Any good cooking tips to cooking perfect rice? (:?

Little dab of oil, olive oil even, just a teaspoon, will keep the rice from sticking or clumping.

I have learned to cook brown rice, which I found the hardest to cook, and just a little oil did the trick.

Spanish version of white rice, you can rinse once. Heat about a TABLESPOON of any oil in a pot. Once oil is hot, carefully place the rinsed rice in the oil, stir around quickly and lower heat to MEDIUM-the rice will turn a bright white–PERFECT, now add enough water to cover rice level–slightly more is OK, add a few sliced onions, chicken buillon cube, dash of garlic, some salt to taste, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer. You can even get fancy and add peas, corn–or whatever you wish at this point, I've even added a can of red beans, right out of the can.

Brown rice, follow instructions on UNCLE BEN'S brown rice, just add a dab of any oil to the water before placing the rice in.

Well..if you want PERFECT rice just get the boil-in-bag rice. You just throw the piocuh that contains the rice into boiling water for the amount of time specified on the box and VOILA! Perfect rice.

The brands that make this product are Success Rice and Uncle Bens.

Check their links below.

Cooking rice by the absorption method is simple and reliable
I grew up in a household that only boiled rice and only basmati at that. We'd tip some rice into a large pot of boiling water, adjust the heat to keep the rice just dancing to the surface, and check it now and again by taking a bite. When the rice was resilient without a trace of central hardness, the water got poured off and saved for soup. To make the rice dry and fluffy, we'd tip it back into its pan, cover it, and cook it further over very low heat.
I now prefer the absorption method. In this more streamlined process, the rice is cooked in a measured amount of water so that by the time the rice is cooked, all the water has been absorbed. As the water level drops, trapped steam finishes the cooking.

For every cup of rice, use 1-1/2 to 2 cups of water (less if the rice is washed first). You'll need to experiment a little to find the amount you like best, but in general, use the larger amount for long-grain rice, the lesser for medium and short. Keep in mind that more water gives you softer, stickier rice–great for stir-fries. Less water will keep the grains more separate and result in firmer rice, a good style for rice salads.

Use a sturdy pot with a tight-fitting lid
You want a pot with a heavy base for the most even cooking, and one that's big enough to provide plenty of room above the rice for steam. A tight lid keeps the steam in. If your lid fits loosely, put a clean kitchen cloth between the lid and the pot. (Be sure to fold it over onto the pot so it doesn't burn.) The cloth also absorbs the water that would normally condense on the inside of the lid and fall back down into the rice, so this is also a good trick to get drier, fluffier rice.

Rinse, strain, boil, and then simmer.

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A bit of butter or olive oil will also help keep the grains from sticking together, while a little salt adds flavor.
Once all the ingredients are combined, cover the rice and let it simmer. On an electric stove, use two burners: bring the rice to a boil on a hot burner and then immediately slide it to a burner set on low to continue cooking at a slow simmer.

After about 12 minutes, the liquid should be absorbed, and the rice still al dente. If you served the rice now, you'd find the top layer drier and fluffier than the bottom, which can be very moist and fragile. Here's where you need patience. Let the rice sit off the heat, undisturbed with the lid on, for at least 5 minutes and for as long as 30. This results in a uniform texture, with the bottom layers as fluffy as the top. That a pot of rice actually improves with a rest also gives you more flexibility for cooking the rest of the meal.

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Fixing not-so-perfect rice
If you follow these guidelines, perfectly cooked rice is attainable. But it's an imperfect world, and the telephone has a way of ringing at inopportune moments. So here are ways to fix rice that has turned out less than perfectly:

Problem: The rice is still very chewy or hard in the middle after the allotted time.

Solution: Add just enough water to create a little steam, 1/4 cup or less. Put the lid on and cook the rice on very low heat for another 5 minutes.

Problem: The rice is cooked but too wet.

Solution: Uncover the pot and cook over low heat to evaporate the water. Or gently turn the rice out onto a baking sheet and dry it in a low oven.

Problem: The grains are split and the rice is mushy.

Solution: Use the rice for rice pudding and start over if you have the time.

Problem:The bottom layer of rice has burned.

