Disturbing the rice while it cooks Don't do it! Every time you lift the lid, you're letting steam out and lowering the temperature within your pot. 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.
Let the rice sit covered for 10 minutes after it's done cooking. Then fluff it with a fork." Never stir your rice! Stirring activates starch and will make your rice gloppy.
Stirring Rice as It Cooks
"If you stir rice while it's still cooking and rehydrating, the grains can break, resulting in multiple non-uniform pieces." This can lead to a gummy texture, as the small pieces of rice will cook faster and disintegrate, giving you a half-pudding, half-rice hybrid, says Thanh.
Use the same water-to-rice ratio as before: 2 cups water to 1 cup rice. Add a pinch of salt, place the lid on the pot, and let the water come to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add in your rice. Stir it a couple of times to keep the grains from sticking together, but don't over-stir – once or twice should do it.
Let the rice rest. By leaving the rice covered and off the heat once the timer goes off, you allow residual steam to absorb and the rice grains to firm up a bit so that when you stir it, it doesn't all break up like rice pudding. This is part of what makes rice a great side dish!
Regardless of which cooking method is chosen, the proportion of liquid to rice and the cooking time are key to preparing perfectly cooked rice. The general "rule of thumb" is 2 to 1 (2 parts liquid to 1 part rice by volume).
How does reheated rice cause food poisoning? Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The spores can survive when rice is cooked.
Stir the rice as you add in the water, but do NOT stir it again once you've turned the heat on – ever. Set the pot over medium-heat and patiently wait as it comes to a boil. Let it boil until the water level drops below the level of the rice (the rice will be peeking through the top).
Mushy or soggy rice is usually caused by two things: the rice is overcooked, and too much liquid is absorbed into the rice. When the rice overcooks and absorbs excess water, the grains can split open, increasing the starchy and sticky texture.
Stirring leads to uneven cooking
Grains of rice are delicate, especially while rehydrating. Stirring rice during cooking can break the grains into pieces, leading to uneven cooking. Shorter, broken grains will end up overcooking, while the larger whole grains take longer to prepare, resulting in a half-gummy dish.
1. This can prevent over-bloating of the rice due to over-absorption of water, and perhaps prevent grain damage. 2. Since osmosis squeezes out water from lower to higher concentration, it might be able to 'squeeze' out the flavor molecules of the rice better, which might come along as water passes out..
Rice can contain spores from a type of harmful bacteria. If cooked rice is left at room temperature, the bacteria could start growing again from the spores. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause food poisoning. Reheating will not get rid of these.
When the now starch-coated rice hits the boiling water, the starch blooms and gets sticky. As the water is absorbed, and the rice grains get closer and closer together, they will begin to stick to one anther and form large clumps. The very simple solution is to rinse.
If the grains aren't washed before cooking, this residual starch will gelatinize in the hot cooking water and make the cooked grains of rice stick to each other. In some instances, such as sticky rice varieties like glutinous rice and arborio rice, this can lead to a very gummy texture.
Whatever you do, don't mix the rice while it's cooking — this will lead to gummy rice. Let the rice rest covered. Turn off the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for 10 minutes. During this time, the rice will steam for extra fluffy results.
Soaking is optional, but we recommend it! Soaking grains helps to remove some of the naturally-occurring phytic acid in the grain, which helps improve digestibility and speed cook time. To soak: Add rice to a large mixing bowl or pot and cover with twice the amount of lukewarm water (1 cup rice + 2-3 cups water).
Fluffing the rice helps separate the grains, break up any clumps, and allows trapped moisture to evaporate. This should be the last step before serving it! Using a fork, gently stir up the pot of rice until light and fluffy.
The Japanese golden rule for rice to water ratio [volume] is 1 : 1.1 (or 1.2). That is 10-20% more water than 1:1 ratio. For 1 rice cooker cup (180 ml) of uncooked short-grain rice, you will need 200 ml of water. For a US measuring cup (240 ml), however, I use 1:1.25 ratio so that you can measure water using a US cup.
A general procedure for cooking long grain white rice is the 1-2-3 rule: 1 part uncooked long grain or medium grain rice, plus 2 parts liquid, equals 3 parts cooked rice.
To avoid food poisoning it's important to cool your cooked rice quickly and store it in the refrigerator within two hours of cooking. Refrigerating cooked rice also helps to preserve its nutrient value by preventing the growth of bacteria and the formation of toxins.
However, did you know that improperly prepared fried rice can cause food poisoning? Food poisoning caused by contaminated fried rice is so common globally that the term “fried rice syndrome” was coined to describe it.
Time and temperature: Rice should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours. Bacteria can multiply rapidly in cooked rice when it is kept at room temperature for an extended period. If the rice has been sitting out for longer than two hours, it's advisable to discard it.