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How to cook rice correctly
Rice, along with buckwheat, is the leader in consumption among cereals among the Ukrainian population. In the general culture of cereal consumption in the country, this is approximately 30%. In some regions, the Ukrainian ritual dish is kutia. But despite such love for it, many housewives cook rice incorrectly: they add too much water, cook it longer than necessary. As a result, the rice becomes overcooked and tasteless. A properly prepared product turns out crumbly with a rich taste. And if you try unusual and unusual combinations with this cereal, then you can eat rice, like in India and Asian countries, every day.
Rice cooked with herbs, spices, nuts, raisins, cheese and vegetables makes a hearty breakfast. Boiled rice, seasoned with spices and mixed with yogurt will cool you down on a hot summer day. And rice boiled in milk with sugar and sweet spices can be the basis of a creamy pudding. Rice can be ground into flour, baked in the oven, or made into pancakes, dumplings, and sweets.
What you need to cook rice
Before cooking, you need to inspect the cereal for any pebbles, husks or small debris.
A mandatory step is to thoroughly rinse the rice to remove dust, bran and starch. To do this, pour the rice into a large bowl and stir it with your hand, draining the water that is cloudy with starch. Repeat this procedure until the water becomes clear.
Before cooking rice, soak it for 15-30 minutes - by absorbing the water, the grains will not stick to each other as much during cooking. Then place the rice in a sieve and let the water drain. If you are going to fry it, the water should drain for 10-15 minutes.
Before boiling or baking rice, you can fry it; this is another way to prevent unwanted overcooking. The grains should be fried in a small amount of vegetable oil, stirring continuously so that the grains do not burn. When some of the grains become transparent, the process can be stopped.
If you are preparing steamed rice, then you need to use 1 ¾ of water per portion of rice. If you soaked the rice in advance, you can use less water.
If you add boiling water to the cereal, stir it several times to prevent the grains from sticking together.
In most cases, the steam built up in the pan will help cook the rice, so keep the lid tightly closed. If the lid does not fit tightly enough, cover the pan first with foil, and then cover the top with a lid. If you are steaming rice, keep the heat to a minimum. Do not lift the lid or stir the rice until it is cooked.
You cannot stir rice during cooking, as it, swelling and absorbing water, forms a network of channels in the rice mass for steam to escape. If you disturb their structure with a spoon, the cereal will cook unevenly: at the bottom it will either boil or burn, but at the top it will remain hard.
The rice is ready when all the grains are soft. After determining readiness, open the pan and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes. Thanks to this, excess moisture will evaporate and the grains will not stick together.
How to cook delicious rice
Have you ever wondered why, when you order delivery from an oriental or Mexican fast food restaurant, the rice dishes are so interesting, but when you cook it yourself, the rice comes out bland?
Do not despair! This is why rice is one of the most popular products all over the world, because making it tasty and varied is not at all difficult. In addition, the beneficial properties of cereal are well known, and if you want to include it in your regular diet, then you are on the right path to a healthy diet.
We will reveal some secrets on how to enhance the taste of rice dishes. All you need is a small arsenal of spices, some canned goods and fridge supplies. And, of course, fantasy. So that rice turns from a banal porridge into a culinary delight.
Three ways to cook rice
Steamed rice This method of cooking rice is the most common in India. With this method, rice absorbs not only water, but also all the spices added to it. This method requires a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid to prevent steam from escaping. If the lid does not close tightly, the rice will not cook.
To give the dish a special flavor, you can add a little lemon juice, a pinch of turmeric or a few cumin seeds, green hot pepper or a piece of fresh ginger.
Rinse the rice, soak it for 15 minutes, then drain in a colander or sieve. Pour water into a two-liter saucepan, add salt and bring to a boil. In another pan, heat the oil and fry the drained rice, stirring occasionally. When the grains become translucent, pour the rice into boiling water, increase the heat and let the water boil again. At a high boil, stir the rice for a minute to break up any lumps. Then close the lid tightly. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes (depending on the variety), until the rice has absorbed all the water and becomes soft and crumbly.
