Answers to some common questions that I saw in the comments: Comment 1: Aren't you using the wrong cup for water? The reason the dry measuring cups aren't used for liquids is that they need to be filled to the brim with the meniscus of water forming a little bubble above the rim. Unless you are doing it over the sink you will likely spill. I do fill my dry cup to the brim with water and I checked it against my wet measuring cup and it's accurate. My dry cup also has a half line, so when I am measuring the half cup I am not winging it, I measure it to the line. Comment 2: Rice cookers are magic, and they make perfect rice in any amount. Have you ever wondered how? They are measuring the water for you because rice to water ratio is not linear. They tell you how much water to use for every possible amount of rice on the side of the pot. If you switch pots, the same measurements might not work. It depends on the pot diameter, the seal, and the heat intensity. Comment 3: Rice cooking is in my blood because I am from country X Possibly ;) But, all I have to do is give you another pot and another stove and your first try might be less than perfect. Comment 4: Use the pasta method Yes, that's great for basmati, not great for sushi rice It's great to have some way that just works for you. But it's also good to know what the variables are. This way if you are dealing with a different pot or a different amount of rice, you'll know how to come up with a reliable recipe after a couple of tries.
Does this experiment imply the size of the pot effects how much water is needed for the same amount of rice? Based on my experience cooking rice it would somehow make sense to me.
Question on Comment 2: My rice cooker doesn't measure water for me, it just turns itself from high heat to low whenever the bottom of the rice pan gets hotter than the boiling temperature of water. If I put too much or too little water, it will give me over or under cooked rice. Do people really have rice cookers that measure the water?
@@michaelgeiss741 Rice cookers, at least every one I have ever seen, all come with a measuring cup (for the rice, not the water). This cup’s almost exactly 3/4 (officially 2401/13310 of a liter) of a regular (US) cup, and is based on the traditional measure (called gō) in Japan, where rice cookers were invented and first popularized. There should be markings on the inside of the pot of the rice cooker indicating how high the water should be for each ‘cup’/gō of rice. And just to be clear, you fill the water to the correct level after the rice is in the pot, not before. There may be several sets of markings, each for white rice, brown rice, porridge, etc. One other piece of advice for anyone who has a Korean or Japanese style rice cooker with a separate setting for ‘mixed rice’ is to use that setting for basmati, as the regular rice setting in those type of cookers is generally calibrated for Japanese (sushi) type Japonica rice. If you are a rice lover, and eat it with any frequency, a good rice cooker might just become your most beloved appliance. I would sooner part with my toaster oven or stand mixer than my rice cooker. Mine is a ‘fuzzylogi’ (whatever that means) Zojirushi 3 ‘cup’ (2 and1/4 regular cup) cooker.
Dear Helen, I’m an old Vietnamese man and I cook rice every day in my whole life by our traditional way. As you already know that Vietnam is one of the world’s largest rice producer, we consume large amount of rice daily so cooking rice is a simple routine for all of us. We never measure the amount of rice or water, just rinse the rice twice in a pot, add large amount of water, say 3-4 inches of water above the top of the rice, bring to a boil without a cover for a while (3-4 minutes so your fan will understand) then pour off the water, using the pot cover as a stopper to let the water out and keep the rice in the pot. Put the pot back to the burner, cover, turn the heat to low then forget it for a while. (Not everyone have a watch so I would say 20 minutes is enough), turn off the heat, fluff rice a few times and it’s ready to serve. With this method, you can control the texture of the rice, for a firm rice, pour off most of the cooking liquid, for a softer rice, leave a small amount of the liquid in the pot, it’s simple. You also get 2 valuable byproducts, the cooked rice liquid is full of carbohydrate and some protein, just add a little sugar then it become a substitute for milk to feed an infant of a poor family, I grew up with this “milk”. The second one is a layer of rice, crispy brown and sticking on the bottom of the pots, you simply drizzle some onion oil on it, put the pot in low heat for a while then easily take it out in one piece, add any filling then you will have a special treat, now a day, it is a delicacy at many high price restaurant in Vietnam with all kind of seafood fillings. Please forgive my broken English in this writing, I’m one of your fan and I learn a lot of tips from your video series.
Anh Minh 3-4 inches is a lot , the inches change depending on how much rice you cook and how many times you rinse it. Also different brands require different amounts of water . But I think you already know this. If your not Asian it’s best to to cook it if you mess up then adjust it on the next cook.
Hi Bruce Lee, Actually, it is my way to say that the amount of water you need to control is right after it reaches hard boiling point so you don't have to remember how much water you need each time you cook the rice, of course, you don't put 1 gallon of water to 2 cups of rice do you? Thank you for your nice comment. Best wishes and happy Thanksgiving Holiday.
"broken English" lol. Way better than some of my native English speaking clients. Please don't disrespect your obvious fluency. Would that I had a second language. The best I got was French at about the 8 year old level and with a German accent. Which is weird. I don't know German!
My wife's late mother was from Japan, she taught my wife, wife taught me - nearly 45 years ago! Rice, water just over 1/2 inch, bring to a boil, cover at low heat for about 15 minutes. Let sit with no heat for another 10 minutes. This is for medium grain. Basmati, Jasmine, and some other long grain rices take a bit more water. Also how dry (older) the rice is can make a difference.
Been doing this way for 40 years, never a problem. No measuring, just put any amount of rice (rinsed or dry) into a pot, add water to cover 1/2 inch and bring to boil, simmer for approx 20 min., less for siffer, more for softer. A no brainer. I use Basmati or Jasmine only.
YES! 1. wash rice and put into the rice cooker (whatever amount you need) 2.water level should be no higher than your first knuckle (just about) 3.cook rice its that simple. No need to over complicate greatly like you did in the video :) i am a professional chef in Japanese cuisine.
This is, frankly, why rice cookers are such wonderful devices. My rice comes out perfect every time, no matter how much I make, and it frees up crucial space on the stovetop. You can plug a rice cooker into any outlet in your home, which makes them essential kit for small kitchens and dormitories Also, I find the benefit of washing rice doesn't come from rinsing away excess starch, but from soaking the rice before cooking. Like when cooking beans or other dried, starchy foods, rice has a tendency to break up and take on an inconsistent texture when cooked from totally dry. All it takes is 20 or 30 minutes of pre-soaking to make a noticeable difference (don't go too much longer than 12h, or you can start to have some undesirable flavors, due to fermentation). You don't need to change the water, either. Just mix the rice and water (and salt, if desired), let sit, then cook
It's worth noting that many rice cookers (beyond the absolute most basic ones) do this automatically. My rice cooker (some $30 model from Amazon) has a "white rice" setting and a "flash rice" setting. The flash rice setting simply skips the pre-cook soaking.
@@Jodabomb24 that is very interesting! My rice cooker has both of those functions, and I still notice a difference when I soak my rice with the longer setting. I'll have to experiment to see what's going on with my particular model In all honesty, I wish I'd bought a cheaper, more basic cooker. I don't use any of the advanced functions, and I could've bought A LOT of rice for the cost difference!
A rice cooker isn't magic, It doesn't do anything more than a cheap pot (thin alumnium) with a pierced lid (not optimal but necessarry to avoid bad reviews due to spillage when people mess up) on an electric burner. It stops at the right time, due to the sensor, but that's about it. Mess up the water quantities and you still won't have perfect rice, either you have low standards, or you haven't really tried cooking 200g of dry rice and 1kg of rice with the same water ratio. Or you might be adjusting due to experience, but anyhow, the rice cooker won't do anything more than a cheap pot, except telling you when the bottom is at 100C + I agree that soaking is great, especially with sushi rice that is cooked at a drier ratio. 30 min in summer, 1h in winter is a good starting point.
@@格温德琳野兔 I have to disagree. Simple rice cookers make use of calibrated bimetallic strips and magnets (the closest real thing to magic) to ensure the rice does not overcook, or, at least, overcooks as minimally as possible. A stove doesn't know when all the water is absorbed, but a rice cooker, like magic, does As for messing up the quantities, that is a far easier task when the vessel in question lacks distinct markings and a bespoke measuring cup, which basically every rice cooker comes with standard. It takes practically no effort or attention to get the ratio of rice and water correct in a rice cooker
@@格温德琳野兔 Dude the point is that rice cookers have markings on the side to tell you how much water to use. And plenty of rice cookers have more sophisticated circuitry than just the temperature sensor and automatic shutoff.
MrAlio84, actually Zojirushi is the absolute best brand of rice cooker, and it is Japanese. I am Asian and not Japanese and still say the same thing. It's worth every penny.
Thank you so much for this video! I’ve been cooking for over 40 years and recently started cooking a large batch of long grain rice that I use over the course of 2-3 days rather than a small batch each meal. All of the sudden my rice had turned mushy and now I understand why! I’m going through more of your videos now to see what other jewels of wisdom you have to share. 🌷
Helen, my suspicion for why this phenomenon occurs is that when cooking larger batches in the same pot, the ratio of moisture evaporation relative to the total mass of moisture is disproportionately represented when making larger batches. In a smaller batch, you "bleed" off a larger percentage of the moisture as it cooks, which helps things even out by the time it is cooked. When you scale up to a larger batch, the surface area at the top of the rice doesn't change compared to smaller batches (assuming you're using the same pot), so the moisture lost to evaporation likely increases only slightly, if even at all. This means that in your end product, the overall ratio of moisture to rice remains higher than smaller batches, which might be why you find you need less and less water when you scale up.
Yes this is all quite true if you’re cooking rice on the stove but if you’re making rice in an instant pot there’s no evaporation at all. So there needs to be another theory of why the amount of water required for larger quantities of white rice changes so much. Evaporation can’t be the cause in a sealed environment like an instant pot. The only other variable I can see changing in these circumstances that may change the amount of water required is the amount of time the pot requires to come to pressure as the quantities of food increase. So although there is less water per cup of rice there is a longer cooking time which allows the rice to cook more regardless of the amount of water? 🤔
@@pjschmid2251 when the instant pot is in rice mode, I believe it still allows for steam evaporation, no? At the very least I know pressure cookers release steam during the heating portion before the reach pressure? I can’t speak for products that I don’t own, but I thought that instant pot devices didn’t even use pressure cook for most rice modes. Wouldn’t they over cook it too easily?
@@dirtyketchup Rice mode is a pressure cooking mode and it does go under pressure. You are right about a small bit of steam being released during the initial buildup of pressure but not at all enough to be of real consideration. I’m still thinking that it’s the amount of time needed to build up pressure for larger amounts of food that is causing the rice to cook with less water per cup of rice. In addition she said she was using natural release mode which means she’s leaving it cooking for even longer. I tend to cook my rice under high pressure for 3 to 5 minutes with a five minute waiting period before I quick release. But I’m never making large quantities of rice so I don’t know if I need that much less water until I try it. Truly if you go out on UA-cam as many people as do I video on how to cook white rice that’s as many methods as you’ll find.
@@pjschmid2251 that’s good to know. I honestly thought pressure cooking rice was more for stuff like whole grain and brown rice. I use a stovetop pressure cooker and never do rice in it. I’ve always just done traditional stove top rice cook methods.
@@dirtyketchup I still have my stovetop pressure cooker and I honestly don’t think I’ll ever use it again. I always struggled with it trying to keep the pressure up but not burn things and the instant pot takes all those worries away since it constantly monitors the proper pressure and controls the temperature. I can’t believe I slept on this appliance as long as I did. And a bonus for the summer it doesn’t heat up the kitchen.
And not unlike a lot of mathematical descriptions of things, there are limits below and above which the model falls apart. What you've done is really good for cooking the amounts of rice that a normal family would use for their own dinner or for an extended family celebration like Thanksgiving. Good work! God I love math.