Solution: Run cold water over the outside of the pot's bottom to keep the burnt flavor from permeating the rest of the rice (don't add water to the rice itself).Tip out as much rice as you can salvage.
You can avoid such problems by breaking the cardinal rule of rice cooking ("never lift the lid") and actually looking to see how it's doing. I for one have done so and lived to tell the tale. A quick peek will tell you if most of the water has been absorbed and that it's time to let the rice sit off the heat. The point is to keep the lid off for just a flash.

Usually rice cooked in a rice cooker comes out perfect, what kind of rice does she buy? I use jasmine rice it's aromatic and taste better than the short grain type.
I always go just a little bit more water than recommended on the rice cooker maybe like half an inch.

Put the rice in the heavy cooking pan, wash it once, level it, measure its height with your middle finger and use that height for the quantity of water to pour in for steaming it. Cook in medium fire until boiling and then set to low fire when only little water is left.

Use a rice cooker. For normal rice: Important: wash rice until the water is clear, any talc left on the rice results in yucky rice. Add a pad of butter and add water according to the rice cooker instructions. Make sure to cook at least the minimum amount.

Par-boiled rice should be cooked in a normal sauce pan as directed on package.

The best rice is Jasmine scented, Vietnamese or Thai long grain.

Always ask an Indian! I always use a rice cooker, it's really idiot proof. For long grains rices, always a 1:2 ratio (1c rice/2c water). For a firmer rice, use a little less water. For a softer rice, use a little more. This is
fool proof, you will have perfect rice everytime.

PS: dont over rinse the rice because you are removing the outer polish causing it to release more starch & become sticky! This could be actually the source of your rice problems, rinse your rice thoroughly but only once! Try this & use the method above.

How to Cook Rice Perfectly
Letting your rice rest enlarges the window of opportunity for serving perfectly cooked rice
Aside from differences in culture, many Americans shy away from rice due to a fear of cooking it. (Hence the popularity of instant rice, which offers "perfect" rice–in exchange for flavor and texture.) While exactly how rice cooks changes from variety to variety, even from batch to batch (brown rice cooks longer than white, for example; old rice absorbs more water than new) getting consistently good results is not impossible. In fact, the method that works best is practically the same as the one on the back of the box. But what the back of the box neglects to mention is the importance of letting the rice rest before serving it.
These days, most rice comes free of dirt, gravel, and chaff so there's rarely a need to patiently pick through it. Washing rice is another matter. Outside the U.S., talc is still sometimes used as a milling aid and should be rinsed off in a few changes of cold water. Though rice with talc should be labeled as such, I rinse if there's the slightest doubt. Some people also find that rinsing washes off loose starch, making the rice less sticky. (In the U.S., rice is enriched with vitamins, but only a small amount gets washed away if the rice is rinsed.)

Whether you soak rice depends on time and tradition. Apart from habit, the reasons for soaking rice are to shorten the cooking time and to allow for maximum expansion of long-grain rice, particularly basmati. A soak also makes the grains a little less brittle so they're less likely to break during cooking. If I'm using older basmati, which needs to be treated carefully if it's not to break, I soak it first. (Recipes vary in suggested soaking times, with 30 minutes most common.) But for most everyday meals, I skip this step and still get good results. If you do soak your rice, be sure to drain it thoroughly or you'll be using more water in cooking than you intended.

Cooking rice by the absorption method is simple and reliable
I grew up in a household that only boiled rice and only basmati at that. We'd tip some rice into a large pot of boiling water, adjust the heat to keep the rice just dancing to the surface, and check it now and again by taking a bite. When the rice was resilient without a trace of central hardness, the water got poured off and saved for soup. To make the rice dry and fluffy, we'd tip it back into its pan, cover it, and cook it further over very low heat.
I now prefer the absorption method. In this more streamlined process, the rice is cooked in a measured amount of water so that by the time the rice is cooked, all the water has been absorbed. As the water level drops, trapped steam finishes the cooking.

For every cup of rice, use 1-1/2 to 2 cups of water (less if the rice is washed first). You'll need to experiment a little to find the amount you like best, but in general, use the larger amount for long-grain rice, the lesser for medium and short. Keep in mind that more water gives you softer, stickier rice–great for stir-fries. Less water will keep the grains more separate and result in firmer rice, a good style for rice salads.

