20 Minute Rice
By dohn121
20 Minute Rice
Here is a recipe taught to me by my dad when I was a just kid. Reason being was that my dad wanted rice for dinner hot and fresh almost as soon as he got home from work. I still use this recipe to this day as it is fool proof, requires no measuring cup, is fast and more important than anything, it WORKS!
A Word on Jasmine Rice
First and foremost, you will need rice. At one website that sells A LOT of rice, they had over 660 brands of Thai Jasmine rice alone! That does not include vendors from Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Laos and the U.S. I recommend Thai Jasmine rice as it is aromatic and very easy to cook. These days, most supermarkets have and Ethnic or International Section and a Oriental sub-section which will contain Chinese, Japanese, sometimes Korean and sometimes Thai foods. However, if you can't find rice in this subsection, chances are is that you'll find raw rice in the Hispanic section for some reason. I've never understood this but it's true. A cost-effective brand of Jasmine rice is Dynasty Jasmine rice or Carolina Jasmine which really aren't that bad. I've seen a 2 pound bag of Dynasty Jasmine rice (enough to feed 3 people twice) for $2.89, which comes out to less than 50 cents a plate! The best Jasmine rice you'll find will most likely be Golden Phoenix and some of the more expensive brands will be Thai Kitchen, which sells almost everything that has to do with Thai cuisine. If you have absolutely no such luck finding any of these brands, I would check the organic section where they keep loose grain. Another alternative would be Basmati or simple long-grain rice.
Cooking Jasmine Rice
The second component you will need is a pot. I recommend a non-stick pot made by Calaphon as it is very durable and dependable and easy to clean. Soaking the pot in cold water after you're done is a good idea. When using a non-stick pot, be sure to use a flat wooden spoon as it won't scratch your expensive pot and is also easy to clean. I suggest letting it soak in cold water inside a coffee mug after you dish serving the rice onto plates. Some of the best lids for your pot (if your not sure what kind of pot to use, just look below on my sale items and you'll see) are the ones constructed with glass and steel as they will usually have single small holes in them to allow a minimal amount of steam to escape. Their also good for cooking rice because they're heavy. I try to stay away from aluminum lids as they have a tendency to allow too much steam to escape. In some cases, if the pot gets too hot, your pot will boil over--rice water and all. A few times when I didn't have a heavy enough lid, I used a stoneware plate right-side-up as it fit perfectly over the pot.
The Preparation and Cooking Process
I like to save those clear 16 ounce soup cup containers you get in Chinese take-out restaurants because they're handy and reusable. Figure that each one of those in raw Jasmine rice equals one healthy serving of cooked rice when filled to the first line. As a rule, I use at least two containers each time I cook rice because if you try to cook less rice, you run the risk of burning it. I also wouldn't try to cook more than three containers full, as it maybe too much, depending on the pot size.
Next, you want to rinse the rice underneath the faucet using cold water, using your hand to stir the rice. Do your best to remove any sentiment then strain the rice without losing too much of it down the sink. I find that rinsing the rice twice is sufficient enough. Next fill the pot up accordingly. I always estimate filling the pot up about an inch or so above the rice line. Next, dip your index finger vertically down into the rice so that you touch the bottom of the pot while the pot is resting on a level surface, like your counter top. Now with the thumb of the same hand, mark off the rice line then slowly bring your index finger slowly up so that one-half of where you marked off your index finger is the rice line and the half is the water line. In other words, the ratio between rice and water should be 1 : 1 See why you don't need a measuring cup? This trick works with as much rice or as little rice, depending on the size of your pot! If you don't have enough water, add more water, in turn if you have too much water, pour some water out accordingly. So let's say you want softer, fluffier rice. You need only add a little bit more water and if you want drier, coarser rice, pour some water out. It's that easy!
Once you measured your rice, place the pot on the stove and fire up / turn on the burner to HIGH but do not cover the pot yet. Depending on how much rice you're cooking, the pot should begin to boil between 5 and 7 minutes. Now let the rice boil down and reduce on its own and here is where you will need to watch the pot. Once a minimum amount of water is reached, holes will appear at the top of the rice's surface/line. As soon as this happens, lower the flame/switch the burner down to its lowest setting and cover the pot. Mark the time and estimate that in 15 minutes the rice will be done. If everything went smoothly up until this point, you should have fresh aromatic rice at the end of fifteen minutes! Thank you for listening and I hope that I've helped. Please also check out my 15-minute Pork Chop recipe!