Boiled rice. This is the fastest cooking method, so it is best to use it in cases where you are going to mix rice with other ingredients. To do this, rice (washed) is boiled in more water than it can absorb, and then, when ready, is thrown into a colander.
Bring 2.3 liters to a boil. Salted water in a saucepan with a thick bottom. Place rice there and cook for 10 minutes. To determine if the rice is done, remove a grain and crush it with your thumb and forefinger. It should be completely crushed, the middle should not remain hard. If it is still hard, cook for a few more minutes and check again for doneness. Drain the rice in a colander, place it in a saucepan and throw a few small pieces of butter on top.
Baked rice With this method, the rice is first boiled until half cooked and then baked in the oven. This is the longest method, but it requires less attention and avoids overcooking the grains.
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Bring 2.3 liters to a boil. Water with salt. Add rice. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat for 4-6 minutes. Drain the rice in a colander, drain, then transfer it to a baking dish and place a few pieces of butter on top. You can also sprinkle it with milk.
Cover the dish with foil, wrap it so that it allows as little steam as possible. Place the dish in the oven and bake it for 20 minutes. When the rice is ready, the grains should swell, soften and easily separate from each other.
Rice for cleansing the body
Soaked rice has the properties of granules that adsorb various debris in the digestive tract, removing toxins.
Such rice cleanses the walls of blood vessels from cholesterol plaques, reduces the critical concentration of salts, and minimizes arthritic and gouty manifestations. Soaked rice is very easy to prepare. To begin, take five regular half-liter glass jars and number them with a permanent marker. Pour forty grams of rice into the first jar in order. It is preferable to use brown rice, peeled from the outer husk, but if you cannot find it on sale, use regular white rice. Fill the grains with filtered clean water. Wait a day and rinse the rice. Soak it again in new, clean, filtered water. At the same time, pour forty grams of rice into container number two and fill it with water. After twenty-four hours, rinse the rice in the jars, fill them with water and “include” the third jar in the process, continue the process further, the rice must be washed every day. When the rice soaking period reaches four days, it can be used to cleanse the body. Boil the swollen grains and eat. Or you can not cook the rice in the usual way, but pour boiling water over it, leaving for twenty minutes.
It is advisable to consume rice prepared in this way as breakfast before eight in the morning.
The next day, eat rice from the next jar, while continuing to rinse the cereal in the already filled jars. It is necessary that the rice be soaked for at least four days, otherwise it will be of no use.
How to properly cook rice in bags?
We advise you to first read the manufacturer's instructions. This is a mandatory condition, since different companies may have their own nuances. By the way, the packaging usually indicates the optimal amount of liquid in which the product will be boiled. In ordinary realities, per bag (80-100 grams of cereal) the recommended amount of liquid (because rice can be boiled not only in water, but also, for example, in milk or broth) is up to 1 liter per unit. Because if you take a smaller amount, then the rice risks being unevenly cooked, that is, in one place it will be half-raw, and in another it will be overcooked. But if you choose the right amount of water by eye, then this is the one in which the bag can float freely. And the liquid should freely cover the rice.
How to make the taste of the finished dish more vibrant?
Before cooking, rice can be fried in a saucepan or frying pan.
To enhance the flavor of cooked rice, try toasting the grains before cooking. You can do this right in the pan by pouring a little oil on the bottom, then all that remains is to pour the required amount of water over the fried rice.
How to cook rice as a side dish in different kitchen gadgets
The presence of numerous electrical appliances in the kitchen of a modern person allows you to cook in a wide variety of variations, improving the taste of products.
In a slow cooker
The multicooker is a subject of admiration and love for housewives; it adds a special taste to many dishes. You can cook fluffy rice in it without any hassle.
Product set:
- rice cereal – 200 gr.;
- clean drinking water – 400 g;
- salt, spices - according to personal preference.
Cooking time – 40 minutes.
Calorie content – 100 kcal.
Step-by-step instruction.
- Preparing rice: washing (draining the water at least 5 times) and removing impurities.
- Pour all the ingredients into the multicooker bowl.
- Select porridge or rice mode.
- We are waiting for the finished product.
In a steamer
Cooking a side dish of rice in a steamer is a very simple method.
