How to Cook Rice

Perfect Rice Cooking Tips & Guidelines

It’s good to learn how to cook rice properly especially if you enjoy cooking in general. Rice is a staple food in many cultures. It is also very popular in many dishes and a traditional side dish in many meals.

Rice is the one food that seems to be the easiest to scorch or burn if you aren't careful and can ruin a meal. It doesn't have to be that way, though. The reason that rice seems to be difficult to cook is because there are two simple elements that must be done correctly but they are often overlooked – these are heat and time.

If you have the heat too high, your rice will scorch and the water will cook out before the rice is done so you will have an interesting dish of scorched, crunchy rice - not very appetizing. If you cook it too slowly, you can end up with rice that is gummy and very starchy. That is not very appetizing either. The key to perfectly cooked rice is allowing it to rest.

So, let's talk about how to cook rice perfectly the old fashioned way: on the stove top.

• Measure your rice. One cup is generally 2 to 4 servings, depending on how hungry your guests are.

• Measure your water precisely.

  Wait! When you cook rice, whether it is 1 cup or 10 cups, you keep your water to rice, two to one. One cup of rice requires two cups of water.

• This is an optional move here, but it still is worth mentioning. Rinse your rice. Some folks do this, some don't. The reasoning behind this is supposedly that the rinsing removes the starch from the rice. You may find that it works for you and it may not. That is why this step is optional. You can also soak it for a while which seems to lessen the cooking time as the rice has already begun to absorb water.

• Select a pot that has a well fitting lid. Place the rice in the bottom of the pan and cover it with the measured water. You may opt to throw in a dash of salt (some people even drop in a couple of pats of butter).

• Place the pot, covered, over a medium high heat until it comes to a rolling boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Do not remove the lid.

• After simmering for 5 minutes, turn the heat completely off. Leave the pot covered, do not lift the lid to peek, for 10 minutes.

If you use Chicken Stock in place of water, you may find that you need a little more liquid in which to cook the rice. If you add onions, garlic and other seasonings you will definitely need to adjust the liquid by increasing it. If you watch your heat and timing, you should have no problem making the perfect pot of rice and you’ll be showing people how to cook rice perfectly too.

More Chicken and Rice Recipes

Listed below are a few of my favourites.


Spanish Rice and Chicken

Chicken Casseroles and Stews

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Chicken ala King

Top Of How To Cook Rice

Chicken Curry Recipes

Guide to Buying Chicken

Chicken Recipes Homepage