Cooking rice requires adherence to certain rules that will allow it to cook perfectly, regardless of the dish or variety. Does it require rinsing and soaking, what should be the temperature of the water in the pan, how to keep the proportions, stir the rice or not stir?
Rice washing
Since today's buyers mainly consume imported rice, producers are keen to improve its appearance and preserve the grain during transport. To do this, they use the technology of glazing, which is the processing of rice with a mixture of talc and glucose, with which it is coated in special drums. Therefore, the rice must be washed before cooking in order to get rid of the excess of this mixture and the subsequent gluing of the grains.
No rinsing is required for rice varieties such as Carnaroli, Nano, Vialone and Arborio, which are used to make Italian risotto.
Some growers process rice with starch, which is obtained from grain crops. It is not necessary to rinse these varieties, however, to improve the final result, the grains can be rinsed under running water. Rice should be soaked if you want it to cook quickly and evenly. In addition, soaking rice grains allows the hostess not to think about drying and aging - because the more moisture they contain, the less water will be required to cook it. Thus, steeping rice can save yourself a lot of unnecessary worries.
Proper cooking of rice
Sometimes housewives hesitate when choosing the temperature of the water that is used to cook rice dishes. It can be cooked in cold water under a closed lid, reducing the heat when the water boils and continuing to cook the beans over very low heat until the water is completely absorbed. Rice is cooked in hot water with the lid open until the water is completely boiled away - then turn the heat down and cover the pan with a lid so that the rice grains are steamed over low heat.
The temperature of the water for cooking rice should be selected based on its variety and the dish being cooked.
The ideal ratio for cooking rice is 2 parts water to 1 part rice. In other words, 200 grams of water requires no more than 100 grams of rice groats. This ratio is only suitable for preparing a side dish.
In order to boil crumbly rice, you do not need to salt and stir it during cooking, since salt and stirring destroy the rice grains and make them more sticky. After the end of cooking, wrap the pan with rice with a terry towel and leave it there for five minutes, so that excess steam and moisture is absorbed into the fabric, and the rice takes on a beautiful and neat appearance.