The intercept (0.525) here depends on the pot diameter, on it being covered or not, and on heat intensity because this is supposed to capture (under the correct interpretation of this kind of formula) the amount of water that will evaporate (i.e., not get absorbed by rice) during cooking.
@@nigelc21 this formula works for weight. I guess it could be difficult to devise a formula using the diameter that would be simultaneously practical and general.
My grandmother whom is Burmese taught us, 1 cup of rice with 1.5 cups of water and then 1 to 1 for every cup after that. Ie 2 cups of rice 2.5 cups of water, 3 cups 3.5 cups of water. Please Try this method.
Im filipino and we dont really measure anymore once you are used to it. We just use our index finger to measure how deep the water is on top of the rice. Its usually 3/4 inches but it depends on how you want it :) so regardless of how much rice you want to cook, just use that method, try it. Jokoy even taught that in his netflix series :)
You do have to account for whether the cooking method you're using loses some water to evaporation, or like in the Instant pot or any pressure cooker, no evaporation at all. Plus, older rice is more dry and the weather can even make a difference, where a tiny bit more water may need to be used in periods where the air is very dry. I like this video because it teaches us the variables that affect how rice will come out.
I experimented as well and after an oriental woman told me about the knuckle above the rice method I ended up cooking in a glass bowl in the microwave with water about 3/4"-1" above the rice, no matter the quantity of rice or size of pot. I also mix the rice in the middle to prevent the top part from drying after most of the water is absorbed into the bottom part of the bowl. A Persian friend is wrapping the lid of the pot with a towel so the steam rising from the rice gets absorbed into the towel and does not fall back in drops into the rice and makes them mushy.
Dan Souza of Cook’s Illustrated has a good video here as part of his What’s Eating Dan series that illustrates the water level issue. Being Latina I’ve always joked I can cook rice in my sleep, and for us we grow up seeing rice cooked in large amounts without a thought given to it- it’s just always perfect. I’ve explained to people that the size and shape of the pot they cook the rice in is a major aspect of it turning out. Recently someone said they weren’t able to cook rice properly in large quantities for an event. I was the only one who asked about the dimensions of the pot. It turned out they were using a stockpot. Tall and narrow! No good if you’re trying to cook such large amounts, even if in theory it fits. The rice needs room to expand and it can’t cook evenly in so narrow a pot. The pot has a big effect on water level.
after watching that video i have been telling everyone i know to do rice as 1 to 1 ratio PLUS half a cup and the half cup is extra to account for the amount of water that evaporates in the general cook time of rice.
@@turnthexbob Which is why rice cooking involves some amount of trial and error, until you find the perfect ratio for your particular pot, the amount you cook, and the texture you prefer (which might vary depending on what you are using the the rice for).
Helen, for really small batches of rice (1-1.5 cups) I recommend using a "pot in pot" method. Put the rice and water in a small steel food storage container or other such vessel, put 1-2 cups of water in the IP liner pot to act as a double boiler, and put the inner pot in to cook that way. Basically, you'd be pressure-steaming the rice. I cook this way for rice no matter what amount I make because I like my rice a bit on the drier side, and without the double-boiler method, my IP gives me a "BURN" error if I don't do this. With this method, I can stick to a consistent ratio of 1:1 water to rinsed and drained rice.
@@helenrennie the only other thing I do differently is that I cook under high pressure for 6 minutes and let it natural release for 10 before venting. It works great.
Helen, Watched this the day it came out and it has changed my "Rice Life." I always did it the way I was taught, with uneven results. Now I know, and am getting much better rice. Who knew? (Well, you apparently.)
If using a pan and using basmati rice, I use 1 cup rice to 2 1/4 cups liquid but I only simmer until the rice just starts to get larger. Then cover with a cloth and lid. Turn off, leave for 10 mins. Perfect every time (without rinsing!)
I do basmati with rinsing and frying in butter before adding water to the pot. I use 1 cup rice and 1 1/2 cup of water. Simmer until the rise start to surface and then cover with a lid. Turn off (or low temp) and leave for 10-15 minutes, then fluff the rice.
I have been making rice using sous vide with a 1:1 ratio. I do this when i use the sous vide to make other dishes and freeze extra bags for "instant rice" which i reheat in the microwave. When i snip off the corner of the sous vide bag before microwaving to releave pressure i add a teaspoon of water and nuke it for 90 seconds for defrosted and 120 seconds for frozen using a 700 watt microwave. Using sous vide cooking we normally make large batches and freeze as a type of DIY frozen ready meals, saves energy saves time and we know what is in the food. Thanks for the video, Take care, God bless one and all.
Helen, try to use this trick: Pure an inch of water in the pot, put the rice in a strainer and place the strainer in the pot, put a lit on and let it cook. You'll get a better taste since you are not cooking the rice directly in the water and all the rice gets steamed. (this is how old school Chinese cooks used to do it)
@@idjtoal Yes I hope too, your comment added what I forgot to write, so thanks! You could maybe say that, as long the water does not touch the strainer is it okay but less water means faster boiling and less need of energy. :-)
@@Therealw1 Yes you would think so, just as I did but if you look at the top brand rice cookers and how it has been done for thousands of years, has the rice never been stirred while cooking. The rice do just get to lay in the pot until finished. :-)
Love you and your channel so much Helen! Have learned so many skills and delicious recipes from you over the years. Maybe you’ll like this precise rice cooking method I learned from Hot Thai Kitchen. 1.25g water for every 1 g of rice. So 100g dry rice would need 125g water. Add the cold water to the rice with salt, don’t stir. Cover with a lid and put on the stove on low-medium heat for 20 mins. No need to bring to the boil or do anything - just put it on the stove in cold water and leave it alone. Check at 20 mins and then leave to stand covered off the heat for another 10 mins. Fluff and cover for another 5 minutes then good to go. This equation has never failed no matter how much rice I use - pretty amazing!
Foolproof rice, add your rice to a large pot after rinsing. Add lots of water, more is good, and salt. bring to the boil and cook the rice until it's just about done. Drain all the water through a sieve and rest the sieve in the top of the pot and cover with a lid to steam for 15 min. Enjoy perfect rice every time.
For small quantities of rice (or other things like oatmeal) the pot-in-pot method works great with the Instant Pot. Basically you put the amount of rice and water you want in a heat proof appropriately sized bowl and you pressure steam it in the IP. It works great and can even save on some cleanup! There are even stackable metal containers you can buy to use this method on multiple items at the same time.
This is super helpful, thanks! I fit a line to your numbers and the volume formula is: Water Volume = 0.644 * (Rice Volume) + 4.5 ozfl --OR-- the more convenient metric version by weight (assuming 1 cup of dry rice weighs 200 g): Water = 0.76 * Rice + 133 g
To get the same depth of water at the top each time (assuming you already have 1.5c rice and water in pot) you just need to add X cups of water for each additional cup of rice. Assuming 1.5c rice with 1.5c water is perfect and 3c rice with 2.5c water is perfect, we see we must add 1/3 cup water for each additional 0.5c of rice ( therefore X = 2/3 ) Therefore the formula for the amount of water is: Water = 2/3 * Rice + K where K is the amount of water needed to fill your pot of choice with by a finger’s width. In your case K = 0.5
Thanks for this video, Helen. I just bought an IP and have read different accounts about how to use it to cook rice. I'm going to try your method. I have a rice cooker that works splendidly, but I've had it for several years and have been concerned about the non-stick surface and any potential health concerns. The other method I used to follow years ago was to boil rice in salted water until it's almost done, drain, rinse, and then tip it back into the pot with a little water and butter. Cover with a cloth and a lid and then steam for 20 minutes. Also successful, but more work.
Hey Helen, love all your scientific testing. When I cooked professionally, we made large amounts and just cooked it like pasta. No problem, when its almost done you drain it, put it in a hotel pan.
@@loren360 It really annoys me when people get in a rage about boiling rice, as if there's one homogenous approach to cooking rice across all of the communities which enjoy rice as a staple. Similarly, people get annoyed on either side when discussing whether to salt rice or not.
Best way to cook rice is the how Italians cook rice. Add rice to a big pot of boiling salted water. Test after 15 minutes and drain when it's done. Add butter.
So my parents taught me the knuckle method and my rice always came out mushy. It took a while for me to figure out that my fingers are longer than theirs lol. But there is also a proportionality to the finger method as well, the more rice there is, you go slightly less of your first knuckle. ideally it's 1:1 water to rice, anything else is excess. The knuckle depth of water is to make up for excess evaporation. One way you can get really good well defined non-mushy grains is to soak the rice after washing for about 20min. You'll hear it faintly snap crackle pop while it's soaking up the cold water, and then it will cook like normal.
Long grains & wild rices are not 1:1. Skipping ‘rice cookers’, here’s my simple way to have perfect rice every time no matter which variety (instant, long grain, Wild, etc). Cook it the exact same way you cook pasta! I use a basmati rice because I prefer the taste. But it makes no difference for cooking. Same as pasta, you check to see if it’s cooked while it’s boiling. If the grain has reached the softness you like, it’s done. Then drain the rice completely with a sieve and serve. (This way you are pouring away that excessive rice starch that in the water) I hated following the directions precisely, only to have gross cloudy water in the bottom of my rice, or to have crunchy rice. So I cook rice same as pasta, problem solved.
I think it also depends on the type of rice. I cook basmati rice in my 4 qt. All clad pot with a lid. My ratio is 1:1.5. so, for 1.5 cups of thoroughly rinsed rice, I use 2.25 cups water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 15 minutes and then remove from heat and steam 5 more minutes. It comes out perfectly every time. I also found the same ratio works for Jasmine rice.
Hi Helen, this is still too much science. The finger method works well... worked for me for 50 years now! LOL! If you put in too much water, just open the lid, let the steam escape and once the water is reduced, close it and let it finish cooking. No fuzz... no over thinking and works on any finger... hehehe
My Costa Rican mother cooked rice for our family of 10 nearly every day. She always did it by eye and it was always great. I’ve tried using a scale to measure the rice and water, but seldom does it come out well. I do better guessing by eye, but I have to use the same pot every time!
You probably don't want to hear this, but I've been cooking rice for about 27 years and it's ALWAYS been 1 cup of uncooked rice, lol 😅 (it's just been for myself so I never needed more) I still really enjoyed this video though. I'm pretty sure my technique needs improvement and your video definitely helped with that! I look forward to learning more! ♥️
She is only saying the 1 cup doesn't come out well in a 6 qt Instant Pot because the pot is so large, that the small amount just doesn't do well in that size of a pot. The pot you use is almost certainly a lot smaller than 6 quarts!
I always cook my rice perfectly, doesnt matter what kind of rice and with no rinsing and no measurement AT ALL. Here is what I do: Add any kind of dry rice in any amount to a FULL pot of hot water. Bring it to a boil and cook for about 7-10 minutes (stirring is welcome) to semi cooked grain (taste it). Put the sieve on the top (bulge in) and strain all the water. Put the cover on and wrap entire thing with big towel or kitchen towels. Wait 10 minutes and It’s done❤️
I toast my dry rice in the pan with butter and a little salt while 1.5:1 water to rice comes to a boil in a kettle. I dump it in lid up and turn the temp to low set a timer for 15 minutes. I guess using a regular lidded pot as opposed to a pressure cooker means more loss to evaporation but I think it turns out good no matter the quantity.
@@GunnyArtG Actually, the half cup of water is to be lost due to evaporation, so if you maintain the ratio while doubling the amount of rice, you'll be doubling the available water to be evaporated, but you'll probably be cooking it the same way, so it doesn't make sense to double that half cup. It's better to use a 1:1 + 1/2 cup, so if you make 1 million cups of rice, you'll need 1million cups of water plus that extra 1/2 cup.
