Steamed Rice!!!

[young_one]

I know it is so easy to steam rice but everytime i try to steam long grain rice it tastes like burnt pasta... i need help!!! Any help would be ver much welcomed..thank you

[dano1]

how bout a rice steamer.

[Mezzaluna]

Welcome to Chef Talk, YoungOne. We hope you find plenty here to inform and enegize you!

I used the search button here at Chef Talk and found way, way too many threads to be helpful, but I did go through some and found this one: Rice Cooker

It talks about rice cookers, but later down the page there's a recipe for baked rice. It's practically no-fail.

But I have some questions too. First, what type of rice are you using? Is it short, long, or medium grain? Is it par-cooked (Uncle Ben's), instant (heaven forbit- tastes like the stuff they put in mailing boxes), sticky rice (like for sushi) or brown rice?

Why are you steaming it, versus the usual stove-top method or some other method? Sarah Moulton (Gourmet Magazine and Food TV) cooks it like pasta- in tons of water- then drains it when it's ready to eat.

What type of pot or vessel are you cooking it on? Please tell us how you're doing it now that it burns.

I hope we can answer your questions, and that you visit often to learn and share.

Regards,
Mezzaluna

[AprilB]

I use one of those microwave rice cookers with the lid. Cheap and easy.

Equal parts rice and water. Microwave on hi about 15 minutes. If all the water isn't absorbed put it back in 2 minute increments. Fluff. Not exactly steamed, but not a whole lot different in practice.

Yes, steam can actually be 'too hot'. The heat from the steam will actually dry out the rice rather than cooking it because it hits the surface and evaporates too fast. (as you found out)

Personally I like the Mexican method of dry toasting the rice in a pan until opaque before adding liquid. I don't really know the premise of the technique but I find that it tastes better. I think it causes the rice to further dry out and accept liquid better. It's a must technique for mexican or spanish rice. Sometimes you can use a TB or so of peanut oil (or oil of choice depending on your recipe.)

April

[pablopabla]

Hello young-one!

Try double-boiling.

Experiment by putting about 60ml rice into a 150ml stainless-steel container. Add approximately 80ml water.

Place container inside a pot which has been pre-filled with water (up to half the height of the container). Close lid of pot and boil the water in the pot for about 20 minutes. Make sure water in pot does not splash into container.

You should be able to get fluffy cooked rice at the end of cooking time but you need to experiment with the water bit.