Friday Shout Out: The Rice Is Right
Last night while dining at the Korean place and Washingtonian "Cheap Eats" pick Lighthouse Tofu in Rockville, a discussion came up over cooking rice.
(Sidebar: I had bad Korean food once in San Francisco - beef tasted "off" and the hot tea was like licking shoe leather. Not good. Long story short, Lighthouse Tofu redeemed Korean food for me - beef bulgogi is now the jam. YUM. Get some.)
Our friends' recommend buying a rice cooker. Until the Genie grants my wish for extra storage space or we get the hell out of our teensy apartment, I'm stuck using the All Clad pot.
Any suggestions for the right rice? As the owner of a Charleston Rice Spoon, THE gift for brides who know their rightful place in the kitchen, I feel like a Southern Belle who's lost her "clang" if I can't make solid rice again.
(Sidebar: I had bad Korean food once in San Francisco - beef tasted "off" and the hot tea was like licking shoe leather. Not good. Long story short, Lighthouse Tofu redeemed Korean food for me - beef bulgogi is now the jam. YUM. Get some.)I can't seem to figure it out, but ever since I tossed out my non-stick cookware and switched to my All-Clad pot (the awesome one we found in the backyard of our first rental house in Nashville, but that's another story), rice at our house continues to be a rocky deal.
I've tried lowering the heat on our gas range or upping it just a tad. I've played with the water to rice ratio, now working with a one and a half cup of water to one cup rice situation. I've washed the rice in a strainer, even.
Sadly, sometimes the result is too sticky/gluey. Often the rice dried out and stuck to the bottom of the pan. It's a suck situation, folks. No one likes to eat bad rice. That can screw a whole meal plan quite quickly.
I've tried lowering the heat on our gas range or upping it just a tad. I've played with the water to rice ratio, now working with a one and a half cup of water to one cup rice situation. I've washed the rice in a strainer, even.
Sadly, sometimes the result is too sticky/gluey. Often the rice dried out and stuck to the bottom of the pan. It's a suck situation, folks. No one likes to eat bad rice. That can screw a whole meal plan quite quickly.
Our friends' recommend buying a rice cooker. Until the Genie grants my wish for extra storage space or we get the hell out of our teensy apartment, I'm stuck using the All Clad pot.
Any suggestions for the right rice? As the owner of a Charleston Rice Spoon, THE gift for brides who know their rightful place in the kitchen, I feel like a Southern Belle who's lost her "clang" if I can't make solid rice again.
Hope everyone has a marvelous weekend! We're headed to Baltimore for a Greek Festival. OPA!
This is how I make white rice: 1 part rice, 2 parts water. Cover and place over med-high heat. When water comes to a boil, reduce heat as low as it will go and simmer for 20 minutes. The only time I have a problem is when I forget to set the timer.
ReplyDeleteThe easiest way for me to cook rice is to put the amount of rice in a large amount of boiling water, and boil for 13 minutes. At 13 minutes immediately drain and douse in cold water. Works everytime!
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing to do with rice, but I thought you might like it:
ReplyDeletehttp://dcist.com/2010/11/this_is_how_we_do_squash.php
Congrats on finding decent Korean food. Indeed, I too have had bad Asian food in San Francisco, so we can kill the myth that all Asian food in S.F. is great.
ReplyDeleteHere is my 2 cents on rice. I too use All Clad, good old Iron City, the 'Burgh, USA made cookware. This is how my mom, many other Asian moms without a rice cooker, and Susan, the Thai demo cook, who we met under, makes rice in a pot.
1. rinse rice (get talc off)
2. no matter how much rice you use, fill the pot with water up to 1 index finger joint higher than the rice. (the more rice you make, the less water you use, and Alton Brown will confirm this) I never measure rice.
3. boil until the water is below the level of rice, and has water bubble coming up through the surface. Never stir.
4. cover and lower the heat to the lowest setting for 5-10 minutes. Never stir. keep cover on, do not open.
5. turn off the heat, keep cover on, do not open for another 10 min.
note, never stir cooking rice, and never uncover during the 2 steam phases.
6. ok, gently fluff the rice with a wood rice spoon, and serve.
There is a "crispy rice" thing that Chinese and Koreans like and do, but other may not like it. If there is rice stuck to the bottom, put the pot back onto a med heat until the rice gets a brown, maybe charry, but crispy at the bottom. Turn off the heat, and let the pot cool. The crispy rice will pull away from the pot and you should be able to lift the whole thing out of the pot. Eat the crispy rice, toss it, or add it to make a rice soup.
Let me know how it goes next with rice.