I just ❤ your channel. You always give a great presentation. Here is my 2 cents after experience of cooking rice since I was a kid, learning to "help" Mom in the kitchen. ☺️ 1. I do NOT rinse the rice (unless it it recommended on it's packaging). 2. Simply double the water (or broth), compared to the amount of dry rice. Add it to the pot first. 3. I have always heated the water to a boil first, then added the rice and IMMEDIATELY turned the heat source to the lowest setting. If cooking rice in a pot, use one with a thick bottom. I use my 18/10 stainless steel pots, never non-stick surface pots. I usually add a pat of butter (or a teaspoon of oil - I use grape seed oil, or even lard if I'm out of the others, because it does not impart a flavor or odor into the rice). My rice turns out perfect every time this way. Everyone's pot heating methods and the pot or pan itself are going to have different effects on the rice cooking. If your pot has a thin bottom (meaning closer to the thickness that makes up the sides of the pot), then you may have to take the pot off of the heating element sooner, after you add the rice to the boiling water. If it's a thick-bottomed pot, you may be able to leave it sit on the heating element's surface, on lt's lowest setting or you may even need to turn it off
I cook rice everyday and I use 1 cup of washed white rice and 3,5 cups of water. I cook in a regular pot for 24 minutes. It's always perfect. (I always add a tea spoon of salt and 3 table spoons of soy oil. If you have time, cook the high heat until it starts boiling, then low the heat. Use a lid.)
I just cook the rice in a large amount of water then drain after 20 minutes. Then I put the rice back in the pot with butter and fry it for just a couple of minutes. Comes out great every time.
I was taught by my Asian friend, 1 part water to 1 part rice no matter the quantity....then add 1/4 cup extra water, also no matter the quantity to allow for steam escaping. Works everytime, just be sure to let the rice sit and steam, lid on, for 20 minutes or so .
I haven't owned a rice cooker in years. I switched to covered pans and have wondered why I ever used a rice cooker since. Why does this matter? I came to the same observation about how much water to add a long time ago, and just chalked it up to evaporation. I don't know if it makes sense? But I figured the reason was whether cooking 1/2 cup of rice or 2 cups of rice, in the same pot, the same amount of water evaporated during the initial heat-to-boil phase. So for 1/2 cup I over-water. For 2 cups, I slightly under-water. It all works out.
I was taught to wash the rice to remove any dirt or small rocks (not an issue with most US rices anymore) and it also gets rid of any dust which would just make it all sticky since it is mostly starches Soak your rice for about 20-30 minutes before cooking. As for the water amount you just use your pointer finger and go up to the first knuckle.
This is my understanding of the finger method: - rice absorbs a fixed amount of water during its cooking time (roughly 1:1 for jasmine) - the amount of water that evaporates off a boiling pot is a factor of surface area (not volume) and time - the time is fixed, but pot size varies - you add water to the top of the rice: this is the amount needed to soak into the rice - you add a fixed depth of water (a knuckle) over the rice, regardless of the size of the pot, because the goal is to have the water fully evaporate at the same time as it fully cooks/hydrates the rice, and the wider the pot, the faster a fixed volume will evaporate. So far, for cooking an arbitrary amount of rice on the stove in a 1.5 quart pot with a lid, it's been perfect. But now I want to try it with a giant batch... Also, my impression is that sushi rice takes a bit less water than jasmine?
Almost everything you say makes sense, except that evaporation can't be the only factor when it comes to the depth of water because an Instant Pot or pressure cooker doesn't have evaporation. I think the depth of water matters because the rice needs the water to cover it even as it expands, but not so much water that it becomes soggy or is still very wet after cooking. I would really like to know for sure just to understand WHY the depth of the water matters! I am only guessing.
I'm from Malaysia, we use jasmine rice mostly in an unsealed rice cooker. The 'formula' is measure the depth of rice with finger, and add enough water to cover rice at half the depth. Means water is about 1.5 depth of rice. Hope this helps
Helen as you have pointed out rice is not something that scales as the volume gets larger. If rice were allowed to cook in a vacuum it would absorb 1:1 ratio of water. But you need to allow for evaporation. Evaporation is a function of evaporative surface area, temp and time. So when I cook rice I would need X cups of rice and X cups of water plus 1/2 cup since I cook in a rice cooker. It does not matter how much rice I am cooking (I worked in a Thai restaurant so have cooked large amounts of rice). For an instapot I would use a far less water because the IP retains moisture longer. I have gone so far as to weigh the rice and water before rinsing and soaking and then after the rinse have weighed the rice to water to the original weight and it has worked really well. I should add that I use this method for Jasmine and Basmati and I try to buy relatively new crops.
Helen, I am using scales and double the weight of water than the weight of my rice.A.bit more water if I just cook a small amount of rice. Since rice is less dense than water that is probably similar to your 1:1 volume ratios.
I figured it out a short time ago. The rice will come out well if it's just barely covered. It works for less than a cup as well. Cooking for two sometimes means only 100ml rice (
I have been cooking rice for many decades, the best addition to your process is to add a splash of rice vinegar. I never get mushy rice, try this as well as your advice to reduce water amounts.
The reduced water needed is pretty easy to understand. Rice grains absorb the same quantity of water in the same period of time the remaining water is steam. The amount of water lost as steam does not vary based on the amount of rice in the pot. Weigh the rice and water prior to cooking and again after. The difference in weight is the amount of water that cooked off. Subtract this amount of water from that of the original amount for each additional unit of rice. 1g water = 1ml
That explains why the rice steamer is always perfect!! You don’t measure the water, you just fill to a certain depth. That also eliminates the need to worry about removing every drop of rinse water. I’m talking an old fashioned rice steamer, not a fancy new-fangled model.
Hi Helen, we use 1 to 2 ratio of rice to water on pressure cookers. I don't know the kind of rice but, its normal day to day use rice in South India. I too would reduce little bit extra for extra cups of rice.
i use an instant pot too. i learned from a sushi chef to put the liner in the cooker then rotate it back and forth real quick a couple of times to settle the rice. smooth it with your hand and place your palm flat on the rice. the grade of the top of your hand lets you easily measure water level above the surface
I've used knuckle method for 40 years. Works in rice cooker or on stove for evaporative method every time. However, I rarely make small batches. We eat a lot of rice.
Here is how you can arrive at a perfect formula for your particular setup: To find out how much water evaporates during cooking, cook about 200ml of water in the pot that you intend to use to cook rice (the pot diameter matters). The pot should be covered, and you should use the (low) heat level that you intend to use to cook rice. Of course, you should bring the water to near-boiling temperature first. The difference in weight between what you started with and what you end up with after 15 minutes or so is the fixed amount of water that you have to add to the water that will be absorbed by rice during cooking. Most long-grain rice that I encountered absorbs around 125g of water for 100g of rice. That's it; that is your near-perfect formula. For instance, the pot I use, when covered, evaporates around 100g of water after 15 minutes on 200W power (I use an induction stove for this because of how much control it gives me). So, to cook 200g of rice, I need 100g (the approximate fixed amount that will evaporate) + 2 * 125g of water (the approximate amount that will be absorbed by rice). I start on 2000W, covered, until I see small bubbles indicating that the water temperature is near 100C, then I lower the heat to 200W. After 15 minutes of cooking, I turn off the stove and wait 2 more minutes (covered) - this is not an essential step but it is instructive to see how it affects the end result. There is no good reason to wash your rice, the stuff that you get rid of is just starchy "rice dust", and there is so little of it that it will not make non-sticky rice sticky.
I think it matters whether you want softer rice or firmer rice. Adding a 1/4-1/2 teas olive oil while cooking makes a firmer rice. Less water also makes a firmer rice. With me it depends on what I’m serving with it.
In order to have just enough freshly made rice to avoid waste, I often make small batches of grains (including rice), as little as a single serving, in my Instant Pot by putting it into a tempered glass bowl set on the rack which itself is sitting in a half inch or so of water. The same principles of grains to water ratios apply for small amounts.
1. a cup (240ml) of rice will need 2/3 cup of water to just cover it. 2. instant pot 6L 12min low pressure (maybe 7psi) evaporation is 0.5 cup water for all qty of rice 3.. instant pot height of water above rice is 1/8 in. for all qty of rice 4. for non-pressure cooking, height of water above rice is 1 in (1st knuckle) for all qty of rice
So I was grateful you clarified there’s a difference between a pot sealed with a gasket and one just covered with a lid. I’ll go a step further and say it changes again for a rinsed/soaked Basmati and a Converted/Parboiled. (Don’t hate - that’s fantastic for some dishes.) Here’s my Basmati: 1. Rinse until water is no longer cloudy. 2. Soak for 30 minutes and drain. 3. Start with equal parts water to rice. 4. ADD ONLY 1/4 cup of water above. So….. - 1 C Rice = 1 1/4 C water - 2 C Rice = 2 1/4 C water - 4 C Rice = 4 1/4 C water Bring to a boil then reduce to a very low simmer and continue for 10 minutes. Turn off and don’t touch pot for 20-30 minutes then fluff. Parboiled needs almost double ratio of water to rice and depends on other variables like whether it’s been toasted in fat first. Bottom line is I don’t believe a rice cooker (or InstaPot) is necessary to achieve perfect rice.
I agree with the idea. From 3-6 cups of rice, I already have an idea in terms of knuckle depth from 4/5 to slightly below to a bit over the knuckle! (Then dad buys a different kind of rice, then things get a tad tricky again.) By the way, things change a bit again when you do the traditional method of long-soaking as the rice has already absorbed a bit of water.
I learned the (digital) scale method from my grandma and it works perfect. Measure by weight work wonderful. Always wondered why people measure by volume or knuckle method, it pretty inconsistent for all sort of reasons. Rice soaked with water for some time also need less water.
My method that I learned from an Indian woman, and it never fails is, what ever you use to measure your rice in, it takes twice the amount of water, eg 1 cup of rice any size, then you put twice the amount of water in a cup of the same size used for the rice, into a pan suitable for the amount of rice being cooked, then you bring the rice to the boil, put in sea salt, turmeric, of your choice and tip the rice in, stir once and put the lid on, reduce the heat to a low simmer. For 1 measure rice to two of water, it takes around 15 mins, but you can check by using a fork or spoon and part the rice in the centre, there will be no water left, if a little, replace lid for another couple of mins and you will have perfect rice, you can even place in a serving dish with a lid on in a 150degree oven and it will be lovely and fluffy to serve with whatever you like. The ratio is the same for any amount, only the time varies. Secret is the ratio, boil, then add rice and stir once, and place lid on for rice to cook and water evaporates steaming the rice. Try it! DG U.K.
A quick method, finger measure: The depth of the rice in the pot is equal to the height of the water above the rice. A completely different approach is to cook the rice like spaghetti- with lots of water. Drain when done. This supposedly cuts the amount of arsenic in rice. Rice takes up lot of arsenic from the soil, and rice grown in some regions can contain dangerous amounts if you regularly eat rice.
It's 2 to 1 , but cut the 2 (the water) short a bit . A big enough pot and lid. Bring to boil, then light simmer for 14 minutes . Then spread the rice out on plates or pans to cool down . It doesn't need a thorough rinse . A quick rinse for the dust. The starch is good. Perfect rice every time.
Using an appropriate pot, rinse and drain long grain rice inside the same pot, and then top with water about 1/2 inch above the rice. Add salt and butter/ghee/oil to taste. Bring to boil and watch for most of the water to be absorbed. Should look like a thick soup. Should take about 5 minutes. Cover pot and set heat to lowest setting. Cook/steam for 15 minutes. Shut of heat, fluff the rise a bit and replace cover and wait for another 10 minutes.