A Word About Automatic Rice Cookers
A few of my readers asked me whether or not this same method would work in automatic rice cookers and my answer is yes! Unless you eat rice practically every day, you probably don't have a rice cooker or it may not be practical for you to own one. Below are some rice cookers starting at $20 or so. They all work well, from simple to technical in terms of ability.
 | Amazon Price: $94.99 List Price: $150.00 |
 | Amazon Price: $39.95 List Price: $39.99 |
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Here is a recipe taught to me by my dad when I was a just kid. Reason being was that my dad wanted rice for dinner hot and fresh almost as soon as he got home from work. I still use this recipe to this day as...
Comments
I'm going to have to try your tips - my husband and I both battle to cook rice successfully for some reason. One question: do you stir the rice at any point while it is cooking? I usually give it a good stir when those holes appear in the surface.
Thanks, daoine. As to your question, no I don't stir the rice as it disturbs the balance (please excuse the writer speak) of the rice. I do however stir it only after it is done. Another thing I recommend doing is letting the rice "rest" after it is done atop the same burner it was cooking on WITH the cover on. This cooling down process tends to improve texture of the rice. If you don't do this, the rice grains tend to want to stick together making it too steamy. I know, this may sound a little weird, but it's true. Give it a shot and let me know!
I just started cooking rice myself- I am a late bloomer :)
Thanks for the tips.
That's fine, magic. It's never too late to become self sufficient. I started cooking when I was 8 but made A LOT of mistakes before I got anything right. I just might do kind of a Rachel Ray thing and come up with some cost-effective meals. Familys nowadays are always looking for ways to save money or stretch their bucks. Thanks for your comments!
Nice article! Congrats on your HubNugget wanna-be status!
Very cool. :)
THANK YOU CAM! I hope I win!
This sounds great. I am so impressed that you don't use any measuring cups. I will need to give this a try. Unfortunately my wife hates plain white rice. I used to have it all of the time growing up. But, rarely have it now.
Thank you, Jim. The recipe is fool proof. One other idea that I have is to make a hub using this same recipe for fried rice. My roomates / fraternity brothers use to beg me to make it at least once a week. Truth be told, COLD WHITE RICE works best, especially when its a day old, after it's been stored inside the fridge. The great thing about this is that there's so many things you can do regarding your type of diet: Veggies + Meat, Just Veggies, With Egg, Without, etc. As soon as I do, you'll be the first to know if it'll make your wife happy :)
Nice article. I love rice, but I am a hard core user of measuring instruments in the kitchen. I think I'd fail miserabley without a measuring cup :)
If that really is the case, Jane, you can try the same method by doing this:
Water versus Rice: One and a half parts water against one part rice
So for instance, if you want to make 2 servings of cooked rice, you would want to do measure out one cup of uncooked rice and one-and-a-half cups of water. The rules / ratio are always the same in every instance! Hope this helps.
Great hub Dohn. Congratulations on the nomination this week. I have voted for you. ...Fingers crossed!!
Hi Dhon, I was smiling reading your rice hub. Well, for one I come from a rice eating country. Before the rice cooker, we used to measure the amount of water using our middle finger LOL thanks for writing this down!
Congratulations for being a Hubnugget Wannabe! Enjoy the hubnuggets and email all those friends of yours to vote...remember even non hubbers can vote! http://hubpages.com/_143/hub/Published
Thanks, UK. You are truly a friend! I hope that in less than a week, I will have the honor of having the Hubnugget Torch passed onto me! JOY!!!
Thank you, Ripplemaker, LOL. I take this method is not exactly known only in MY corner of Asia of the world, huh? In Lao and Thai languages, it is custom to ask not "What's for dinner?" so much as "What are we having with the rice?" Ha ha ha! Rice is always implied! It's not like we had mac and cheese one night and Chicken Cordon bleu the next! Oh, and by the way, I've been pushing votes as best I can...The only thing I haven't done is wear the sandwich-board thing throughout town while shouting through a bullhorn...Well, maybe I'll do it if I'm really getting slaughtered by let's say Tuesday night! Thanks again.
