Rice tutorial please

[beaucoup]

I really believe at this age I should know how to cook better than I do. My mother used lots of boxed products. Minute Rice being one of them. I sort of like Minute Rice when used in recipes, but I know there are much healthier versions for you. I found the brown Minute Rice to be gross and like cardboard. ick. I also like rice pilaf from a box. I don't like Rice-a-Roni at all.

I've only tried cooking rice from scratch once and it was a major fail.

I want to cook up some plain rice and freeze into portions for myself while DH is gone for a lot of this year. He's not a fan of rice, so I don't make it often.

Educate me please. Start from the beginning.

What kind of rice do I buy? There are so many. I don't need a huge bag just for myself either.

How do I cook it? Last time I tried a crockpot recipe and it was a huge sticky mess.

Ok to freeze into portions?

When a recipe calls for Minute Rice, are you able to substitute cooked non-minute rice somehow? Or do you still just use Minute Rice?

And please tell me I'm not alone in not knowing this info. Some cultures use more rice in their cooking and diet than others. My mom did not use it a lot and therefore settled on Minute Rice I guess.

 

[TiffanyK]

Some people swear by a rice cooker. I wish I had one, but I don't so I cook rice on the stove top. I really like Jasmine rice because it cooks quickly and turns out good. I just follow the package directions.

I do like brown rice too, but it takes a bit longer than the package says to cook it. Rice is one thing where I think it pays to buy a name brand. It just cooks better than store brands.

 

[AgentGabs]

I'm from a Peruvian family and we go through 30 lbs bags of rice like you wouldn't believe it!

We don't touch anything that says "Minute Rice" or essentially anything that is pre-cooked.

We have a dedicated Rice Cooker (meaning all it does is cook rice!) and all we do is coat the bottom with a little bit of Oil (canola, vegetable, sometimes peanut), Powdered Garlic, and salt. Then we add in the amount of rice we want to cook (Usually 4 cups, using the cup that comes with the cooker) and then fill it up with water (up the corresponding cup line) stir, hit the cook button and just wait for it to finish.

We we put away the left overs, we just stick the rice in a tupper and it stays in the fridge for about a week or two, but never over two.
In our house its gone by the next day.

They do sell small bags of regular rice, for a treat sometimes we buy Jasmine Rice (has a different flavor).

And Martha Stewart says you can keep frozen portions in a ziploc bag for I think a few months, but we've never tried that.

As for substituting the Minute Rice for regular, as long as when adding the rice its is not so that is cooks along with the food, but as a final step just to mix whatever it is up.

Any other questions, just ask...I'll ask My Mom who knows a lot more than I do

 

[elaine and the boys]

I enjoy brown rice cooked in low sodium chicken broth (Trader Joe's brand of broth is great!) or part broth/part water. Also, I rinse the uncooked rice first for best results. I have found that it takes longer to cook than the package says....and I sometimes have to add more liquid late in the process and cook it longer if the rice isn't tender enough.

Next thing you should do is try risotto! YUM!!!! Fussier, but sooooo good!

 

[Linda in sunny SC]

I like Jasmine or Basmati for white rice. They are both aromatic varieties. I use 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth to 1 cup dry rice. Bring the broth to a boil, stir in rice, cover and reduce to simmer for about 15 - 20 min. For brown rice do the same but check the bag for cooking time because they differ. I usually cook it about 45 min. Hope this helps.

 

[iluvdiscruises]

I really believe at this age I should know how to cook better than I do. My mother used lots of boxed products. Minute Rice being one of them. I sort of like Minute Rice when used in recipes, but I know there are much healthier versions for you. I found the brown Minute Rice to be gross and like cardboard. ick. I also like rice pilaf from a box. I don't like Rice-a-Roni at all.

I've only tried cooking rice from scratch once and it was a major fail.

I want to cook up some plain rice and freeze into portions for myself while DH is gone for a lot of this year. He's not a fan of rice, so I don't make it often.

Educate me please. Start from the beginning.

What kind of rice do I buy? There are so many. I don't need a huge bag just for myself either.

How do I cook it? Last time I tried a crockpot recipe and it was a huge sticky mess.

Ok to freeze into portions?

When a recipe calls for Minute Rice, are you able to substitute cooked non-minute rice somehow? Or do you still just use Minute Rice?

And please tell me I'm not alone in not knowing this info. Some cultures use more rice in their cooking and diet than others. My mom did not use it a lot and therefore settled on Minute Rice I guess.

I am really of NO help to you, but wanted to tell you that you are definitely NOT alone in knowing this info! I will be interested to read along with the posts!