In Brazil, we season the rice before we cook it. With sautéed garlic and maybe even onions. It’s not possible to measure with the knuckles because we usually use boiled water.
I use the ratio of one cup of rice with two cups of water. 2 tablespoons of oil, heated and the rice added and stirred until all the rice is coated and heated. Then adding the water, bring to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to barely a simmer for 18 to 20 minutes. Fluff the rice and let it dry for about 5 minutes. Seems to work.
I once learned from girl from Thailand, one cup of rice, 1 1/2 cups water in a pot with lead. When is starting to boil, gas at lowest for 10 min., with a fork move carefully the rice around, lad it rest for 10 min. , and that's it. Never gone wrong since.
I cook rice in the microwave in Corningware with a lid. For basmati I do 1 cup rice to 1.5 - 1.75 water. Cook in the microwave rice setting (takes about 12 mins I think). Then when it is done, fluff it up and put the lid back on and let it steam for 15-20 mins. Comes out perfect. No salt or anything else.
Brand of rice also plays part. During the shortages my usual jasmine rice was not available so I bought Carolina Jasmine and try as I might I couldn't get it right. I've been cooking rice for years and it was getting the better of me, sometimes it's the rice and not you.
Helen, the amount of water needed depends on how much time you soak your rice and what kind of rice you are using. If you are using koshihikari rice with a thirty minute soak, a one-to-one ratio is appropriate. If you are using a basmati or jasmine rice,, a bit more water is needed. There are over 5,000 varieties of rice, and they all have different qualities.
For many of the reasons that Helen touched on here, or which are explained more deeply in scientific terms by outlets like ATK or Serious Eats, this is not true. Ratios cannot account for varying pot sizes and varying evaporation rates when using different quantities of rice. If you use a ratio of 3:2 for enough rice to feed 30 people, then you'll end up with mush and pulp.
I follow a Thai UA-camr and she showed how to make jasmine rice and sticky rice in microwave when you are in a pinch. My Filipina friends were amazed at how perfect it turned out.
Helen I love your video's and experiments, but I have to say on this one I find my very easy method as used by most Indian people works to perfection. Wash the rice as you do, return to a pot, leave to soak well covered in water for at least 1/2 an hour or to one hour. Now boil the rice on the stove top in plenty of water as if cooking pasta, this will be only take a few minutes, keep testing the grains and stop cooking when only just cooked. Drain the rice through a sieve and return to the pot but now put on the lid or the cover for about 5 minutes, this will give you perfectly fluffy separate rice grain with no calculations necessary, voila! do give it a try.
It seems terribly unfashionable but I get perfect, each grain separated, rice every time by simply boiling the rice in as much water as I want and then straining it in a colander and then pouring boiling water over it from the kettle. I do know that this is sacrilege but also know that I never understand why people worry about how much water to use when making rice.
It’s not sacrilege. It’s just another method. And it’s perfect for things like rice salad and other dishes with long grain rice, but not so good for short grain rice for East Asian dishes.
My mum uses a 1:2 ratio of rice to water. That's an approximate since my mum adds a tad bit more or less, depending on how long the rice has been aged. The variety of rice my family uses is called BPT rice. Plus, she reduces the water amount slightly as she increases the amount of rice, since the sheer amount of steam that gets trapped within the large quantities of rice helps.
Depth affects pressure and pressure affects heat transfer. Volume affects the potential energy, the input energy will vary of the duration of cooking. Surface area affect and grain size affects cooking. Rice is more or less buoyant depending on how cooked, and also the solution affect hoe much it will more around.
When you mentioned that it would depend if you have a gasket or use a lid - makes sense as to why my ratio of 1.5 cups rice to 2 cups water, is because of the escape. Thank you for your experimentation and insight!
I'm in my 50s, I remember growing up and I LOVED rice, my mom would cook rice and typically she would do 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water in a stainless steel pot - boil the water, dump in the rice, cover and let simmer (Lower the temp from the boiling temp setting) for 20 minutes and voila', perfect rice. Nowadays, with "rice cookers" I've noticed you can't use 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice, it's more like 1.5 to 1.75 cups of water per 1 cup of rice, and then there's a wrench thrown in if you add butter/oil. Also different types of rice........ Basmati, Jasmine..... Recently I compare my mom's "old style" of rice cooking to the rice pot method and I think I might be going back to my mom's method, although with a bit less water
I use Instant Pot too, for my jasmine/baldo rice, I just use my eyes for measurement. Random rice amounts everytime, after washing, water a little bit above rice on the pot.
I just weigh everything. Weigh the dry rice and the water add them together for total weight. rinse the rice weigh it wet and subtract the difference from the water. It always works no matter how much rice because the ratio of rice to water is always exactly the same.
My rice cooker (Tatung) has the finger measurements on the pot. You use the provided cup (not a regular cup) and then fill the water to the appropriate line corresponding to the how many cups of rice.
My dad is taught me the finger knuckle method decades ago, and it has worked perfectly no matter the pot, rinsed or dry. When I measure it gos dry or burns or gets soggy. Not white rice though.
For small quantities of rice in an instant pot, the, ‘pot in pot’ method is effective. The rice is cooked in a smaller container on a trivet in the cooker. This is good for single households, and I have successfully cooked 1/2 cup of rice this way for a single serve.
I have this down to a system for myself. I only cook about 1 cup of rice because it is just for me. I use just a tad over 1 3/4 cup water. I dont rinse it but stir it twice around the pot add my salt, and when it reaches boiling point I cover it and set the gas to low. 18 mins I turn off the heat and let sit another 5 mins. It is perfect every time. I want to make fried rice soon, and that is best with day old rice so I am going to be make more than a cup. I am going to have to measure the depth of the water for my 1 cup method...I feel certain that will work.
Your last advice is, I believe, works. So in other words, the only measurement you need to make is measuring the ammount of rice you're cooking. Paying attention to water level above the rice, becomes the technique that will produce the right texture that you'd expect. Howver, there are a few variables, you mentioned the type of pot. Also, the type of rice, and the time to cook that batch and flame level. At the end of the day, experience is born from observation, and that goes for whatever you are cooking. Great episode, thanks Helen.
Wow, fascinating. I guess the question is: why? Why does the ratio change so much? Since at the end all the water is either in the rice or steam, I am guessing it has to do with the surface area of the top of the water? So, with a wider pot, more water will boil off and you need a higher water to rice ratio. I would be interested to retry this experiment but with pans or something where you can try different sizes. To take this thinking a step further, Kristina's linear formula seems to indicate that 0.525 cups of water boil off during the cycle. Perhaps all we need to know is how much extra boiloff water to allow for, for different pot sizes, and we can add that to the base amount needed in the rice :)
Jessica V, " why? Why does the ratio change so much?" Your guess is on point. Because the surface area based on the diameter of the pot remains the same and does not increase the rate of evaporation as it would if you switched to a much wider pot. IF the diameter of the pot changes, the amount of water required may increase OR decrease-it depends. Any extra water over 1:1 is purely to account for evaporation. Cook's Illustrated's "America's Test Kitchen" did an experiment titled: *The Best Way to Cook Rice is All About the Right Ratio* Nov 17, 2018. To establish a baseline they tested one cup of rice with one cup of water with 17 different varieties of rice by sous vide and they all came out perfectly. Determining that the volume of required water is equal, anything extra is only to account for evaporation. Like Helen, they learned that changing the volume of rice in the same vessel did not hold the one-to-one ratio. And like Helen, learned that varying the vessel even with the same amount of rice-matters. They discovered that if you determine the proper quantity of extra water for perfect rice in one particular pot, that "amount of extra water" over the surface of the rice will never vary for that particular pot no matter how much rice you want to cook in that pot. They also explained how rice cookers work and that a home cook can mimic the end time by putting a probe thermometer in the pot as the rice cooks that is set to 212˚F. Because rice cookers stop cooking and switch to the warm setting once it knows by temp that it is not above the boiling point anymore. Personally, I LOVE my Zojirushi. It's worth every penny. ; ) But it is handy to know how to cook rice in a pot at someone else's place.
BTW to fluff up rice, cut vertically with flat rice spoon a "noughts and crosses" design down to bottom of the rice. Then fluff with normal horizontally held spoon.
Use a pressure cooker or instant pot with an elevated bowl of measured rice and water (~140%) by weight, set over a cup or more of water just for steam (pot in pot method). No evaporation. Easy rice weight to water ratio. It is easy to clean because you only have water in the bottom of the pressure cooker. Nothing can burn. I like a slow release if I have time. It's better than a rice cooker.
I put in rice water and seasoning into a baking dishh. Seal tightly and bake for about an hour. 3 cups and 3 cups water. Comes out fluffy and nice. Sometimes I add onion soup mix.
My Japanese friend always uses a rice cooker, but when she doesn't have one, she uses the finger method, but she pushes her index finger to the bottom of the pot and puts water up to the first knuckle for 1 cup of rice and halfway from the first knuckle to the second knuckle for 2 cups of water and so on.
Yeah, this tracks with (unrecorded, un measured) experience with stove top cooking. Curious, I pulled out my Zojirushi, zeroed it on a scale and measured out water to each line (which corresponds to their measure cup). Sure enough, the ratio of volume (of pot to the line) to line number decreases, despite the volume ratio of rice to line number being constant. So, if you want to get fancy, you can etch out measure marks or make a table. But a finger works pretty good too.
i normally do it by weight with a 6:7 rice to water ratio. when i rinse the rice, i put the pot on the scale with dry rice and tare it, then i rinse and add the rest of the water in.
Answers to some common questions that I saw in the comments:
Comment 1: Aren't you using the wrong cup for water?
The reason the dry measuring cups aren't used for liquids is that they need to be filled to the brim with the meniscus of water forming a little bubble above the rim. Unless you are doing it over the sink you will likely spill. I do fill my dry cup to the brim with water and I checked it against my wet measuring cup and it's accurate. My dry cup also has a half line, so when I am measuring the half cup I am not winging it, I measure it to the line.
Comment 2: Rice cookers are magic, and they make perfect rice in any amount.
Have you ever wondered how? They are measuring the water for you because rice to water ratio is not linear. They tell you how much water to use for every possible amount of rice on the side of the pot. If you switch pots, the same measurements might not work. It depends on the pot diameter, the seal, and the heat intensity.
Comment 3: Rice cooking is in my blood because I am from country X
Possibly ;) But, all I have to do is give you another pot and another stove and your first try might be less than perfect.
Comment 4: Use the pasta method
Yes, that's great for basmati, not great for sushi rice
It's great to have some way that just works for you. But it's also good to know what the variables are. This way if you are dealing with a different pot or a different amount of rice, you'll know how to come up with a reliable recipe after a couple of tries.
See, now this is why I love your content.
"Meniscus," wow, mad respect. Chemistry class in high school, there, even.
Does this experiment imply the size of the pot effects how much water is needed for the same amount of rice? Based on my experience cooking rice it would somehow make sense to me.
Question on Comment 2: My rice cooker doesn't measure water for me, it just turns itself from high heat to low whenever the bottom of the rice pan gets hotter than the boiling temperature of water. If I put too much or too little water, it will give me over or under cooked rice. Do people really have rice cookers that measure the water?
