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Technically there
are totally 3 components in cooking rice, namely, rice, water
and heat.
Rice, the first component, is consisted
mainly of starch. Different varieties of rice contain different
type of starch. Some give soft texture, some give firmer texture
when cooked. Check carefully for the texture you prefer and use
the appropriate rice.
Next is water. Rice will not be cooked
if no water presented, no matter how hot or how long you cook
it. This also true for insufficient water when cooking. If you
put too little water, the upper portion of rice will not be cooked
properly as not enough water can reach the top. Also if you put
too much water then rice will tend to be mashy because it contain
too much water and will not hold its form.
Lastly it is the heat component. In theory
rice can be cooked in lower temperature, between 75c to 95c (165f
to 205f) depending on the type of rice and starch. If each grain
of rice has enough water absorbed, low heat will be enough cook
it. In practice, always cook rice in boiling water as a little
higher temperature will not affect the quality of cooked rice.
Here are some important thoughts :
Soak rice before cooking, it make rice
cook faster and use less water.
Always let rice simmer in pan/cooker after
cooked, minimum 15 minutes. It will make rice more tender, stay
if shape and does not stick to pot.
Every body burn rice on their first cooking.
At least I did :-)
 Happy
cooking.
Klangwan Narainakorn <kwn@therice.org>
20 December 1999 |
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