This is the basic Chinese white rice preparation and cooking
method.
Ingredients - 1 3/4 cup of cold
water (1 1/2 cup if you are using short or medium grain rice)
- 1 cup of long
white grain rice It makes about 3.5 cup of cooked rice which could be used
as a side dish for 3 to 4 person or as a main dish for one.
Rice preparation
In order to
rinse the rice, stir the rice in a large bowl full of cold water. Empty the water
when it turns into a milky color. Repeat the process until the water almost do
not change color and is mostly clear. Take the rice out of the water (or the water
out of the rice). Do not leave it in the water or it will start absorbing some
of the water and starts breaking.
Rice Cooking
Add
the well rinsed and drained rice in a pan with the cold water amount mentioned
in the ingredients. Prefer a pan that has more height than width so that the water
does not evaporate too quickly. You don't need to stir the rice at any point during
it's cooking. At high heat, bring the water to boil. Once there are large "ricy"
bubble, cover immediately with a tight lid and bring down to low heat. Let
simmer softly for 15 minutes then set aside for another 15 minutes before serving
without NEVER removing the lid in order to maintain the internal cooking heat
and steam pressure The waiting time is usually longer for Chinese type of rice
than for western-style long grain rice if you want it to be more tender and creamier. After
the 15 minute wait you can take off the lid and fluff the rice gently with a fork.
It is now ready to serve immediately. Keep the remaining rice covered in the pan
to keep some of the heat for second servings. You can even keep it hot like Chinese
people do for further meal servings if you keep the rice in a low heated steamer. You
can seal and refrigerate the remaining rice for a few days and it can still be
reheated later by steaming or other ways.
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