In this technique you treat the rice as pasta, boiling it in a much larger volume of water. You'll need a saucepan with a steamer insert. The size of the saucepan is determined by how much rice you want to cook. For a cup of rice, you need at least three cups of water, and four is better; so for cooking 2 cups of rice, you need at least a 1 1/2 or 2 qt saucepan with a steamer insert.

In the saucepan, bring to boil 3 or 4 cups of water to a full boil. Add salt if desired. Add 1 cup of rice, return to boil, stirring with a fork to keep the grains from clumping. Once it returns to a full boil, cut the heat to a mild boil and boil for 8 minutes. Put the steamer insert in the sink and strain the boiled rice into the insert. Run some hot water into the saucepan to get all the rice out. Run hot water through the rice in the steamer insert until you notice the water isn't too cloudy. Put about an inch of water in the saucepan, put the steamer insert over the water, cover the insert and put the whole shebang on high heat; once the water returns to a boil, cut the heat to medium low and steam the rice for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Basically, boil for 8 and steam for 10. The advantage to this method is that the individual grains of rice are not sticky and come out nice and fluffy and separate. Most of the excess starch gets washed away. My dad insisted that this was the only way he wanted rice cooked, so that was the way we had it in our house. (I think he thought rice cookers were a sign of laziness, if not moral decay.)

Here's the type of saucepan with steamer insert I'm talking about, at the link. Since all you're doing with this is boiling water, it makes no sense to spend a lot of $$$ for All Clad or other fancy pots; simple cheapo stainless is fine for this application.

After rinsing, add the water you need and cook. I use a rice cooker most of the time, but I've also cooked it in a pot over direct heat, steamed it and microwaved it. This is all pretty standard in most Asian households.

Cheryl

Sounds like you could use a fine screen strainer in your kitchen. I use mine for sifting dry ingredients instead of a flour sifter, sifting clumpy ingredients like coconut flour or powdered eggs before measuring them, as well as draining small seeds/grains/beans (and other things) that would fall through the holes of a colander. In fact, I have a nested set of three fine screen colanders that I use constantly in my kitchen.

When it comes to washing rice, it is one of those "choices" - and not so much about being right or wrong. But there are some things to consider....

"By law, rice for the consumer in the U.S. has been fortified with powdered vitamins that are removed when rinsed. If you want the vitamins (which are not necessary with a well balanced diet), then do not rinse. If you want the best quality cooked rice, then rinsing helps."

"Some rice -- short-grain white rice in particular -- almost always needs to be rinsed of the powdery starch that builds up around it during transport. Brown rice, since it still has its hull, doesn't create as much buildup in the bag or box.

All rice probably gets a little dirty between the farm and the store shelf. A good rule of thumb is to rinse new brands and varieties the first few times you use them. If the water's crystal clear, they may not need rinsing the next time."

I not only rinse brown rice - to get any debris and fine particles out of it - but I also sprout it. Sprouting increases the nutrition and it cooks much quicker.

"Japanese scientists presented research findings to the 2000 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies, which showed germinated brown rice had increased fiber, lysine, gamma-aminobutyric acid and other enzymes and amino acids by as much as 10 times the amount in dried rice."

-Grainlady

Please post how you sprout your brown rice, I'd love to try it.

Thank you in advance - - Linda

1. Rinse the rice.
2. Place in sprouter (which can be almost any container - a canning jar works well - cover with some cheese cloth and a rubberband. I have a line-up of Easy Sprout sprouters (see link below) in use and think this is the best out there for sprouting.

Food Safety Note: I always use citric acid water (1 t. per quart of water) for soaking and rinsing to aid sprouting and help prevent bacteria growth.

3. Cover with water - 2-3 times as much water as grain.
4. Soak overnight (8-12 hours).
5. Drain soaking water, rinse the rice and shake the excess water out of the container. Do not set in direct sunlight.
6. Rinse at least once or twice a day.

I only sprout them a day or two (it depends on the ambient temperature, or until the sprout emerges. I don't want a long tail. Rinse after they have sprouted then cook.

For more information about sprouting I'd suggest sproutpeople.org. They have detailed information and videos.

-Grainlady

However, do not ever ever ever wash Arborio rice.

dcarch

Yeah, I know. I'm odd...

Annie

I always make my rice in a rice cooker. I have a habit of forgetting about rice cooked on the stove. :)

dcarch