Rice. The ultimate side dish. A versatile accompaniment to everything from stir-fries to stews. One of the most important staple foods in China and the world over, and the one (very large) barrier to me going on a low carb diet.
I’ve known how to make rice since I was in the second grade. I would measure out the rice from a big canister in the pantry, pull a little step stool up to the kitchen sink, and use my finger to measure the proper amount of water, as my mother taught me. Then I would plop the pot into the rice cooker, cover it, and press the button that would magically turn everything into a fluffy, perfectly cooked side for whatever my parents were cooking up that night.
As you can probably tell from that story, I’ve been using a rice cooker to cook rice for as long as I can remember. Which is why…when I moved into a new apartment a few months ago and found myself without a rice cooker for the first time ever, I was lost. Like…eating-only-pasta-for-a-week lost.
Luckily, my mother had a solution for me, and I’ve been using this method to cook rice without a rice cooker ever since. I will probably buy one eventually, but this simple method is so fool-proof, I haven’t really felt the need to. The secret is––ready for it?––soaking the rice. It doesn’t need to soak for long. Just 15-20 minutes. This gets moisture into all the rice grains, so that when you do put the pot over the heat, the rice cooks faster.
The usual method you might see from other sources usually involves a 1:2 ratio of rice to water, and just putting everything immediately onto the stove to cook. While this sometimes does work, I often end up burning the bottom of the rice, simply because the rice takes longer to cook (and it doesn’t always cook evenly). Believe me, soaking the rice is the way to go. So if you find yourself similarly rice-cooker-less, here’s how to cook rice without a rice cooker perfectly every time.
You’ll need:
- Rice (white rice or brown rice)
- a medium pot
- water
Measure however much rice you want, and take note of the measurement. (You don’t need any special measuring tools for this step. You could just use any cup or mug you have). Put the rice in the pot, and cover with about 2 inches of water. Let the rice soak for 15-20 minutes on the counter.
Once the rice has soaked, drain off the water it was soaking in. You should now just have a pot of soaked rice.
Now remember the amount of rice you put into the pot? Measure the same amount of fresh water and pour it into the pot (for brown rice, add a little more water). Here’s what the brown rice looks like after it’s been soaked, with fresh water added:
Put the pot over the stove on medium high heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil, turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for around 10-15 minutes (white rice) or 20-25 minutes (brown rice). And that’s it! Here’s a pot of perfectly fluffy jasmine rice:
Easy, right?
How to Cook Rice Without a Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- Rice (white rice or brown rice)
- water
Instructions
- Measure however much rice you want, and take note of the measurement. (You don't need any special measuring tools for this step. You could just use any cup or mug you have). Put the rice in the pot, and cover with about 2 inches of water. Let the rice soak for 15-20 minutes on the counter. Once the rice has soaked, drain off the water it was soaking in. You should now just have a pot of soaked rice.
- Now remember the amount of rice you put into the pot? Measure the same amount of fresh water and pour it into the pot (for brown rice, add a little more water).
- Put the pot over the stove on medium high heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil, turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for around 10-15 minutes (white rice) or 20-25 minutes (brown rice). And that's it!
Maureen O'Reilly says
I’ve been cooking rice like pasta for years. But….Read this post and was intrigued enough to try both brown and white rice with your method. Soaking really helped! But the water amounts: sadly, using equal rice and water = crunchy rice. I tried adding more water as the white rice cooked all its water away by only the half way mark, and then= mush. I use grocery store bags of long grain white and generic brown rice. Their directions suggest different ratios than the 1:1 here in your directions. What’s the trick I’m missing?
Sarah says
Hi Maureen, if you soaked the rice for the prescribed times here, I’m not sure why it would turn out crunchy! Was the lid on the pot the entire time to allow for proper steaming? Was the heat turned down to low once it came to a boil?
Dave says
You might want to mention rinsing the rice before soaking to reduce the starch. Like you, I make most of my rice in a rice cooker, but I am away from home and used this method to make white rice tonight. It turned out perfect and very similar to what I turn out in the rice cooker. Thank you. I will use this recipe often.
Sarah says
Hi Dave, I actually never rinse my rice. Personal preference, but I know a lot of people do! I think I’m just lazy, but also, I’ve found that not rinsing it doesn’t really affect the final result in a noticeable way.
janice tkach says
hello, does that work any kind of white rice? basmati, long grain..?
Sarah says
generally, yes!
venkatesh says
You have not given the amount of water needed to cook rice.It is going to be lot of help if you put it in the post
Sarah says
Hi venkatesh, the recipe is meant to be flexible, so it basically states to measure the exact same amount of water as rice (depending on how much rice you want to cook). The ratio is 1:1. So if you measured out 1 cup of rice, you’d need 1 cup of water to cook it after it has soaked.
Rich says
2:1
Sohini Mukherjee says
Don’t i have to drain the remaining water after cooking?
Sarah says
Hi Sohini, no, actually all the water will get absorbed into the rice during the cooking process. There’s no remaining water to drain off!