We eat a lot of rice, so I find myself making it at least a few times a week. This method of how to cook rice has been tested hundreds if not, thousands, of times. It’s the way I’ve been making it for decades, for me, its the only way I cook rice. Do you rinse the rice? stir it? drain it after cooking? I’ve got all of your questions answered! I’ve always followed the same method after watching my mum cook rice when I was younger. She still has the same saucepan that she uses for rice from when I was a kid! It was only when I was at university (in the communal kitchens) that I saw how much trouble other people had with boiling rice. There was soggy rice, hard rice, burnt rice - and I witnessed people boiling it in huge pans of water and draining it off - like they were cooking pasta! That often ended up in a big soggy glutenous mess. It seemed like no-one knew how to cook rice on the stove! So I wanted to share my method (or should I say my mum’s method) that I’ve been using for decades on how to cook long grain rice. The only time I’ve ever had an experiment with it was when I moved from a gas burner to an induction hob. But I’ll share the methods for both. Here are my most important tips. Once you’ve got these down, you’ll be cooking rice perfectly every time.
Top Tips
How to make rice
#1 Add the water
I fill the sauce-pan approx ⅓ full with water for 6 portions.
#2 Add the long grain rice
You can add the rice by eye – simply pour the rice into the centre of the boiling water and keep pouring until a tbsp. or so of rice is above the water – like the image above. ☝️
#3 Stir & add the lid
Once you’ve added the rice, give it a quick stir and then place a lid on the pan.
#4 Turn the temp down
Immediately turn down the temperature (don’t wait to bring it back up to the boil again). For gas, cook at the very lowest temperature your hob can manage. For electric or induction, it may need to be a little higher. I use induction level 5 (of 9) because my lowest induction settings are extremely low heat… You may need to experiment, depending on your electric/induction hob. If you know what number/heat setting you need on your hob to maintain a rolling boil on a pan of water, go about 3 settings lower than that.
#5 Leave it alone!
Cook for 20 minutes. This allows the rice to cook evenly, without burning the bottom. Don’t stir or open the lid. You can check once after 15 minutes if you really feel the need, but if you keep opening the pan, the rice won’t cook (remember you’re only using a very low heat). The rice should be done after 20 minutes. If the rice is still hard and there is absolutely no water at the bottom of the pan, just add in a splash of boiling water and put the lid back on again. Don’t worry about overcooking the rice – so long as you haven’t got too much water in there, the rice can take a fair amount of extra cooking – so long as the heat is low. I’ve accidentally left mine for 30+ minutes before now and it was fine. Your rice should look like this when cooked – there should be no water to drain off. If you’re serving it right away (not making it into fried rice), it will need a bit of a fluff with a fork to separate the grains. There you have it. Once you know the key tips, cooking rice is easy. Want to turn it into fried rice? Check out my Fried Rice Masterclass or level it up as Chicken Fried Rice. Please note: These instructions are for long-grain white rice only. Other varieties of rice and brown rice require different quantities and cooking times. If you’d like me to write a post on other different types of rice, please let me know in the comments and I’ll write it up for you guys x
Sesame Chicken (absolute reader favourite!) Chicken Tikka Masala Crispy Chilli Beef with Broccoli - Chris’s favourite Slow Cooker Butter Chicken - great for family gatherings Beef Massaman Curry - melt in the mouth beef😋 Crispy Korean Fried Chicken - Gracey’s favourite - she’s obsessed with Korean food, culture and music at the moment! Pork Katsu Curry - I love this as a change from conventional curry recipes. Chris’s AMAZING Chilli Con Carne - This is always on the weekly rotation in our house. Sticky Chinese Pork Belly - one of our ultimate treat meals. If you’ve never tried it, please do! Slow Cooker Spicy Chicken Curry - Everyone immediately starts drooling when they walk through the door and smell this curry slowly cooking away. 20 minute Peanut Butter Chicken - the quickest curry - mild enough for kid’s and grandparents to enjoy!
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More amazing rice dishes
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