Cooking fun-damentals: my perfect rice recipe, a cheat chart, and rice myth busting
+ roast chicken and crispy rice casserole in the Ninja Combi
Last Sunday I had a gardening accident. A large rock fell on my big toe as Rory and I were trying to maneuver a heavy pot. There was blood and pain and I also fainted from the shock of it all. Rory woke me with a gentle slap to my face.
X-rays showed I luckily had no broken bones or fractures. The kind Urgent Care folks sent me home with instructions for “wound care” and to take it easy.
The accident was caused by a very, very stoopid move, one that even a professional gardener would not do. We were rushing because that’s what we do nowadays – try to rush to squeeze everything in during our waking hours. Does that rush yield a better life? My toe and the rock reminded me to take time to unwind, learn new and fun things, but still focus on fundamentals.
That’s how I got to playing with rice. First, I experimented with adapting chef Ron Hsu’s chicken and rice casserole for the Ninja Combi oven. I was curious about its Sear/Saute function plus something called “Combi Crisp.” The little machine has its beeping quirks but surprisingly, it produced a casserole with an incredible rice crust at the bottom. The chicken skin was delicately crisp too.
What the Ninja Combi produced was was an excellent reason to indulge in lots of white rice! Instead of using the stove and oven to make the dish, I prepped and organized the ingredients, turned on the combi, and played with its various functions. It’s pretty amazing for a countertop appliance. Head to the website to grab the recipe and watch my video of how the dish comes together. (Ron’s conventional recipe for the casserole is also at the website.)
Rory asked me how I dialed in cooking the rice so well in the combi, an appliance that cooks fast and furious and sometimes seems to be out of control. The machine is forgiving but also, I know how to cook rice in a pot on the stove as well as in the microwave.
Why cook rice in a pot if a rice cooker is around?
When I’m in a hurry, I cook rice in my Cuckoo rice cooker. It’s a good machine but to be honest, the cooked, while good, is shy of great. When I take time to cook rice on the stove, I can coax the grains into tender-chewy, fluffy perfection. I don’t consider it a feat of daring do.
Cooking rice the old fashioned way is not only a survival skill (someday, you may lack electricity for that cooker!) but also an opportunity to practice the craft of making good food. What you learn from cooking rice on the stovetop is portable knowledge to apply elsewhere — for a paella, risotto, and sushi rice, for instance. No matter how fancy the rice dish is, cooking rice is simply hydrating and heating up grains. You just need confidence in manipulating the cooking process to meet your needs.
Every person has a cooked rice ideal based upon their cuisine, culture, and personal preference.
For my everyday eating, I like chewy tender grains of Thai jasmine rice that stick together ever so slightly. They’ll hold together as a mass when you’re dishing up the rice from the pot but when you look at them, you can clearly distinguish their shape. Such grains are more receptive to sauces and other flavors that hit them on the plate or in a bowl. (When I’m cooking Japanese, Korean, or South Asian dishes, I use different kinds of rice.)
In this dispatch, you’ll find:
Rice cooking myth busting to help you confidently cook rice
Pointers on rice and pan selection
A scalable chart for you to make as much as you need
My perfect jasmine rice recipe in full text and downloadable PDF
Troubleshooting tips for you to craft your ideal pot of rice
Let’s bust 3 myths about cooking rice
My mom first taught me how to make long-grain rice in a basic National rice cooker. When I asked her about cooking rice on the stove, she told me about her unplugged another, which I followed before eventually developing my own recipe. When I’ve made rice with friends, they’re often surprised that I break the golden rules of cooking rice.
Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Washing the grains rids them of some starch so they taste fresh and clean. I wash and rinse white rice about three times and these photos show the progression. The water is never fully clear when you’re washing white rice. Just get close to it then move on to cook the rice!
Measure water by your knuckle. There is no universal knuckle and universal pot for all people who cook rice. The water level depends on the pot, the amount of rice you’re cooking, and your personal knuckle! Cook the same amount of rice in the same pot for a month or so to gauge the water level that works for you. Then try eyeballing the water level. Only you and your personal knuckle can truly know your equipment, ingredients, and taste preference.
Don’t lift the lid before the rice is done. Rice cooks by gentle steam action so a heavy pot with a secure lid helps. If you cook rice in a not-so-good pot with a loosey goosey lid, you’ll have a hard time retaining the heat if you open the pot up during cooking. With good modern pots, you can open and close the lid often without ruining the rice. Go ahead and peek!
Rice and pot selection
My default rice for everyday eating is white or brown jasmine rice grown in Thailand. Usually, the rice is Three Ladies brand. Regardless of brand, look for handsome grains with a slight polished sheen, very few broken grains, and a good flavor, aroma, and texture. Private label supermarket jasmine rice is great too, so long as it’s from Thailand.
Jasmine rice grown in the United States is unfortunately not as aromatic or flavorful as Thai-grown rice. That said, cook up Lundberg jasmine or Jazzmen rice, if you like. When my family first came to America, we cooked Texas long-grain rice.
