I know this seems like an odd one to start my recipes with but I’m a firm believer in starting with the basics and it can be hard to get right.

Rice is our version of bread. It goes with EVERYTHING, but I can understand why it can cause some confusion since there are so many variations. There’s American Long grain, Indian Basmati, Japanese Sushi, heck even Italian risotto is a form of rice, just to name a few. But for the sake of ease I’ll be using Long grain as my example for this recipe.

Rice is an incredibly versatile grain to cook with and once you’ve got the initial reintroduction of water down (because really that’s all your doing when your cooking rice), you can use it as a meal accompaniment, you can fry it, you can make Onigiri (Japanese rice balls, great for snacking) and even my personal favourite Korean Bimbimbap ( a rice bowl with a mix of vegetables, sauce and protein). Since it has no flavour by itself, like tofu, it goes amazing with any sauces (I personally like to add a bit of Italian Ragu and meatballs sometimes to my bowl of rice when I’m feeling lazy). Another great thing about rice is that once it has cooled down completely you can pop the rest in a Tupperware box and it will keep for a couple of days in the fridge. But do make sure it has cooled down completely, preferably overnight before putting it in a fridge.

I understand that it may sound patronising to start with telling people how to cook rice, but in my experience, unless you’ve been brought up with the grain, those who aren’t used to it tend to get it very wrong. For instance, a friend was telling me one day that her mum would just put the rice and the water into the pan and would let it boil until there was no water left. The consequence of that is, the rice then becomes very gluey and it’s like mush. Another friend admitted that he never washed his rice before cooking it and was complaining that it left a very weird feeling in his mouth. With perhaps the exception of Bas1matic rice and maybe Pilau (to some extent), rice should be soft and fluffy when cooked properly. I have been to many a restaurant where the rice is cooked “al dente” like pasta. Which is fine if that is what suits you (in which case, use less water), but if you want to eat rice like we do in the East, then soft and fluffy (like a baby rabbit) is the way to go.

So without further ado, here is my step by step guide to cooking rice:

1. The general rule of thumb is that you use one cup of rice per person (this can be a generous portion but as I said, you can put the left overs away once it has cooled down). Place the uncooked rice into a round pan or if you have a rice cooker, into the bowl provided.
2. Wash the rice. This is very important as it not only cleans the rice of any debris but it also gets rid of the extra starch that is in it. To wash the rice, once the water is in the pan (just enough water to cover the rice), using your hand, just swish the rice together and rub between your fingers. When the water turns white, rinse and repeat. You need to do this about 2/3 times or until the water is clear.
3. Once water is clear, you need to put water in. While empty of water, place your index finger in the bowl until it is touching the top of the rice, then pour water in until it hits the first crease/joint of your finger. My Mum taught me this, and the rice comes out perfect every time. Score one for old wives tales!
4. Now if you happen to have a rice cooker then all you need to do is put the rice bowl back in the machine and turn it on (it will automatically either turn itself off or turn itself to warm, I would check the instructions manual to be sure). But for those of you who don’t; place lid onto the pan and place on to the stove on high and bring to boil. As soon as it starts to boil, turn the heat down to its lowest setting, with the lid back on, and simmer (usually about 20 mins). As a rule of thumb, when you see the steam coming out, for the most part the rice is pretty much ready. If in doubt you can leave for a further minute or so.

That’s it! Turn of the heat and using a fork or spoon, loosen the rice and serve. If you have any questions just ask in the comment section and I will try to answer to the best of my abilities.