If you want soft and fluffy rice, you should add the rice to cold water and bring it to boil. Use a tight-fitted lid. Use a good lid so the steam and moisture don't escape during the simmering cook time. Cook the rice on low heat.
If your rice has absorbed too much liquid, the grains may have split and the starches may have given the rice a soft, gluey consistency.
According to the Food Network, you should use twice the amount of water as rice to produce soft, fluffy grains. Reduce the ratio to one part water to two-thirds rice for a firmer, more "al dente" kind of texture.
Memorize this ratio and you'll know how to cook a perfect pot every time! The rice to water ratio is to use 2 cups water for every 1 cup white rice. In general, use double the amount of water than rice. If you're making 2 cups rice, use 4 cups water.
Turn off the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for 10 minutes. During this time, the rice will steam for extra fluffy results. Fluff the rice with a fork.
Let the rice sit covered for 10 minutes after it's done cooking. Then fluff it with a fork."
As with most varieties of rice, a pre-cooking soak helps the finished product turn out fluffy, evenly cooked, and not too mushy, according to The Guardian. The outlet points out that cooking rice is essentially just hydrating the dried grain. Soaking completes this same process.
The general rice-to-water ratio is as easy to remember as 1, 2, 3: 1 cup rice + 2 cups water = 3 cups cooked rice.
Varieties of white rice cook quickly, so Centoni recommends adding 3/4 cup of extra water to the pot on top of the 1-to-1 ratio. For example: If you're cooking one cup of rice, you want 1-3/4 cups of water; if you're cooking 2 cups, you want 2-3/4 cups of water.
Cook until water is completely absorbed and rice is tender – about 15-25 minutes (will depend on whether or not the rice was soaked). Drain off any excess water if there is any. I like to turn off the heat and remove the lid for 10 minutes so the rice gets fluffier.
Mushy or soggy rice is simply overcooked rice that has absorbed too much water. Water over-absorption causes the rice grains to split open, ruining the texture and creating a starchy, gummy result.
Rice to water ratio – 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of water for rice cooked on the stove. Increase to 2 cups of water per 1 cup of rice for oven and microwave. How long does rice last in the fridge?
Like many other types of rice, jasmine rice is made up of two types of starches: amylose and amylopectin. The more amylose starches the rice has, the more separate the grains will be after cooking. Amylopectin starches gelatinize during the cooking process and contribute to the overall sticky texture of rice.
The general "rule of thumb" is 2 to 1 (2 parts liquid to 1 part rice by volume). However, it is important to note that different rice types may require slightly less or slightly more liquid.
Rice also doesn't need stirring while it's cooking. In fact, stirring rice while it's cooking can break up the grains and have you end up with a pot of unappetizing mush.
As Taste of Home explains, it's all because salt is "hydrogenous" and absorbs water from the air fast. Enter rice and its special qualities, which allow it to prevent the salt from getting a chance to absorb any moisture, keeping it loose for sprinkling.
Always cook rice from cold water rather than hot and then bring up to heat on the stove. Once the water is boiling, pop the lid on and turn the temperature down to simmer to cook the rice gently.
Then, measure the proper water to rice ratio.
Measure 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon olive oil for every cup of uncooked rice.
Most recipes get it wrong because it's not widely known that jasmine rice is softer than most, so you need LESS water than normal white rice so it's fluffy rather than gummy. Use just 1 1/4 cups water for every 1 cup of jasmine rice (the standard for typical white rice is 1 1/2 cups water to 1 cup rice).
Our general rec for long-grain white rice is a ratio of 1:1 so for 2 cups of rice, add 2 cups of water. Following our ratio for brown rice (1:2 1/4), you would start with 2 cups of brown rice then add 4 ½ cups of water.
What is the ratio of water to rice? For basmati and all kinds of white rice, we recommend a ratio of 1:2 when cooking on the stove. So this would mean for every 1 cup of rice, you add 2 cups of water.
If you're a fan of sushi rice, you can use this same method of preparing rice when you prepare your everyday rice, too. If you want to try this out but fear that your rice will taste sour every time, you can add as little as 1 teaspoon vinegar to the water of your rice before cooking.