@@michaelgeiss741 Rice cookers, at least every one I have ever seen, all come with a measuring cup (for the rice, not the water). This cup’s almost exactly 3/4 (officially 2401/13310 of a liter) of a regular (US) cup, and is based on the traditional measure (called gō) in Japan, where rice cookers were invented and first popularized. There should be markings on the inside of the pot of the rice cooker indicating how high the water should be for each ‘cup’/gō of rice. And just to be clear, you fill the water to the correct level after the rice is in the pot, not before. There may be several sets of markings, each for white rice, brown rice, porridge, etc. One other piece of advice for anyone who has a Korean or Japanese style rice cooker with a separate setting for ‘mixed rice’ is to use that setting for basmati, as the regular rice setting in those type of cookers is generally calibrated for Japanese (sushi) type Japonica rice. If you are a rice lover, and eat it with any frequency, a good rice cooker might just become your most beloved appliance. I would sooner part with my toaster oven or stand mixer than my rice cooker. Mine is a ‘fuzzylogi’ (whatever that means) Zojirushi 3 ‘cup’ (2 and1/4 regular cup) cooker.
Dear Helen, I’m an old Vietnamese man and I cook rice every day in my whole life by our traditional way. As you already know that Vietnam is one of the world’s largest rice producer, we consume large amount of rice daily so cooking rice is a simple routine for all of us. We never measure the amount of rice or water, just rinse the rice twice in a pot, add large amount of water, say 3-4 inches of water above the top of the rice, bring to a boil without a cover for a while (3-4 minutes so your fan will understand) then pour off the water, using the pot cover as a stopper to let the water out and keep the rice in the pot.
Put the pot back to the burner, cover, turn the heat to low then forget it for a while. (Not everyone have a watch so I would say 20 minutes is enough), turn off the heat, fluff rice a few times and it’s ready to serve.
With this method, you can control the texture of the rice, for a firm rice, pour off most of the cooking liquid, for a softer rice, leave a small amount of the liquid in the pot, it’s simple. You also get 2 valuable byproducts, the cooked rice liquid is full of carbohydrate and some protein, just add a little sugar then it become a substitute for milk to feed an infant of a poor family, I grew up with this “milk”. The second one is a layer of rice, crispy brown and sticking on the bottom of the pots, you simply drizzle some onion oil on it, put the pot in low heat for a while then easily take it out in one piece, add any filling then you will have a special treat, now a day, it is a delicacy at many high price restaurant in Vietnam with all kind of seafood fillings.
Please forgive my broken English in this writing, I’m one of your fan and I learn a lot of tips from your video series.
Excellent thanks so much and your english is excellent
Going to have to try this, thanks for sharing.
Anh Minh 3-4 inches is a lot , the inches change depending on how much rice you cook and how many times you rinse it. Also different brands require different amounts of water . But I think you already know this. If your not Asian it’s best to to cook it if you mess up then adjust it on the next cook.
Hi Bruce Lee, Actually, it is my way to say that the amount of water you need to control is right after it reaches hard boiling point so you don't have to remember how much water you need each time you cook the rice, of course, you don't put 1 gallon of water to 2 cups of rice do you? Thank you for your nice comment. Best wishes and happy Thanksgiving Holiday.
"broken English" lol. Way better than some of my native English speaking clients. Please don't disrespect your obvious fluency. Would that I had a second language. The best I got was French at about the 8 year old level and with a German accent. Which is weird. I don't know German!
My wife's late mother was from Japan, she taught my wife, wife taught me - nearly 45 years ago! Rice, water just over 1/2 inch, bring to a boil, cover at low heat for about 15 minutes. Let sit with no heat for another 10 minutes. This is for medium grain. Basmati, Jasmine, and some other long grain rices take a bit more water. Also how dry (older) the rice is can make a difference.
Yep. Never fails
Yup, except 9 min simmer, 9 min off. This is for short grain rice.
Been doing this way for 40 years, never a problem. No measuring, just put any amount of rice (rinsed or dry) into a pot, add water to cover 1/2 inch and bring to boil, simmer for approx 20 min., less for siffer, more for softer. A no brainer. I use Basmati or Jasmine only.
YES!
1. wash rice and put into the rice cooker (whatever amount you need)
2.water level should be no higher than your first knuckle (just about)
3.cook rice
its that simple. No need to over complicate greatly like you did in the video :)
i am a professional chef in Japanese cuisine.
@@btedd - some will have burnt rice.
This is, frankly, why rice cookers are such wonderful devices. My rice comes out perfect every time, no matter how much I make, and it frees up crucial space on the stovetop. You can plug a rice cooker into any outlet in your home, which makes them essential kit for small kitchens and dormitories
Also, I find the benefit of washing rice doesn't come from rinsing away excess starch, but from soaking the rice before cooking. Like when cooking beans or other dried, starchy foods, rice has a tendency to break up and take on an inconsistent texture when cooked from totally dry. All it takes is 20 or 30 minutes of pre-soaking to make a noticeable difference (don't go too much longer than 12h, or you can start to have some undesirable flavors, due to fermentation). You don't need to change the water, either. Just mix the rice and water (and salt, if desired), let sit, then cook
It's worth noting that many rice cookers (beyond the absolute most basic ones) do this automatically. My rice cooker (some $30 model from Amazon) has a "white rice" setting and a "flash rice" setting. The flash rice setting simply skips the pre-cook soaking.
@@Jodabomb24 that is very interesting! My rice cooker has both of those functions, and I still notice a difference when I soak my rice with the longer setting. I'll have to experiment to see what's going on with my particular model
In all honesty, I wish I'd bought a cheaper, more basic cooker. I don't use any of the advanced functions, and I could've bought A LOT of rice for the cost difference!
A rice cooker isn't magic, It doesn't do anything more than a cheap pot (thin alumnium) with a pierced lid (not optimal but necessarry to avoid bad reviews due to spillage when people mess up) on an electric burner.
It stops at the right time, due to the sensor, but that's about it.
Mess up the water quantities and you still won't have perfect rice, either you have low standards, or you haven't really tried cooking 200g of dry rice and 1kg of rice with the same water ratio.
Or you might be adjusting due to experience, but anyhow, the rice cooker won't do anything more than a cheap pot, except telling you when the bottom is at 100C +
I agree that soaking is great, especially with sushi rice that is cooked at a drier ratio. 30 min in summer, 1h in winter is a good starting point.
@@格温德琳野兔 I have to disagree. Simple rice cookers make use of calibrated bimetallic strips and magnets (the closest real thing to magic) to ensure the rice does not overcook, or, at least, overcooks as minimally as possible. A stove doesn't know when all the water is absorbed, but a rice cooker, like magic, does
As for messing up the quantities, that is a far easier task when the vessel in question lacks distinct markings and a bespoke measuring cup, which basically every rice cooker comes with standard. It takes practically no effort or attention to get the ratio of rice and water correct in a rice cooker
@@格温德琳野兔 Dude the point is that rice cookers have markings on the side to tell you how much water to use. And plenty of rice cookers have more sophisticated circuitry than just the temperature sensor and automatic shutoff.
I cook rice with the traditional Chinese method using a rice cooker specially made in China.
same! I learned this special tradition from my Vietnamese mom 😁
I like the vintage approach also. Asian store owner told me get a rice cooker and I did. Perfect!
MrAlio84, actually Zojirushi is the absolute best brand of rice cooker, and it is Japanese. I am Asian and not Japanese and still say the same thing. It's worth every penny.
Still add more water than they say. 😛
I am using my Walmart rice cooker more than 10 years. Almost 5 times a week. Never fails.
Thank you so much for this video! I’ve been cooking for over 40 years and recently started cooking a large batch of long grain rice that I use over the course of 2-3 days rather than a small batch each meal. All of the sudden my rice had turned mushy and now I understand why! I’m going through more of your videos now to see what other jewels of wisdom you have to share. 🌷
Hello 👋how are you doing?
- eat freshly cooked rice within 1.5 hr per Sadhguru
Helen, my suspicion for why this phenomenon occurs is that when cooking larger batches in the same pot, the ratio of moisture evaporation relative to the total mass of moisture is disproportionately represented when making larger batches. In a smaller batch, you "bleed" off a larger percentage of the moisture as it cooks, which helps things even out by the time it is cooked. When you scale up to a larger batch, the surface area at the top of the rice doesn't change compared to smaller batches (assuming you're using the same pot), so the moisture lost to evaporation likely increases only slightly, if even at all. This means that in your end product, the overall ratio of moisture to rice remains higher than smaller batches, which might be why you find you need less and less water when you scale up.
Yes this is all quite true if you’re cooking rice on the stove but if you’re making rice in an instant pot there’s no evaporation at all. So there needs to be another theory of why the amount of water required for larger quantities of white rice changes so much. Evaporation can’t be the cause in a sealed environment like an instant pot. The only other variable I can see changing in these circumstances that may change the amount of water required is the amount of time the pot requires to come to pressure as the quantities of food increase. So although there is less water per cup of rice there is a longer cooking time which allows the rice to cook more regardless of the amount of water? 🤔
@@pjschmid2251 when the instant pot is in rice mode, I believe it still allows for steam evaporation, no? At the very least I know pressure cookers release steam during the heating portion before the reach pressure? I can’t speak for products that I don’t own, but I thought that instant pot devices didn’t even use pressure cook for most rice modes. Wouldn’t they over cook it too easily?
@@dirtyketchup Rice mode is a pressure cooking mode and it does go under pressure. You are right about a small bit of steam being released during the initial buildup of pressure but not at all enough to be of real consideration. I’m still thinking that it’s the amount of time needed to build up pressure for larger amounts of food that is causing the rice to cook with less water per cup of rice. In addition she said she was using natural release mode which means she’s leaving it cooking for even longer. I tend to cook my rice under high pressure for 3 to 5 minutes with a five minute waiting period before I quick release. But I’m never making large quantities of rice so I don’t know if I need that much less water until I try it. Truly if you go out on UA-cam as many people as do I video on how to cook white rice that’s as many methods as you’ll find.
@@pjschmid2251 that’s good to know. I honestly thought pressure cooking rice was more for stuff like whole grain and brown rice. I use a stovetop pressure cooker and never do rice in it. I’ve always just done traditional stove top rice cook methods.
@@dirtyketchup I still have my stovetop pressure cooker and I honestly don’t think I’ll ever use it again. I always struggled with it trying to keep the pressure up but not burn things and the instant pot takes all those worries away since it constantly monitors the proper pressure and controls the temperature. I can’t believe I slept on this appliance as long as I did. And a bonus for the summer it doesn’t heat up the kitchen.
Hi Helen! Your ideal ratios almost perfectly fit the formula:
water = 0.65 * rice + 0.525
Thank you for the fantastic video as ever!
Wow thanks for this. Cooking exact measurements has some great benefits. This would suit cooking using a scale and a calculator I think.
And not unlike a lot of mathematical descriptions of things, there are limits below and above which the model falls apart.
What you've done is really good for cooking the amounts of rice that a normal family would use for their own dinner or for an extended family celebration like Thanksgiving. Good work!
God I love math.
The intercept (0.525) here depends on the pot diameter, on it being covered or not, and on heat intensity because this is supposed to capture (under the correct interpretation of this kind of formula) the amount of water that will evaporate (i.e., not get absorbed by rice) during cooking.
so what is the formula using the diameter? @@borysawpaulewicz9336
@@nigelc21 this formula works for weight. I guess it could be difficult to devise a formula using the diameter that would be simultaneously practical and general.
Thank-you! I followed your advice and it worked in my rice cooker. No more mushy rice.
My grandmother whom is Burmese taught us, 1 cup of rice with 1.5 cups of water and then 1 to 1 for every cup after that. Ie 2 cups of rice 2.5 cups of water, 3 cups 3.5 cups of water. Please Try this method.
Im filipino and we dont really measure anymore once you are used to it. We just use our index finger to measure how deep the water is on top of the rice. Its usually 3/4 inches but it depends on how you want it :) so regardless of how much rice you want to cook, just use that method, try it. Jokoy even taught that in his netflix series :)
You do have to account for whether the cooking method you're using loses some water to evaporation, or like in the Instant pot or any pressure cooker, no evaporation at all. Plus, older rice is more dry and the weather can even make a difference, where a tiny bit more water may need to be used in periods where the air is very dry. I like this video because it teaches us the variables that affect how rice will come out.
