How to Cook White Rice

The Japanese eat rice on a daily basis. So we all know how to prepare it. However for people not used to cooking rice and using rice cookers there are a few simple steps to follow to ensure that you are able to make the best tasting rice possible.

I like to follow 4 stages when I make my rice. They are as follows:

Washing the rice
Soaking the rice
Cooking the rice
Being patient
I shall discuss each of these steps in turn. Firstly it is important to wash the rice prior to cooking it. Rather than it being dirty, the aim when we wash the rice is to rinse away excess starch from the surface of the grains. So the first thing to do is to scoop the required number of cups of rice into the non-stick cooking bowl of your rice cooker. Then add some water. Simply using your fingers, start to swirl the rice and water around.

You will notice that the water begins to turn a milky color. When it becomes a strong white color simply pour this water down the sink. Then add more water and repeat. It is traditional to do this three times. Although if you are not satisfied that your rice is clean enough simply continue until the water hardly changes color when you mix it around the bowl.

Once you have washed your rice you must ensure that you add the correct amount of water to the cooking bowl. This is easy as you simply fill the bowl to the numbered mark that is equal to the number of cups of rice in the non-stick cooking dish. Then you can place the bowl into the rice cooker itself. Rather than turning it on straight away, I like to let my rice sit for a few minutes, ideally 5-10 minutes. This allows it to begin to absorb some of the water.

Thirdly simply start your rice cooker and it will take care of cooking the rice for you. The cooking is the easy part as we do not have to do anything. However the preparation prior to cooking is important to ensure we get the best tasting rice possible.

Finally once the rice has finished cooking, rather than serving it up straight away, it is best to let it sit for a few minutes. You can also turn the heat setting down. Leaving the rice for a few minutes rather than serving it up straight away makes it less likely to stick to the cooking bowl. When serving the rice, rinsing the serving spatula before use means it will reduce the quantity of rice that sticks to the serving spoon. And these are the simple steps to follow to get great tasting Japanese rice every time.

Yoko Iwata is a native of Japan and prepares rice every day. She is an expert at using Japanese rice cookers.

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