Steps and tips for how to cook white and brown rice on the stove with perfect results.
For many years, I would try to cook rice on the stove top with unsuccessful results. Most times I would end up with crunchy rice, and on rare occasions it would be extremely mushy. I tried many different methods to get fluffy rice before finally giving in to instant rice...like Minute Rice, yep. Then Annie saved me with a wonderful rice pilaf recipe that turned out perfectly every time. After that, when I needed rice for a recipe or just as a side, I turned to the pilaf. The problem? It takes over an hour.
Finally, sometime last year I came across a promising step by step of how to make the perfect stovetop rice. I can't remember where it came from, but I jotted the steps down and gave it a try the very next day with white rice. It was fluffy! It wasn't crunchy! It was wonderful! Being the skeptic I am, I quickly attributed it to beginner's luck and knew that the second attempt surely wouldn't be so great. But, wow, was I wrong! Again, it was the rice I always dreamed of making! (That might seem extreme, but you have to understand the journey I went through to get here!) 😉
I have since made my rice this way for everything (while still occasionally making the garlic rice pilaf because it is so darn good!) I even texted this recipe to my sister in Colorado when she was making rice one night, and she, too, was ecstatic with the results. Although I'm not a brown rice snob, I love how it cooks using this method, as well.
Cooking rice might seem like a basic recipe for many of you, but I'm hoping that by posting this that at least someone will come out and admit they've had problems cooking rice, too, and will now have successful results!
A few tips about cooking rice:
- Use a heavy bottomed saucepan that comes with a tight fitted lid.
- Since the rice expands about 3 times its size during cooking, use a pan that will be large enough for the cooked rice.
- The cooking liquid can be anything like water or broth/stock, and seasoned to your taste.
- Use a 2:1 ratio (2 cups water to 1 cup dry rice).
- Plan on ¼ cup dry rice per person.
Use this rice in:
Apricot & French Dressing Crock Pot Chicken
Kung Pao Chicken
Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce
Stuffed Cabbage
Poppyseed Chicken
Stuffed Acorn Squash
Recipe Card
How To Cook Rice on the Stovetop
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry rice (white, brown or wild rice, but not a combination)
- 2 cups liquid , such as water or broth/stock
- Seasonings , such as salt, spices, butter, etc. (optional)
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom sauce pan with a tight fitted lid, bring the 2 cups liquid to a boil (add seasonings, to taste). While waiting for the liquid to boil, rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs through clear (about 30 seconds). Once the liquid comes to a rolling boil, stir in the rice. Return to a low boil then cover. Immediately turn the heat down all the way to the lowest setting and continue to cook for 25 minutes (45 minutes for brown or wild rice). IMPORTANT: Do not remove the lid before this time is up!
- Uncover and remove from the heat. Let the rice stand for 2 minutes before stirring/fluffing. Serve immediately or chill for later use.