I experimented as well and after an oriental woman told me about the knuckle above the rice method I ended up cooking in a glass bowl in the microwave with water about 3/4"-1" above the rice, no matter the quantity of rice or size of pot.
I also mix the rice in the middle to prevent the top part from drying after most of the water is absorbed into the bottom part of the bowl.
A Persian friend is wrapping the lid of the pot with a towel so the steam rising from the rice gets absorbed into the towel and does not fall back in drops into the rice and makes them mushy.
Every night after my wife falls asleep, I start cooking with Helen. In the morning everybody is happy.
😅😅😅
Dan Souza of Cook’s Illustrated has a good video here as part of his What’s Eating Dan series that illustrates the water level issue.
Being Latina I’ve always joked I can cook rice in my sleep, and for us we grow up seeing rice cooked in large amounts without a thought given to it- it’s just always perfect. I’ve explained to people that the size and shape of the pot they cook the rice in is a major aspect of it turning out. Recently someone said they weren’t able to cook rice properly in large quantities for an event. I was the only one who asked about the dimensions of the pot. It turned out they were using a stockpot. Tall and narrow! No good if you’re trying to cook such large amounts, even if in theory it fits. The rice needs room to expand and it can’t cook evenly in so narrow a pot. The pot has a big effect on water level.
after watching that video i have been telling everyone i know to do rice as 1 to 1 ratio PLUS half a cup and the half cup is extra to account for the amount of water that evaporates in the general cook time of rice.
I love Dan's video! Thank you so much for sending it to me :)
@@turnthexbob Which is why rice cooking involves some amount of trial and error, until you find the perfect ratio for your particular pot, the amount you cook, and the texture you prefer (which might vary depending on what you are using the the rice for).
Helen, you're such a good teacher, I love your videos!
Helen, for really small batches of rice (1-1.5 cups) I recommend using a "pot in pot" method. Put the rice and water in a small steel food storage container or other such vessel, put 1-2 cups of water in the IP liner pot to act as a double boiler, and put the inner pot in to cook that way. Basically, you'd be pressure-steaming the rice. I cook this way for rice no matter what amount I make because I like my rice a bit on the drier side, and without the double-boiler method, my IP gives me a "BURN" error if I don't do this. With this method, I can stick to a consistent ratio of 1:1 water to rinsed and drained rice.
that's a great idea!
@@helenrennie the only other thing I do differently is that I cook under high pressure for 6 minutes and let it natural release for 10 before venting. It works great.
當你天天煮飯，再也不是問題。
Thanks!
I have used Hellen's "precise" measurements n the past and they have never failed me.
I don't intend to change my habits now. Merci miles fois!
Helen, Watched this the day it came out and it has changed my "Rice Life." I always did it the way I was taught, with uneven results. Now I know, and am getting much better rice. Who knew? (Well, you apparently.)
If using a pan and using basmati rice, I use 1 cup rice to 2 1/4 cups liquid but I only simmer until the rice just starts to get larger. Then cover with a cloth and lid. Turn off, leave for 10 mins. Perfect every time (without rinsing!)
I do basmati with rinsing and frying in butter before adding water to the pot. I use 1 cup rice and 1 1/2 cup of water. Simmer until the rise start to surface and then cover with a lid. Turn off (or low temp) and leave for 10-15 minutes, then fluff the rice.
I have been making rice using sous vide with a 1:1 ratio. I do this when i use the sous vide to make other dishes and freeze extra bags for "instant rice" which i reheat in the microwave. When i snip off the corner of the sous vide bag before microwaving to releave pressure i add a teaspoon of water and nuke it for 90 seconds for defrosted and 120 seconds for frozen using a 700 watt microwave. Using sous vide cooking we normally make large batches and freeze as a type of DIY frozen ready meals, saves energy saves time and we know what is in the food. Thanks for the video, Take care, God bless one and all.
Helen, try to use this trick:
Pure an inch of water in the pot, put the rice in a strainer and place the strainer in the pot, put a lit on and let it cook.
You'll get a better taste since you are not cooking the rice directly in the water and all the rice gets steamed.
(this is how old school Chinese cooks used to do it)
Steaming the rice, instead of cooking it in water -- and the question about "amount of water" disappears. I hope she sees this comment.
@@idjtoal Yes I hope too, your comment added what I forgot to write, so thanks!
You could maybe say that, as long the water does not touch the strainer is it okay but less water means faster boiling and less need of energy. :-)
Won’t the rice be cooked unevenly since it will be in one clump?
@@Therealw1 Yes you would think so, just as I did but if you look at the top brand rice cookers and how it has been done for thousands of years, has the rice never been stirred while cooking. The rice do just get to lay in the pot until finished. :-)
@@friedmule5403 this did not work, the rice hard slimy on the outside and uncooked in the middle
Love you and your channel so much Helen! Have learned so many skills and delicious recipes from you over the years. Maybe you’ll like this precise rice cooking method I learned from Hot Thai Kitchen. 1.25g water for every 1 g of rice. So 100g dry rice would need 125g water. Add the cold water to the rice with salt, don’t stir. Cover with a lid and put on the stove on low-medium heat for 20 mins. No need to bring to the boil or do anything - just put it on the stove in cold water and leave it alone. Check at 20 mins and then leave to stand covered off the heat for another 10 mins. Fluff and cover for another 5 minutes then good to go.
This equation has never failed no matter how much rice I use - pretty amazing!
Foolproof rice, add your rice to a large pot after rinsing. Add lots of water, more is good, and salt. bring to the boil and cook the rice until it's just about done. Drain all the water through a sieve and rest the sieve in the top of the pot and cover with a lid to steam for 15 min. Enjoy perfect rice every time.
For small quantities of rice (or other things like oatmeal) the pot-in-pot method works great with the Instant Pot. Basically you put the amount of rice and water you want in a heat proof appropriately sized bowl and you pressure steam it in the IP. It works great and can even save on some cleanup! There are even stackable metal containers you can buy to use this method on multiple items at the same time.
This is super helpful, thanks! I fit a line to your numbers and the volume formula is: Water Volume = 0.644 * (Rice Volume) + 4.5 ozfl
--OR-- the more convenient metric version by weight (assuming 1 cup of dry rice weighs 200 g): Water = 0.76 * Rice + 133 g
To get the same depth of water at the top each time (assuming you already have 1.5c rice and water in pot) you just need to add X cups of water for each additional cup of rice.
Assuming 1.5c rice with 1.5c water is perfect and 3c rice with 2.5c water is perfect, we see we must add 1/3 cup water for each additional 0.5c of rice ( therefore X = 2/3 )
Therefore the formula for the amount of water is:
Water = 2/3 * Rice + K
where K is the amount of water needed to fill your pot of choice with by a finger’s width.
In your case K = 0.5
It also depends on how wide you pot or saucepan is as to how much water you need. It will be different on different sized pots/saucepans.
@@scpatl4now That’s why the variable K is there.
@@scpatl4now - this is only for instant pot pressure cook
Thanks for this video, Helen. I just bought an IP and have read different accounts about how to use it to cook rice. I'm going to try your method. I have a rice cooker that works splendidly, but I've had it for several years and have been concerned about the non-stick surface and any potential health concerns.
The other method I used to follow years ago was to boil rice in salted water until it's almost done, drain, rinse, and then tip it back into the pot with a little water and butter. Cover with a cloth and a lid and then steam for 20 minutes. Also successful, but more work.
Hey Helen, love all your scientific testing. When I cooked professionally, we made large amounts and just cooked it like pasta. No problem, when its almost done you drain it, put it in a hotel pan.
This is a traditional way to cook rice in plenty of places! It works fantastically.
America's Test Kitchen: boil rice in plenty of water for 15 minutes, then strain. Easy. No fingers or InstaPot necessary.
@@loren360 It really annoys me when people get in a rage about boiling rice, as if there's one homogenous approach to cooking rice across all of the communities which enjoy rice as a staple. Similarly, people get annoyed on either side when discussing whether to salt rice or not.
Personally I cook rice like pasta until almost done then drain water and let it sit in it’s steam till done .
Best way to cook rice is the how Italians cook rice. Add rice to a big pot of boiling salted water. Test after 15 minutes and drain when it's done. Add butter.
So my parents taught me the knuckle method and my rice always came out mushy. It took a while for me to figure out that my fingers are longer than theirs lol. But there is also a proportionality to the finger method as well, the more rice there is, you go slightly less of your first knuckle.
ideally it's 1:1 water to rice, anything else is excess. The knuckle depth of water is to make up for excess evaporation. One way you can get really good well defined non-mushy grains is to soak the rice after washing for about 20min. You'll hear it faintly snap crackle pop while it's soaking up the cold water, and then it will cook like normal.
Gotta soak it!! Great rice cookers will automatically include this step.
Ideally it's 1:1 plus whatever you lose from evaporation.
Long grains & wild rices are not 1:1.
Skipping ‘rice cookers’, here’s my simple way to have perfect rice every time no matter which variety (instant, long grain, Wild, etc).
Cook it the exact same way you cook pasta!
I use a basmati rice because I prefer the taste. But it makes no difference for cooking.
Same as pasta, you check to see if it’s cooked while it’s boiling. If the grain has reached the softness you like, it’s done.
Then drain the rice completely with a sieve and serve. (This way you are pouring away that excessive rice starch that in the water)
I hated following the directions precisely, only to have gross cloudy water in the bottom of my rice, or to have crunchy rice. So I cook rice same as pasta, problem solved.
I think it also depends on the type of rice. I cook basmati rice in my 4 qt. All clad pot with a lid. My ratio is 1:1.5. so, for 1.5 cups of thoroughly rinsed rice, I use 2.25 cups water. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 15 minutes and then remove from heat and steam 5 more minutes. It comes out perfectly every time. I also found the same ratio works for Jasmine rice.
Hi Helen, this is still too much science. The finger method works well... worked for me for 50 years now! LOL! If you put in too much water, just open the lid, let the steam escape and once the water is reduced, close it and let it finish cooking. No fuzz... no over thinking and works on any finger... hehehe
This is the most insightful video I've seen about the challenges of cooking rice in varying quantities. Thank you Helen! x
My Costa Rican mother cooked rice for our family of 10 nearly every day. She always did it by eye and it was always great. I’ve tried using a scale to measure the rice and water, but seldom does it come out well. I do better guessing by eye, but I have to use the same pot every time!
You probably don't want to hear this, but I've been cooking rice for about 27 years and it's ALWAYS been 1 cup of uncooked rice, lol 😅
(it's just been for myself so I never needed more)
I still really enjoyed this video though. I'm pretty sure my technique needs improvement and your video definitely helped with that! I look forward to learning more! ♥️
She is only saying the 1 cup doesn't come out well in a 6 qt Instant Pot because the pot is so large, that the small amount just doesn't do well in that size of a pot. The pot you use is almost certainly a lot smaller than 6 quarts!
I always cook my rice perfectly, doesnt matter what kind of rice and with no rinsing and no measurement AT ALL. Here is what I do:
Add any kind of dry rice in any amount to a FULL pot of hot water. Bring it to a boil and cook for about 7-10 minutes (stirring is welcome) to semi cooked grain (taste it). Put the sieve on the top (bulge in) and strain all the water. Put the cover on and wrap entire thing with big towel or kitchen towels. Wait 10 minutes and It’s done❤️
I have always cooked a 2:1 ratio. 2 c water to 1c rice. I am going to try this method.