One rice recipe I make that calls for regular rice (not minute rice...) and can use either brown or white rice is with a Campbell's cream of chicken soup and boneless skinless chicken breasts. Use a glass pyrex pan...first dump in the soup and 1 can of water (using the empty soup can). Then, mix soup and water together and add pepper. Then, add in 1 cup of plain or brown rice. Mix again. Lay chicken breasts (uncooked) on top. Bake for about 35 min at 350 covered. Delicious (and easy!). I have frozen this once cooked...it defrosts nicely.

Another idea is to try another grain...couscous, quinoa, etc. are all MUCH easier to cook!

 

[mjkacmom]

Just follow the instructions on the package - to make it easier, find some microwavable ones. My dd7 has celiac, so we a lot of rice, and I love our fuzzy logic rice cooker - perfect every time!

 

[Marionnette]

I really believe at this age I should know how to cook better than I do. My mother used lots of boxed products. Minute Rice being one of them. I sort of like Minute Rice when used in recipes, but I know there are much healthier versions for you. I found the brown Minute Rice to be gross and like cardboard. ick. I also like rice pilaf from a box. I don't like Rice-a-Roni at all.

I've only tried cooking rice from scratch once and it was a major fail.

I want to cook up some plain rice and freeze into portions for myself while DH is gone for a lot of this year. He's not a fan of rice, so I don't make it often.

Educate me please. Start from the beginning.

What kind of rice do I buy? There are so many. I don't need a huge bag just for myself either.

Basmati rice, jasmine rice, carolina white rice and just the store brand bag of brown rice.

How do I cook it? Last time I tried a crockpot recipe and it was a huge sticky mess.

Follow the package directions. Make sure that you bring the water to a full boil before adding the rice. Add rice and stir once. Bring to a boil again and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer without removing the lid. For white rice I use 1 part rice to two parts water. The cooking time will depend on the amount of rice/water and the size of the bottom of the pan. Using a pan that is too small will result in mushy rice. If the pan is too big then the water will evaporate rather than going into the rice and the rice will be hard and scorch.

Ok to freeze into portions?

I dont. Rice and pasta are so quick to make. Plus they store so well in there dry form. I think that you wont like the results if you freeze the rice. The only time I would freeze rice would be when it is an ingredient in a casserole that Im freezing.

When a recipe calls for Minute Rice, are you able to substitute cooked non-minute rice somehow? Or do you still just use Minute Rice?

Depends. If you substitute cooked white rice for Minute Rice in some recipes you can end up with a soupy mess. You need to reduce the liquid in the recipe if you dont use the Minute Rice. If the recipe is a soup then it probably wouldnt matter.

And please tell me I'm not alone in not knowing this info. Some cultures use more rice in their cooking and diet than others. My mom did not use it a lot and therefore settled on Minute Rice I guess.

I know that there are some cultures that use more rice in there cooking. Many of them use rice steamers to cook the rice. I have a small one but have never been happy with the results. It might just be because its not a high quality rice cooker. I get better results by cooking directly on the stovetop where I can control the heat.

 

[unlimiteddisney]

I don't make rice that often, but when I do I use my $14 rice cooker from BBB and it's great. I use the Jasmine rice and folow the directions from the cooker and it's perfect. You can make a small portion just for you and it's great! Take's 15 min. I put it in first make the rest of the meal and it's done and stays warm and sticky until I'm ready to use it. Clean up is a breeze the little pan is easy to clean or just throw in the dish washer!!!!

I wouldn't recommend freezing it. I can't imagine it would taste that great thawed and reheated.

 

[Eastern]

I never use Minute Rice. I like jasmine because it seems lighter than regular white rice. I like brown also but it does require planning as it usually takes about 45 min.

I don't use a rice cooker and I found the key is to take your time. Start your rice cooking before anything else. Stir occasionally and when the water is just gone, take it off the heat and let it sit. If you try to finish cooking it on any amount of heat it may burn or stick. If you let it sit 15 min and try it and it still seems undone, add a couple tablespoons of hot water and keep it covered for another 10-15 min til you get it right.

 

[Shmily1]

I use Uncle Ben's converted rice (I don't do sticky rice!! ). Take a pot and put it on the stove. Put in 1/2 tsp salt and 2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Add 1 cup of rice and turn it down to a simmer. Put the lid on and cook it for 20 minutes. Turn it off and it's ready!!

Good luck!!

 

[NotUrsula]

I taught my 3 yo to make rice a couple of weeks ago; that's how simple it is. (My timer has a colored mark at 20 minutes)

Buy decent rice, by which I mean not the cheapest you can find, because that stuff will have a lot of broken grains and not fluff up nicely. All bulk varieties of rice essentially work with the basic recipe, EXCEPT wild rice, which really is not rice at all (it is a kind of grass seed).