I buy Dynasty Jasmine rice all the time. I buy the biggest bag I can (it's cheaper than way) and freeze most of it raw. We have it just the way you described here at least once a week or more. Sometimes we just brown some mushrooms and have it with mushrooms and nothing else, but we like to have it chicken in bourbon too, or just plain with butter. It smells SOOOOO good, like flowers. You wouldn't think it would matter, that rice would be rice. But it's awesome stuff, and affordable too. Great hub! :)
Yep, I know what you mean about the smell and all. It seems that the more expensive, the better the aroma. My rice of choice is called Six-Elephant Brand. It has these cartoonish little elephant gathering around (looks like they are plotting) something! It's a bit on the expensive side, like $21.75 for a 25 pound bag and those normally get bought up first. The 50 pounders are usually around $36.95 or something like that. But if I don't get to the Asian food store early, they usually get sold out :( Thanks for the comment! Talk to you again soon!
I've never had Jasmine rice. It sounds very interesting and yummy, though. Your method of making it seems quite easy, too.
You gotta try it. There's no aroma like it. Usually, the more expensive the rice the better texture, flavor and aroma. If you can find it, always choose Jasmine Rice that claims it's a New Crop, 2009, etc. That means it's the creme de la creme...Thanks for checking out my hub!
I could live on rice, it being a staple of many recipes. We use a rice cooker which is fool proof. Jasmine rice is generally only sold in one size, one brand here - Dynasty brand, but would agree Jasmine rice is one of the best. I find it interesting that different cultures seem to prefer different rices. Here, many Puerto Ricans will only use short grain rices, but Mexicans prefer long grain rice.
Thanks so much, I would love a great recipe for fried rice. I have found that Trader Joe's has a great frozen one. But, of course the picky wife has me picking the tiny, little red peppers out of it because she doesn't like them. I don't even think you can taste them for crying out loud. I will look forward to it.
Yes we eat rice everyday and I had to laugh..without question, we ask what we will have for dinner or lunch (to eat with the rice.) LOL Do you know? When my two brothers went to visit the US, they confessed there was a point they began to crave for rice and would have to buy chinese. And oh, great to hear you are promoting your hub! Hmmm...to see you in a sandwich board thing---now that would be something. LOL
You should write an artilce about cooking STICKY rice.. lol! Only because I have yet to learn.. =) Great article though!
I love the smell of Jasmine rice while it is cooking! Thanks for the tips!
Right? It turns any normal kitchen into an all-out Asian Smelling Kitchen!
Interesting method. We have a nice rice cooker, otherwise would try your method. We use a lot of basmati and jasmine rice. Love the aroma when it's cooking.
I used to have one myself, but maybe I'm old fashion as I prefer the stove-top style of cooking rice. The best rice cookers aren't available to the general public however...And there are some people (usually non-Asians) that don't eat rice that frequently and so a rice cooker might not be a good investment for them. I think I just might find some good links for people who plan to use rice cookers regularly and place them in a hub.
mmmmmm that sounds really good. We love Jasmine rice, but my favourite is still brown rice - love the nutty flavour. Good luck with your 'nugget' and I'm still trying to puzzle out where to find it.....drrrrr!!!
Now I can cook perfect rice... THANX!
...Or maybe Ultimate Rice? I like the sound of that more than perfect rice! Your welcome and I hope you enjoy.
Sounds great! Only one problem: I PREFER my rice to "stick together". My favorite is plain rice with soy sauce over it.
Another very, very simple, fast way to cook rice:
use a covered casserole dish (preferably glass) and your microwave. Hit the Rice button on the microwave. Rice Cookers are also cheap, good and very fast. Either method is fine for sticky rice, too [but not arborio].
It doesn't really matter what you use to "measure" in the rice, as long as you use the same thing to measure in the water and keep it at a 1 to 2 ratio of rice to water.
I don't know. I'm old fashion and try to stay away from using microwaves as they are an unnatural way of cooking food. Reason being is that microwave currents kill off any valuable vitamins your food may have as they "excite molecules" into forced activity. I no longer own a microwave due to this simple fact. Thank you for your comment.