- rice grain – 200 gr.;
- drinking water - its quantity is determined visually: complete coverage of the cereal plus 5-6 cm.
Cooking time: 60 minutes.
The calorie content of the dish is 130 - 160 kcal.
Preparation:
- Pour water into a special steamer bowl.
- Add all the ingredients.
- We set it to a certain mode within 40 - 50 minutes.
- We are waiting until ready.
Microwave
The microwave is another household appliance in the kitchen that makes our lives easier. With its help, you can quickly and effortlessly prepare fluffy rice cereal.
Ingredients:
- Saracen millet – 200 gr.;
- clean drinking water – 400 gr.
- salt, spices - to taste and desire.
Cooking time – 30 minutes.
Calorie content – 140 kcal.
Preparation:
- Preparing rice: wash thoroughly and sort.
- Pour the grain into a special microwave-safe bowl with a lid.
- Pour water, add salt.
- We set it on a certain mode for 20 minutes.
- We are waiting until ready.
In a frying pan
Rice grains cooked in a frying pan are no less tasty.
Ingredients:
- grain of rice – 200 gr.;
- ordinary water – 400 g;
- vegetable oil – 90 gr.;
- salt, spices - to taste.
Time – 60 minutes.
Calorie content – 113.
Cooking instructions:
- We wash the rice grains.
- If necessary, soak.
- Take a frying pan, pour sunflower oil into it, heat it up.
- Pour the cereal into it and fry it.
- After frying, add water, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 15 - 40 minutes (depending on the type of grain).
Preparing fluffy rice in bags:
1. To begin with, in fairness, it must be said that its friability or “mushyness” largely depends on the type of rice and the degree of its grinding. There are varieties of rice that even the most skilled housewives cannot cook in any form other than porridge. For example, this is broken rice (very fine rice crumbs) or even soft round rice. The so-called “steamed rice” has long appeared on the shelves - a slightly transparent color and a slightly specific taste. It is quite easy to cook it crumbly, but the taste of the dish turns out completely different. As my children say, “non-rice.” Well, here too you can easily cope with the problem if you carefully look for rice in bags on the shelves - it definitely won’t let you down!
2. Pour more water into the pan, add some salt and put a bag of rice in it.
3. Cook for 18 minutes until instead of a small amount of rice in the bag there is already a whole plate - that is, it is completely cooked until done.
4. Carefully remove the bag with a slotted spoon or by hand by the corner, trying not to get burned.
5. Place the bag of cooked rice on a plate and immediately cut off the edge with scissors.
6. Free the rice from the bag and let it scatter on the plate so that it does not lie in a compressed lump.
Wonderful fluffy rice is ready.
Bon appetit!
Secrets of preparing fluffy rice in a bag:
- this kind of rice does not require attention other than keeping track of time - the main thing is that there is enough water,
- you should not add vegetable or butter for friability,
- this rice turns out very tasty,
— rice casserole with minced meat and cheese, cooked with fluffy rice, also turns out much tastier.
The still unusual and incomprehensible (especially for young housewives) proportions of preparing side dishes in the ratios (water and cereal) sometimes have the ability to turn a culinary action into a real problem: either the porridge will stick together and become like a paste, then it will burn, or the consistency will be too liquid . How to achieve the desired friability and readiness of the food?
How to cook rice in bags in a saucepan
For advanced modern ladies who do not want to spoil their manicure by endlessly washing cereals, the insightful manufacturer has provided an excellent option: cereals in bags. This is an excellent option for young ladies who have not yet learned the secrets of culinary art, but have already entered family life.
The packaging always contains detailed instructions for use, there is no need to look for or invent anything.
Cooking ingredients:
- bags of cereal according to the number of servings - 1 p. = 100 g. = 1 serving;
- drinking water – 1 l. for one serving;
- salt - to taste.
Proportionality here is the most important condition for obtaining a quality product.
The calorie content of a dish is indicated by the type of product and is 100 – 130 kcal.
Cooking process:
This is how you can cook any cereal without any problems.
The advantages of this preparation are obvious: fast, clean, tasty, but more expensive than the simple option. Everything good has to be paid for.