As for the pot, use a heavy one with a lid that will sit tightly on top. You want good heat circulation to cook the grains evenly. Choose your pot to be about twice as big as the yield. That ensures you have space to easily stir, fluff and cook the grains.
My 10-10-10 Rice cooking method
Some people boil and drain rice like pasta, but that rids too much of the sweet starches that define the grains’ comforting texture and flavor. I prefer an approach that involves a heavy pan and a gradual lowering of the heat.
To easily remember the method’s cooking and resting times, one of my friends and long-time recipe testers, Alex Ciepley, dubbed them the “10-10-10”. Use the mnemonic to cook rice in the same pot and eventually you’ll just eyeball the water level. And, after practicing this method and recipe, you’ll confidently apply it to cooking rice in claypot and donabe ceramic vessels.
Jasmine rice and water ratio
To yield grains that aren’t too firm or too soft, opt for a 4-to-5 ratio of rice to water. In the Asian kitchen, salt isn’t typically added to plain rice because other dishes will season it at the table. Use this chart for an easy rice cooking life!
When you wash rice, the grains absorb some water. That’s why my rice-to-water ratio may differ from that of people who do not wash their rice before cooking.
Rice remedy pointers
Hold on. When you fluff the finished rice, there may be a Goldilocks moment to manage. For instance:
If the grains are too firm and dryish, sprinkle on water, fluff to incorporate, then cover. Set the pot over low heat for 10 minutes to hydrate; let it rest about 5 minutes, then re-fluff.
If the rice is mushy, eat it up and tweak your next batch by decreasing the water by 1 tablespoon per 1 cup of raw rice.
If the rice smells burnt, you had the heat on way too high. I’ve accidentally done that a few times while trying to get a crusty bottom. If the rice smells and tastes acrid and burned throughout, I’m sorry. Start a new pot in a heavier pan and/or lower the heat.
Tinker to find the best rice-to-water ratio for your tastes. Jot down your ratio for future batches.
After reading all that, you’re definitely ready to cook a perfect pot of rice! There are extra pointers below so don’t scroll too fast.
RECIPE
10-10-10 Perfect Jasmine Rice
✅ Managing leftovers: Refrigerate leftover rice for up to 5 days, or freeze for a good month and thaw to eat. To reheat, sprinkle the rice with a little water, cover with a microwave splatter guard (or loosely cover with a silicone lid or parchment or wax paper), then microwave on high at 30 to 60 second blasts. If the grains compress, let briefly cool and fluff to serve. Always re-fluff before serving!
✅ Making rice for fried rice: When specifically making rice for fried rice, turn the cooked rice onto a rimmed baking sheet, spreading it out to allow the grains to dry quickly so they will fry up nicely. Let cool completely, uncovered, 1 to 2 hours at room temp (or freeze for about 20 minutes), before frying. Or, cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
✅ Cooking Thai-grown brown jasmine rice: Use a 2-to-3 ratio of rice to water. Wash and rinse the rice once, drain and return the grains to the pan. (The bran is intact, so one rinse is enough; no starch release.) Add 1 1/2 cups (360ml) water for every 1 cup (190g) of raw rice. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to medium. Simmer briskly, partially covered, for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is opaque light beige and slightly thick. Turn the heat to low, completely cover, and cook for 20 minutes. The rest remains the same, with resting and fluffing.
10-10-10 Perfect Jasmine Rice
Makes about 3 cups, to serve 2 or 3
Ingredients
1 cup | 190g white jasmine rice or similar type of long-grain rice
1 1/4 cups |300ml water
Instructions
Wash the rice: Put the rice in a small (1 ½ to 2-quart | 1.5 to 2L) heavy pot and add water to cover by about 1 inch (2.5cm). Vigorously stir with your fingers to loosen surface starch then pour off the water (I save it to water our garden). Repeat two or three times, or until the water is nearly clear -- it will never be crystal clear. Dump the rice into a mesh strainer, shake to expel excess water, and return the rice to the pan.
Cook for 10: Add the 1 1/4 cups (300ml) water to the pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring now and then with a silicone spatula or chopsticks to prevent clumping. Lower the heat slightly to maintain a brisk simmer for 1 to 3 minutes, stirring often to scrape bottom and circulate the grains, until glossy on top. (It’s normal for a few craters to form.) Decrease the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook for 10 minutes.
Rest for 10, fluff, rest for 10: Turn off the heat. Leave the rice to gently cook on the burner’s residual heat or 10 minutes. Uncover, fluff with chopstick, a fork, or spatula to circulate the grains. Re-cover and let rest again for 10 minutes to firm up the grains and finish cooking. Keep covered and cozy warm for up to 30 minutes. Re-fluff before serving.
Oops. Never mind. Just download the PDF recipe!
Please explain the 10-10-10 rice cooking method, Andrea. Thanks.