I toast my dry rice in the pan with butter and a little salt while 1.5:1 water to rice comes to a boil in a kettle. I dump it in lid up and turn the temp to low set a timer for 15 minutes. I guess using a regular lidded pot as opposed to a pressure cooker means more loss to evaporation but I think it turns out good no matter the quantity.
Yeah but what if you want to do twice that, are going for 3 or 2.5 cups of water?
@@holaholafelipito it’s a ratio of 1 1/2x regardless of the volume.
@@GunnyArtG Actually, the half cup of water is to be lost due to evaporation, so if you maintain the ratio while doubling the amount of rice, you'll be doubling the available water to be evaporated, but you'll probably be cooking it the same way, so it doesn't make sense to double that half cup. It's better to use a 1:1 + 1/2 cup, so if you make 1 million cups of rice, you'll need 1million cups of water plus that extra 1/2 cup.
@@holaholafelipito that makes sense
@@GunnyArtG I recommend watching the what's eating Dan rice episode, super informative!
I just ❤ your channel. You always give a great presentation.
Here is my 2 cents after experience of cooking rice since I was a kid, learning to "help" Mom in the kitchen. ☺️
1. I do NOT rinse the rice (unless it it recommended on it's packaging).
2. Simply double the water (or broth), compared to the amount of dry rice. Add it to the pot first.
3. I have always heated the water to a boil first, then added the rice and IMMEDIATELY turned the heat source to the lowest setting.
If cooking rice in a pot, use one with a thick bottom. I use my 18/10 stainless steel pots, never non-stick surface pots.
I usually add a pat of butter (or a teaspoon of oil - I use grape seed oil, or even lard if I'm out of the others, because it does not impart a flavor or odor into the rice).
My rice turns out perfect every time this way.
Everyone's pot heating methods and the pot or pan itself are going to have different effects on the rice cooking.
If your pot has a thin bottom (meaning closer to the thickness that makes up the sides of the pot), then you may have to take the pot off of the heating element sooner, after you add the rice to the boiling water.
If it's a thick-bottomed pot, you may be able to leave it sit on the heating element's surface, on lt's lowest setting or you may even need to turn it off
I cook rice everyday and I use 1 cup of washed white rice and 3,5 cups of water. I cook in a regular pot for 24 minutes. It's always perfect. (I always add a tea spoon of salt and 3 table spoons of soy oil. If you have time, cook the high heat until it starts boiling, then low the heat. Use a lid.)
I just cook the rice in a large amount of water then drain after 20 minutes. Then I put the rice back in the pot with butter and fry it for just a couple of minutes. Comes out great every time.
I was taught by my Asian friend, 1 part water to 1 part rice no matter the quantity....then add 1/4 cup extra water, also no matter the quantity to allow for steam escaping. Works everytime, just be sure to let the rice sit and steam, lid on, for 20 minutes or so .
I haven't owned a rice cooker in years. I switched to covered pans and have wondered why I ever used a rice cooker since. Why does this matter? I came to the same observation about how much water to add a long time ago, and just chalked it up to evaporation. I don't know if it makes sense? But I figured the reason was whether cooking 1/2 cup of rice or 2 cups of rice, in the same pot, the same amount of water evaporated during the initial heat-to-boil phase. So for 1/2 cup I over-water. For 2 cups, I slightly under-water. It all works out.
I was taught to wash the rice to remove any dirt or small rocks (not an issue with most US rices anymore) and it also gets rid of any dust which would just make it all sticky since it is mostly starches
Soak your rice for about 20-30 minutes before cooking.
As for the water amount you just use your pointer finger and go up to the first knuckle.
This is my understanding of the finger method:
- rice absorbs a fixed amount of water during its cooking time (roughly 1:1 for jasmine)
- the amount of water that evaporates off a boiling pot is a factor of surface area (not volume) and time
- the time is fixed, but pot size varies
- you add water to the top of the rice: this is the amount needed to soak into the rice
- you add a fixed depth of water (a knuckle) over the rice, regardless of the size of the pot, because the goal is to have the water fully evaporate at the same time as it fully cooks/hydrates the rice, and the wider the pot, the faster a fixed volume will evaporate.
So far, for cooking an arbitrary amount of rice on the stove in a 1.5 quart pot with a lid, it's been perfect.
But now I want to try it with a giant batch...
Also, my impression is that sushi rice takes a bit less water than jasmine?
Yes, or at least the measuring lines in my rice cooker indicates a smaller amount of water for sushi rice.
Almost everything you say makes sense, except that evaporation can't be the only factor when it comes to the depth of water because an Instant Pot or pressure cooker doesn't have evaporation. I think the depth of water matters because the rice needs the water to cover it even as it expands, but not so much water that it becomes soggy or is still very wet after cooking. I would really like to know for sure just to understand WHY the depth of the water matters! I am only guessing.
I'm from Malaysia, we use jasmine rice mostly in an unsealed rice cooker. The 'formula' is measure the depth of rice with finger, and add enough water to cover rice at half the depth. Means water is about 1.5 depth of rice. Hope this helps
- does not work for large qty as too much water ?
I saw this method on a channel a couple years ago and have been using it ever since and it truly does make just the right of amount of water to rice
Helen as you have pointed out rice is not something that scales as the volume gets larger. If rice were allowed to cook in a vacuum it would absorb 1:1 ratio of water. But you need to allow for evaporation. Evaporation is a function of evaporative surface area, temp and time. So when I cook rice I would need X cups of rice and X cups of water plus 1/2 cup since I cook in a rice cooker. It does not matter how much rice I am cooking (I worked in a Thai restaurant so have cooked large amounts of rice). For an instapot I would use a far less water because the IP retains moisture longer. I have gone so far as to weigh the rice and water before rinsing and soaking and then after the rinse have weighed the rice to water to the original weight and it has worked really well. I should add that I use this method for Jasmine and Basmati and I try to buy relatively new crops.
Helen, I am using scales and double the weight of water than the weight of my rice.A.bit more water if I just cook a small amount of rice. Since rice is less dense than water that is probably similar to your 1:1 volume ratios.
I figured it out a short time ago. The rice will come out well if it's just barely covered. It works for less than a cup as well. Cooking for two sometimes means only 100ml rice (
I have been cooking rice for many decades, the best addition to your process is to add a splash of rice vinegar. I never get mushy rice, try this as well as your advice to reduce water amounts.
The reduced water needed is pretty easy to understand. Rice grains absorb the same quantity of water in the same period of time the remaining water is steam. The amount of water lost as steam does not vary based on the amount of rice in the pot.
Weigh the rice and water prior to cooking and again after. The difference in weight is the amount of water that cooked off. Subtract this amount of water from that of the original amount for each additional unit of rice.
1g water = 1ml
That explains why the rice steamer is always perfect!!
You don’t measure the water, you just fill to a certain depth. That also eliminates the need to worry about removing every drop of rinse water.
I’m talking an old fashioned rice steamer, not a fancy new-fangled model.
Hi Helen, we use 1 to 2 ratio of rice to water on pressure cookers. I don't know the kind of rice but, its normal day to day use rice in South India. I too would reduce little bit extra for extra cups of rice.
i use an instant pot too. i learned from a sushi chef to put the liner in the cooker then rotate it back and forth real quick a couple of times to settle the rice. smooth it with your hand and place your palm flat on the rice. the grade of the top of your hand lets you easily measure water level above the surface
I've used knuckle method for 40 years. Works in rice cooker or on stove for evaporative method every time. However, I rarely make small batches. We eat a lot of rice.
Enameled cast-iron pot with a heavy lid makes the fluffiest rice with great flavor. A great replacement for the old rice cooker when it finally went.
This helpful. Do you have ratios for brown rice?
Here is how you can arrive at a perfect formula for your particular setup:
To find out how much water evaporates during cooking, cook about 200ml of water in the pot that you intend to use to cook rice (the pot diameter matters). The pot should be covered, and you should use the (low) heat level that you intend to use to cook rice. Of course, you should bring the water to near-boiling temperature first. The difference in weight between what you started with and what you end up with after 15 minutes or so is the fixed amount of water that you have to add to the water that will be absorbed by rice during cooking.
Most long-grain rice that I encountered absorbs around 125g of water for 100g of rice. That's it; that is your near-perfect formula.
For instance, the pot I use, when covered, evaporates around 100g of water after 15 minutes on 200W power (I use an induction stove for this because of how much control it gives me). So, to cook 200g of rice, I need 100g (the approximate fixed amount that will evaporate) + 2 * 125g of water (the approximate amount that will be absorbed by rice). I start on 2000W, covered, until I see small bubbles indicating that the water temperature is near 100C, then I lower the heat to 200W. After 15 minutes of cooking, I turn off the stove and wait 2 more minutes (covered) - this is not an essential step but it is instructive to see how it affects the end result.
There is no good reason to wash your rice, the stuff that you get rid of is just starchy "rice dust", and there is so little of it that it will not make non-sticky rice sticky.
I think it matters whether you want softer rice or firmer rice. Adding a 1/4-1/2 teas olive oil while cooking makes a firmer rice. Less water also makes a firmer rice. With me it depends on what I’m serving with it.
In order to have just enough freshly made rice to avoid waste, I often make small batches of grains (including rice), as little as a single serving, in my Instant Pot by putting it into a tempered glass bowl set on the rack which itself is sitting in a half inch or so of water. The same principles of grains to water ratios apply for small amounts.
1. a cup (240ml) of rice will need 2/3 cup of water to just cover it.
2. instant pot 6L 12min low pressure (maybe 7psi) evaporation is 0.5 cup water for all qty of rice
3.. instant pot height of water above rice is 1/8 in. for all qty of rice
4. for non-pressure cooking, height of water above rice is 1 in (1st knuckle) for all qty of rice
So I was grateful you clarified there’s a difference between a pot sealed with a gasket and one just covered with a lid. I’ll go a step further and say it changes again for a rinsed/soaked Basmati and a Converted/Parboiled. (Don’t hate - that’s fantastic for some dishes.) Here’s my Basmati:
1. Rinse until water is no longer cloudy.
2. Soak for 30 minutes and drain.
3. Start with equal parts water to rice.
4. ADD ONLY 1/4 cup of water above. So…..
- 1 C Rice = 1 1/4 C water
- 2 C Rice = 2 1/4 C water
- 4 C Rice = 4 1/4 C water
Bring to a boil then reduce to a very low simmer and continue for 10 minutes. Turn off and don’t touch pot for 20-30 minutes then fluff.
Parboiled needs almost double ratio of water to rice and depends on other variables like whether it’s been toasted in fat first. Bottom line is I don’t believe a rice cooker (or InstaPot) is necessary to achieve perfect rice.
I agree with the idea. From 3-6 cups of rice, I already have an idea in terms of knuckle depth from 4/5 to slightly below to a bit over the knuckle! (Then dad buys a different kind of rice, then things get a tad tricky again.) By the way, things change a bit again when you do the traditional method of long-soaking as the rice has already absorbed a bit of water.
I learned the (digital) scale method from my grandma and it works perfect. Measure by weight work wonderful. Always wondered why people measure by volume or knuckle method, it pretty inconsistent for all sort of reasons. Rice soaked with water for some time also need less water.
what's the ratio
My method that I learned from an Indian woman, and it never fails is, what ever you use to measure your rice in, it takes twice the amount of water,
eg 1 cup of rice any size,
then you put twice the amount of water in a cup of the same size used for the rice, into a pan suitable for the amount of rice being cooked, then you bring the rice to the boil, put in sea salt, turmeric, of your choice and tip the rice in, stir once and put the lid on, reduce the heat to a low simmer.
For 1 measure rice to two of water, it takes around 15 mins, but you can check by using a fork or spoon and part the rice in the centre, there will be no water left, if a little, replace lid for another couple of mins and you will have perfect rice, you can even place in a serving dish with a lid on in a 150degree oven and it will be lovely and fluffy to serve with whatever you like.