Use a sturdy pot with a tight-fitting lid
You want a pot with a heavy base for the most even cooking, and one that's big enough to provide plenty of room above the rice for steam. A tight lid keeps the steam in. If your lid fits loosely, put a clean kitchen cloth between the lid and the pot. (Be sure to fold it over onto the pot so it doesn't burn.) The cloth also absorbs the water that would normally condense on the inside of the lid and fall back down into the rice, so this is also a good trick to get drier, fluffier rice.

Rinse, strain, boil, and then simmer.

(opens in new window)

A bit of butter or olive oil will also help keep the grains from sticking together, while a little salt adds flavor.
Once all the ingredients are combined, cover the rice and let it simmer. On an electric stove, use two burners: bring the rice to a boil on a hot burner and then immediately slide it to a burner set on low to continue cooking at a slow simmer.

After about 12 minutes, the liquid should be absorbed, and the rice still al dente. If you served the rice now, you'd find the top layer drier and fluffier than the bottom, which can be very moist and fragile. Here's where you need patience. Let the rice sit off the heat, undisturbed with the lid on, for at least 5 minutes and for as long as 30. This results in a uniform texture, with the bottom layers as fluffy as the top. That a pot of rice actually improves with a rest also gives you more flexibility for cooking the rest of the meal.

——————————————————————————–

Fixing not-so-perfect rice
If you follow these guidelines, perfectly cooked rice is attainable. But it's an imperfect world, and the telephone has a way of ringing at inopportune moments. So here are ways to fix rice that has turned out less than perfectly:

Problem: The rice is still very chewy or hard in the middle after the allotted time.

Solution: Add just enough water to create a little steam, 1/4 cup or less. Put the lid on and cook the rice on very low heat for another 5 minutes.

Problem: The rice is cooked but too wet.

Solution: Uncover the pot and cook over low heat to evaporate the water. Or gently turn the rice out onto a baking sheet and dry it in a low oven.

Problem: The grains are split and the rice is mushy.

Solution: Use the rice for rice pudding and start over if you have the time.

Problem:The bottom layer of rice has burned.

Solution: Run cold water over the outside of the pot's bottom to keep the burnt flavor from permeating the rest of the rice (don't add water to the rice itself).Tip out as much rice as you can salvage.
You can avoid such problems by breaking the cardinal rule of rice cooking ("never lift the lid") and actually looking to see how it's doing. I for one have done so and lived to tell the tale. A quick peek will tell you if most of the water has been absorbed and that it's time to let the rice sit off the heat. The point is to keep the lid off for just a flash.

STEAMED PLAIN RICE

3 c. long grain rice (basmati)
8 c. water
2 tbsp. salt
3/4 c. melted butter
1/2 tsp. ground saffron (dissolved in 2 tbsp. hot water)
2 tbsp. yogurt (optional)

1. Clean and wash 3 cups of rice in cold water.
2. Bring 8 cups of water and 2 tablespoons salt to boil. Pour the rice into the pot. Boil briskly for 6 minutes. Drain rice in a colander and rinse in lukewarm water.

3. In the same pot - heat 1/2 of butter, 2 tablespoons water, a drop of dissolved saffron and yogurt.

4. Take one spatula full of drained rice at a time and gently place it in this pot, mounding it in the shape of pyramid.

5. Dissolve the remaining butter in 2 tablespoons hot water and pour over the rice. Place a clean dish towel over the pot and cook firmly with lid to prevent steam from escaping. Cook 10 minutes over medium heat and 50 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat.

6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes - on a damp surface without opening. Put 2 tablespoons of rice in a dish, mix with remaining saffron and set aside for use as garnish.

7. Gently taking one spatula full of rice at a time, place it in an oval serving platter without disturbing the crust. Mount the rice in the shape of a cone. Sprinkle the saffron-flavored rice over the top and serve.

For rice cooker:

White Rice - 1 cup of rice with 1 cup of water (don't wash too much only one or twice)

Brown Rice - 1 cup of rice with 2 1/2 (two-and-a-half) cup water (wash once or twice)

Sushi Rice - 1 cup of rice with 1 cup of water. (Wash rice until water clear)

Don't over add water when cooking. If you add too much water on rice, it will turn into porridge.

yes, lst place rice in sauce pan add water. boil for about 5 minutes or until water is cloudy. Pour off starch water. Add fresh cold water, put top on sauce pan. Once the water starts boiling add salt or any seasoning that you like (sometimes i add an garlic clove). After adding salt/seasoning cut fire off. Let the rice do it's thing.