Hi Dohn, I love rice and although Thai Jasmine Rice is a lot expensive than the local rice here in my place I am buying some if ever I had the chance. My style in measuring is different I put water onto rice up to the 2nd line of my middle finger; but I would definitely try your style too. BTW congratulations on being a HubNugget. If I have known earlier then of course I'll be voting for your. But I'm glad that you made it even without my vote.
Thank you, Philent. You know, ripplemaker told me about the exact same technique! Maybe you guys know each other? Ha ha ha! About the Hubnugget challenge, I'm still shocked that I won. I mean, at first I thought I had to collect the most votes but then later on, I found that I just had to make the it to the top five. I was ecstatic when the ballots closed and was given the news!
Haha Ripplemaker is from the Philippines too, and it's just the same old customs and traditions, you know coming from our old folks.
You know, I of course knew that you were, but I wasn't positive about ripplemaker. I was told to use my index finger and ripplemaker (and probably you too) were told to use your middle finger! Woah! Big difference, right? Funny thing, one person told me to nuke the rice in a microwave because it's much faster! Can you imagine? My dad would slap me up the side of my head if I even dreamed of such a stunt! Oh well, I guess she was only trying to help.
Jasmine rice eh? Gonna try that. Thanks and great tips.
Your welcome, Chris! Thank you so much for all your kind comments and support. I always look forward to hearing from you.
I've never been good at cooking rice so I have a rice cooker (I can't live without it). Can you use all your suggestions with a rice cooker?
Absolutely, christine! The rule of thumb is this:
One and a half parts water : One part rice
This works every time! So, for instance to cook one cup of uncooked rice, you use one-and-a-half cups of water...If you don't feel like using a measuring cup, the finger trick is EXACTLY the same! It's more than a LAW than a method!
A very useful hub to many! I am a fan of fast and easy cooking. I am not much into eating rice and use the microwave when i cook rice. I use the finger trick too when cooking rice.
Yes, I'm noticing that more and more Asians are stepping forward and are telling me that they are well aware of the finger trick. I guess the jig is up! I try to stay away from using the microwave as it's not healthy, but that's just me. It does however get tough when I want to reheat something quickly. Thanks, Anamika.
Wa. Not only asians like to eat rice. Ok, i decided to write a Recipe on Chicken rice using just your rice cooker.
Pls look out at my hubpage. C U.
I definitely will! Thanks again, viviknows!
I'm very curious as to the taste of Jasmine Rice.. would have to taste it soon. Thanks for this hub; very informative.
You really should try it, HPWriter. It's very aromatic and in my opinion, the best rice you can buy (better than Basmati rice). Thanks again!
thnaks for this nice recipe
Thank you again, Lgali. I can't believe this won a hubnugget!
I think I've been putting the lid on too soon, going to try this way next time I cook rice, thanks!
I used to do that too until my father corrected me. I've cooked for myself before and cooked for 10 people too using this same method. This formula just works!
You're absolutely right about this formula -- my grandmother taught it to me and I've been using it since. Now, my children use it too!!!
Thanks, Beth! It's so simple yet so effective! I think that 100 years from now, people will still being using this method! Thanks!
Great hub Dohn hehehe highlighting the staple food of the Southeast Asian people...Dohn mind if i'll ask you your roots. looking forward to your answers...
Not a problem, General! I'm Lao. I came to the States when I was 3 and speak Lao, English (obviously) and a bit of Thai. I also want to learn French someday as well (my paternal grandfather was half-French). Thank you for stopping by, sir. I appreciate the read and comment :D
Rice is a staple food in our country. However, it's great to know I can still learn something new, my mother just uses trial and error because she tries different types of rice (mostly we eat organic red rice). Thanks for sharing this. :)
Thank you Ninna for commenting. Obviously, rice is a staple rice in my country too! We really eat sticky rice (sweet rice) more than white jasmine rice...Perhaps I should write a hub about that. Red rice is very healthy for you, I know that much, but I have yet to try it.
i LOVE rice! sometimes i will just eat a bowl of rice for dinner. it is the one food eaten more than any other across the globe, right? very nice hub, as usual!