Here it is: Select a heavy saucepan with a tight-fitting lid (a glass lid can be nice if you're nervous about the process, because you can see in.) Into the pan, put 1 part rice, 2 parts hot tap water, a couple of shakes of salt, and a 1/4 tsp of oil (olive adds a bit of flavor.) Cover the pan tightly, and put it on low heat for 20 minutes (on a gas stove, this means that you should be able to see about 1/4 inch of blue flame; just to the top of the burner head.) Do not remove the lid before time is up.

If after 20 minutes you find that the rice is still a bit wet-looking, fold a couple of paper towels lengthwise and set them over the top of the pan underneath the lid, and set it back down on the stove burner (no heat) for 5 minutes or so to let the towels pick up the excess moisture.

Processed rice that you buy in boxes (Minute Rice, etc.) has normally been par-cooked, so it cooks more quickly.

PS: For bulk rice, a 1/4 cup of dry rice is normally about right when making a serving for one person.
PPS: BTW, leftover rice makes a good hot breakfast this time of year. Put it back in a saucepan with enough milk to make it slightly soupy, and add some brown sugar and cinnamon to taste. Once it's warm, eat up.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

The best advice I ever got about cooking rice on the stove is, don't take the lid off until it's done. Trust it will cook ok and it does.

I have used a rice cooker too for those times I'm using the stove burners for other things.

 

[MistressMerryweather]

If you want to do brown rice, do a brown basmati. It is really good and very similar in taste to white rice, if that is what you are used to, but very healthy. It does take a bit of time to cook it, but if you have a rice maker that does brown rice...

Otherwise, put 1 cup of basmati brown rice in a pot with 2 cups of water or chicken broth/vegetable...bring to a boil and add salt, cover with lid and reduce heat to a good simmer. Don't uncover for 45 minutes...then it should be done. Every once in a while I have to put the lid back on and cook for 10-15 longer because it looks wet. I suspect I didn't have the heat high enough.

If a recipe calls for minute rice, I think you would need to cook a whole grain rice first, al dente, before you add it to the recipe, because of the longer cooking time.

You can freeze it in portions. The best way to reheat is to steam it using a vegetable steamer or double pot steamer. It keeps it moist.

Here a good site that has a list of whole grains/rice and the time and quanties of liquid to cook each one.
http://www.grandtimes.com/Whole_Grains.html

 

[beaucoup]

Thank you everyone! Seems easy enough. Hopefully next batch won't be another fail. I'll try the stovetop method. I'm decluttering & don't want to add another small kitchen appliance.

 

[shortbun]

I only make brown rice and I buy regular brown rice which is nutty and good. You cook it by measuring twice the water, ie, 1 cup rice to 2 cups water. Bring to a boil in a covered pan and turn down to a simmer. Do not stir, don't even look at it for 35 minutes. then I tilt it carefully and if I see a small pool of water at the bottom, I put it back on the simmer flame for another five with the lid off, then serve. I have not failed at cooking rice since I got that procedure from a chef. Seriously, do not touch it. Hard, I know. I've never made minute rice although I think my mom used it in the late 50's and early 60's. I would never freeze rice, it would dry out and get weird. I might try freezing rice in a sauce.

Oh-and pour it out of the bag and into something air tight-apothecary jar or similar. Rice gets wet or buggy easily.

 

[l_mccafferty]

I wouldn't recommend freezing rice.

One of my FAVOURITE recipes are to fry some chicken, peppers and onion. Once the veg is softening, add water and a chicken stock cube - enough to cover the chicken and veg. Add some rice (enough for you) Then check every so often and top up the water to ensure the rice can cook.
Check after 20 mins. The water should have evaporated and the rice should be soft.
It can be made with risotto rice too.

 

[Iris4474]

I always cook my rice in a lot more liquid than the directions. Cook it longer than the package states--until the ends pop open to where the grain looks like a bow tie. When done, rinse all of the starch off of it really, really well. Put into a collander & steam over a small pot of water. Perfect every time! Stores well, too.

 

[spacemountainmom]

My MIL gave me a rice cooker for Christmas a few years ago and I thought - yeah, whatever!

It is now my favorite kitchen thing. It is so easy and makes perfect rice. We eat a lot more rice now.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I went thru several rice cookers and did not like any of them.

1 day, I decided to cook my rice in the oven and it came out perfect!!

My kids dont like mixed dishes so I separated my chicken and rice in the oven.

I was baking chicken, oven already on, so I used a pyrex casserole dish with lid, (can also cover dish with foil) added equal parts rice and water, covered and baked for 40 min. It takes a little longer, but it is hands free method, I can set the oven timer and go do something else and not worry about a pot on the stovetop. Brown rice comes out great too.

I add a little more water (like 3 oz) at the end to steam if needed. Never comes out overcooked.

Dh likes this way too!