparation-process. Additionally, make sure that the cooking-pan you are going to use is big enough to accommodate the amount of rice and liquid you’re about to add.

2. Add some cooking-oil: you should actually add a tablespoon of olive, peanut or any other oil into the cooking-pan for best results. Likewise, you can add in more oil to the sauce-pan in case you are going cook a large amount of rice.

3. Pour the rice into the cooking-pan: turn the burner to a medium-heat in order to slightly heat the oil then add the rice to be cooked into the cooking-pan. Stir-up the mixture so that all the rice is well-coated with oil. Likewise, you can cook or fry your rice in oil a bit longer in case you want to achieve drier and crispier rice.

4. Continue stirring the rice: you should keep stirring your rice while heats-up and after a minute, this rice will turn from a translucent to hard-white color. Additionally, if really brown-rice, then stir your rice for a longer period of time like 5-minutes so that the grains can turn to a brown-color.

5. Lower the stove-heat: turn the heat of your stove/oven down or to a low-setting when the starts to boil. In fact, make sure that the stove-oven dial goes as low as it can and then place a lid over the cooking-pot containing the boiling-rice.

6. Leave the rice to simmer: let the rice simmer without removing the lid for about 15-20 minutes. But make sure that the rice doesn’t simmer longer than the recommended time because you will be risking burning the bottom of the rice. Additionally, make sure that the lid is not removed at this simmering-point because it is actually a steaming-process.

7. Remove the cooked-rice from heat: turn the stove/oven off completely after the simmering-process and then lift and place the cooking-pan aside with the lid on. You can actually leave your rice to sit any position until you are ready to serve it. In fact, it’s recommended to let the cooked-rice to continue steaming for at least 30-minutes in order to achieve best results.

8. Serve the cooked-rice: after the rice is completely steamed-up, remove the lid from the cooking-pot and then begin to serve the rice. Enjoy your steamed-rice meal and you can always follow the same process in case you wish to prepare steamed-rice again.

 

SECTION-2: MAKING STEAMED-RICE LOOK AND TASTE BETTER:

1. Use a rice-cooker: try using a rice-cooker to prepare steamed-rice because rice-cookers actually provide superior cooked-rice compared to other cooking-options. In fact, if you plan on eating steamed-rice often, then you should invest in high-quality rice-cooker in order to achieve well-cooked rice.

2. Choose rice carefully: there are actually different rice-types and each of these types works better for a specific dish or recipe. So you have to be careful when choosing the rice because you have to consider what you’re going to use the rice for. In fact, different rice-types will be stickier or drier, have different flavors and even contain fewer or more nutrients. For instance, jasmine-rice tends to be a lot stickier while basmati makes a dry final-product.

3. Wash the rice: always wash your rice before cooking it in case you don’t want it to be too sticky. Washing rice actually helps to remove some of the starch on top of the grains hence improving on the final rice-texture. However, don’t leave the rice in water for a long period while washing it and always drain all the dirty-water for the rice before you begin the preparation process.

4. Soak rice before cooking it: try to soak the rice in warm-water before cooking it because this actually helps to improve on the texture of the cooked-rice. In fact, you only have to cover rice in warm-water and then allow it to soak.

5. Adjust the amount of water to be poured into the rice: long-grain rice requires about 1.5 cups of water to each cup of rice, brown-rice requires at least 2-cups of water or more but short grained white-rice requires less than the standard amount of water in order to achieve the best results. Additionally, you should also try to adjust the water-amount immediately after observing how specific rice-type cooks-up so as to achieve the best results.

6. Add some spices to the rice: before you think of closing the cooking-pot for the rice to steam-up, try to add some spices in order to give your rice a little flavor but remember stir-up your rice after adding the spices in order to ensure even distribution of the spices. Some of the best spice options to consider include; a slight sprinkling of celery-salt, curry-powder, garlic-powder, furikake and much more.

 

TIPS TO CONSIDER WHEN PREPARING STEAMED-RICE:

• You can also cook your rice with other foods in order to create mixed-rice dish. Chicken-broth is actually a better choice and you can even decide to add some little wine the liquid to be poured in the rice in order to generate an awesome taste and smell. Additionally, seasoning-oils and roasted sesame-oil can also create a flavorful taste. But remember to add all these ingredients at the beginning just after adding the liquid to rice for best results.

• Avoid touching the cooking pan during the cooking process and immediately after cooking the rice. This is because you may end-up getting burnt. However, if you really have to touch the cooking-pot during the cooking-process, then it advised to wear kitchen-gloves in order to protect your hands from heat.