I love rice too (obviously). This little finger (or index finger or middle finger) trick is actually well-known. A couple of the Filipino Hubbers here found it funny that I wrote a hub on it as they use the same method too! This actually won a Hubnugget, ha ha ha. It got a bunch of hits right after it was nominated. It's definitely an important crop and has a million uses (which I cannot divulge to you, as the Asian community will surely stab me in my sleep should I attempt to).
Thanks, cosette!
Hi Dohn! Thanks! Rice is an essential staple in my diet. I have tried Jasmine rice and find it just divine! Thanks for the tip =D
Your welcome, AIDY! I promise, I'll have more recipes for you very soon! Thank you as always for reading.
dohn121 this is a great hub. I do need to learn to improve on my rice cooking and you have given me some great tips. I even tried purchasing a rice cooker, but I did not like the ones I saw in the store. I think I will return to purchase one that you recommend here.
I would also like to add my heartiest congratulations on your interview by hubpages. I was very impressed. I am so proud of you and so glad I am your fan.
Wow, thank you, create a page! Thank you for the comment and compliment. I actually won a Hubnugget for this one about a month after joining Hubpages.
Thank you for the congratulatory remarks! That means a lot.
Easy to read and very instructive. You have given me a way to prepare rice(without burning it).
I'm glad that I was able to help, Larry, thank you. I hope this works for you.
hi DOHN< I buy jasmine rice at Asian store, and i have two rice cooker, one big when I have visitors and one small for me. I eat rice everyday, so I need rice cooker, very very nice hub DOHN<
have a good day!
I have a rice cooker too = ME
Ha! Just kidding! I do have a real rice cooker, which is of the 12-cup variety and eat rice just about everyday (99% of the time). Thanks again!
The Rice information was great, but if you get a chance please post about pho.
Thanks
Geez...I was thinking about doing that one soon! There are so many hubs that I want to write and that's no exception. I will do it someday soon. Thanks again, TFT!
dohn, a very easy to follow, instructional hub. I love rice and have found that by using a rice cooker it always turns out perfect... I think I had trouble with getting just the right temperature before.. on an electric stovetop it can be tricky!
Thank you, Mekenzie. Yes, getting the temperature just right can be tricky. It may take you a few tries to get it "just right." Practice does make perfect. I find that using the stove top is better in some cases. Thanks so much for reading this!
My son loves rice so I am going to try this...will keep you posted on how it comes out. Hope you are well.
That's great to hear, Ladybird33. I hope he likes it as well :D Thank you for that, I am. I hope you are too :)
dohn121.Hi.When it comes to cooking rice,I am the worst cook on this Planet,but after reading your hub with such great instructions and recipes,I believe it will improve, Thank you. :) :)
Thank you, oliversmum! I'm sure you teach me a trick or two as well! I hope you do give it a try, so let me know if and when you do!
By the way, I have relatives in Melbourne! Just thought I tell you that!
its got me tempted - am gonna try this!
Thanks, BeBrown. I hope you give it a shot!
dohn, my family eats rice like most eat potatoes. I must say I can cook a mean pot of rice. lol But I must admit I just bought a rice cooker and I love it. That is the best thing to have in your kitchen if you make rice a few days a week. Love you hub as always. Will rate and i have linked. Happy to be a fan. I'll be back
One of the cool things about Lao culture is that instead of asking the question,"What's for supper?" we ask each other (in so many words) "What are we eating with the rice?" The part about eating the rice is a given so the only practical question is what will accompany it! After cooking rice for a while, it becomes pretty easy. I usually start cooking it and then begin prepping my meal. Both the meal and course usually finish at the same time! Thanks again.
Will give it a try your way.
This is a great hub, putting rice-cooking in the limelight. Rice is my country's staple food, but because of so many varieties, I have trouble cooking mine to perfection. Might as well try jasmine which is now in our market. Good we now have the rice cooker, too. Thank you.
@boxxies: Thanks! Let me know how you did :D
@Lita C. Malicdem: Thank you for the comment. Which country are you from? Jasmine is of course my favorite as I tried a plethora of different varieties of rice out there, especially in the last 20 years or so as the world has gotten "smaller." Thanks once again.
Lgali 2 years ago
very nice article