The ratio is the same for any amount, only the time varies. Secret is the ratio, boil, then add rice and stir once, and place lid on for rice to cook and water evaporates steaming the rice. Try it! DG U.K.
The turmeric, look up "black pepper" for the curcumin? Bio. Avail. Ability, thereof.
My grandmother is Portuguese and I grew up using the finger method. I've taught it to many people. It's never failed.
A quick method, finger measure: The depth of the rice in the pot is equal to the height of the water above the rice. A completely different approach is to cook the rice like spaghetti- with lots of water. Drain when done. This supposedly cuts the amount of arsenic in rice. Rice takes up lot of arsenic from the soil, and rice grown in some regions can contain dangerous amounts if you regularly eat rice.
It's 2 to 1 , but cut the 2 (the water) short a bit . A big enough pot and lid. Bring to boil, then light simmer for 14 minutes . Then spread the rice out on plates or pans to cool down .
It doesn't need a thorough rinse . A quick rinse for the dust. The starch is good. Perfect rice every time.
Using an appropriate pot, rinse and drain long grain rice inside the same pot, and then top with water about 1/2 inch above the rice. Add salt and butter/ghee/oil to taste. Bring to boil and watch for most of the water to be absorbed. Should look like a thick soup. Should take about 5 minutes. Cover pot and set heat to lowest setting. Cook/steam for 15 minutes. Shut of heat, fluff the rise a bit and replace cover and wait for another 10 minutes.
In Brazil, we season the rice before we cook it.
With sautéed garlic and maybe even onions.
It’s not possible to measure with the knuckles because we usually use boiled water.
I use the ratio of one cup of rice with two cups of water. 2 tablespoons of oil, heated and the rice added and stirred until all the rice is coated and heated. Then adding the water, bring to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to barely a simmer for 18 to 20 minutes. Fluff the rice and let it dry for about 5 minutes. Seems to work.
I once learned from girl from Thailand, one cup of rice, 1 1/2 cups water in a pot with lead. When is starting to boil, gas at lowest for 10 min., with a fork move carefully the rice around, lad it rest for 10 min. , and that's it. Never gone wrong since.
I cook rice in the microwave in Corningware with a lid. For basmati I do 1 cup rice to 1.5 - 1.75 water. Cook in the microwave rice setting (takes about 12 mins I think). Then when it is done, fluff it up and put the lid back on and let it steam for 15-20 mins. Comes out perfect. No salt or anything else.
- microwave is toxic
Brand of rice also plays part. During the shortages my usual jasmine rice was not available so I bought Carolina Jasmine and try as I might I couldn't get it right. I've been cooking rice for years and it was getting the better of me, sometimes it's the rice and not you.
Thank you Helen 🙏 ❤️
Helen, the amount of water needed depends on how much time you soak your rice and what kind of rice you are using. If you are using koshihikari rice with a thirty minute soak, a one-to-one ratio is appropriate. If you are using a basmati or jasmine rice,, a bit more water is needed. There are over 5,000 varieties of rice, and they all have different qualities.
If you weigh the water and the rice in a ratio of 3:2 respectively, it always works. Some use a closer ratio, such as 4:3 depending on the variety.
For many of the reasons that Helen touched on here, or which are explained more deeply in scientific terms by outlets like ATK or Serious Eats, this is not true. Ratios cannot account for varying pot sizes and varying evaporation rates when using different quantities of rice. If you use a ratio of 3:2 for enough rice to feed 30 people, then you'll end up with mush and pulp.
I follow a Thai UA-camr and she showed how to make jasmine rice and sticky rice in microwave when you are in a pinch. My Filipina friends were amazed at how perfect it turned out.
Which youtuber?
Can you share the video/youtuber??
@@mxf3005 Spoon Fork Heart and Steamy Kitchen
Helen I love your video's and experiments, but I have to say on this one I find my very easy method as used by most Indian people works to perfection. Wash the rice as you do, return to a pot, leave to soak well covered in water for at least 1/2 an hour or to one hour. Now boil the rice on the stove top in plenty of water as if cooking pasta, this will be only take a few minutes, keep testing the grains and stop cooking when only just cooked. Drain the rice through a sieve and return to the pot but now put on the lid or the cover for about 5 minutes, this will give you perfectly fluffy separate rice grain with no calculations necessary, voila! do give it a try.
It seems terribly unfashionable but I get perfect, each grain separated, rice every time by simply boiling the rice in as much water as I want and then straining it in a colander and then pouring boiling water over it from the kettle. I do know that this is sacrilege but also know that I never understand why people worry about how much water to use when making rice.
I do that, too. Works perfectly fine. If it ain't broken, why fix it?
It’s not sacrilege. It’s just another method. And it’s perfect for things like rice salad and other dishes with long grain rice, but not so good for short grain rice for East Asian dishes.
My mum uses a 1:2 ratio of rice to water. That's an approximate since my mum adds a tad bit more or less, depending on how long the rice has been aged. The variety of rice my family uses is called BPT rice. Plus, she reduces the water amount slightly as she increases the amount of rice, since the sheer amount of steam that gets trapped within the large quantities of rice helps.
Depth affects pressure and pressure affects heat transfer. Volume affects the potential energy, the input energy will vary of the duration of cooking. Surface area affect and grain size affects cooking. Rice is more or less buoyant depending on how cooked, and also the solution affect hoe much it will more around.
When you mentioned that it would depend if you have a gasket or use a lid - makes sense as to why my ratio of 1.5 cups rice to 2 cups water, is because of the escape.
Thank you for your experimentation and insight!
Helen McLean, the extra volume of water over the extra volume of rice is only to account for the amount needed to cook the rice and evaporation.
I'm in my 50s, I remember growing up and I LOVED rice, my mom would cook rice and typically she would do 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water in a stainless steel pot - boil the water, dump in the rice, cover and let simmer (Lower the temp from the boiling temp setting) for 20 minutes and voila', perfect rice. Nowadays, with "rice cookers" I've noticed you can't use 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice, it's more like 1.5 to 1.75 cups of water per 1 cup of rice, and then there's a wrench thrown in if you add butter/oil. Also different types of rice........ Basmati, Jasmine..... Recently I compare my mom's "old style" of rice cooking to the rice pot method and I think I might be going back to my mom's method, although with a bit less water
I use Instant Pot too, for my jasmine/baldo rice, I just use my eyes for measurement. Random rice amounts everytime, after washing, water a little bit above rice on the pot.
I just weigh everything. Weigh the dry rice and the water add them together for total weight. rinse the rice weigh it wet and subtract the difference from the water. It always works no matter how much rice because the ratio of rice to water is always exactly the same.
My rice cooker (Tatung) has the finger measurements on the pot. You use the provided cup (not a regular cup) and then fill the water to the appropriate line corresponding to the how many cups of rice.
My dad is taught me the finger knuckle method decades ago, and it has worked perfectly no matter the pot, rinsed or dry. When I measure it gos dry or burns or gets soggy. Not white rice though.
For small quantities of rice in an instant pot, the, ‘pot in pot’ method is effective. The rice is cooked in a smaller container on a trivet in the cooker. This is good for single households, and I have successfully cooked 1/2 cup of rice this way for a single serve.
I have this down to a system for myself. I only cook about 1 cup of rice because it is just for me. I use just a tad over 1 3/4 cup water. I dont rinse it but stir it twice around the pot add my salt, and when it reaches boiling point I cover it and set the gas to low. 18 mins I turn off the heat and let sit another 5 mins. It is perfect every time. I want to make fried rice soon, and that is best with day old rice so I am going to be make more than a cup. I am going to have to measure the depth of the water for my 1 cup method...I feel certain that will work.
Your last advice is, I believe, works. So in other words, the only measurement you need to make is measuring the ammount of rice you're cooking. Paying attention to water level above the rice, becomes the technique that will produce the right texture that you'd expect.
Howver, there are a few variables, you mentioned the type of pot. Also, the type of rice, and the time to cook that batch and flame level.
At the end of the day, experience is born from observation, and that goes for whatever you are cooking.
Great episode, thanks Helen.
Wow, fascinating. I guess the question is: why? Why does the ratio change so much? Since at the end all the water is either in the rice or steam, I am guessing it has to do with the surface area of the top of the water? So, with a wider pot, more water will boil off and you need a higher water to rice ratio. I would be interested to retry this experiment but with pans or something where you can try different sizes. To take this thinking a step further, Kristina's linear formula seems to indicate that 0.525 cups of water boil off during the cycle. Perhaps all we need to know is how much extra boiloff water to allow for, for different pot sizes, and we can add that to the base amount needed in the rice :)
Jessica V, " why? Why does the ratio change so much?" Your guess is on point. Because the surface area based on the diameter of the pot remains the same and does not increase the rate of evaporation as it would if you switched to a much wider pot.
IF the diameter of the pot changes, the amount of water required may increase OR decrease-it depends. Any extra water over 1:1 is purely to account for evaporation.
Cook's Illustrated's "America's Test Kitchen" did an experiment titled: *The Best Way to Cook Rice is All About the Right Ratio* Nov 17, 2018. To establish a baseline they tested one cup of rice with one cup of water with 17 different varieties of rice by sous vide and they all came out perfectly. Determining that the volume of required water is equal, anything extra is only to account for evaporation. Like Helen, they learned that changing the volume of rice in the same vessel did not hold the one-to-one ratio. And like Helen, learned that varying the vessel even with the same amount of rice-matters. They discovered that if you determine the proper quantity of extra water for perfect rice in one particular pot, that "amount of extra water" over the surface of the rice will never vary for that particular pot no matter how much rice you want to cook in that pot. They also explained how rice cookers work and that a home cook can mimic the end time by putting a probe thermometer in the pot as the rice cooks that is set to 212˚F. Because rice cookers stop cooking and switch to the warm setting once it knows by temp that it is not above the boiling point anymore. Personally, I LOVE my Zojirushi. It's worth every penny. ; ) But it is handy to know how to cook rice in a pot at someone else's place.
BTW to fluff up rice, cut vertically with flat rice spoon a "noughts and crosses" design down to bottom of the rice. Then fluff with normal horizontally held spoon.
Use a pressure cooker or instant pot with an elevated bowl of measured rice and water (~140%) by weight, set over a cup or more of water just for steam (pot in pot method). No evaporation. Easy rice weight to water ratio. It is easy to clean because you only have water in the bottom of the pressure cooker. Nothing can burn. I like a slow release if I have time. It's better than a rice cooker.
I bake my rice. It always comes out great
Tell us more
I put in rice water and seasoning into a baking dishh. Seal tightly and bake for about an hour. 3 cups and 3 cups water. Comes out fluffy and nice. Sometimes I add onion soup mix.
@@OM-wl7qe second half of the video ua-cam.com/video/QnxtENuVajo/v-deo.html
My Japanese friend always uses a rice cooker, but when she doesn't have one, she uses the finger method, but she pushes her index finger to the bottom of the pot and puts water up to the first knuckle for 1 cup of rice and halfway from the first knuckle to the second knuckle for 2 cups of water and so on.
Yeah, this tracks with (unrecorded, un measured) experience with stove top cooking. Curious, I pulled out my Zojirushi, zeroed it on a scale and measured out water to each line (which corresponds to their measure cup). Sure enough, the ratio of volume (of pot to the line) to line number decreases, despite the volume ratio of rice to line number being constant.
So, if you want to get fancy, you can etch out measure marks or make a table.
But a finger works pretty good too.
i normally do it by weight with a 6:7 rice to water ratio. when i rinse the rice, i put the pot on the scale with dry rice and tare it, then i rinse and add the rest of the water in.