How to Cook Rice

Perfect Rice Cooking Tips & Guidelines

It’s good to learn how to cook rice properly especially if you enjoy cooking in general. Rice is a staple food in many cultures. It is also very popular in many dishes and a traditional side dish in many meals. In my opinion rice is one of the small wonders in the world and as days get shorter and a little chillier, there's nothing like a bowl of chicken stew with fluffy rice to warm the heart.



Rice is the one food that seems to be the easiest to scorch or burn if you aren't careful and can ruin a meal. It doesn't have to be that way, though. The reason that rice seems to be difficult to cook is because there are two simple elements that must be done correctly but they are often overlooked – these are heat and time.

If you have the heat too high, your rice will scorch and the water will cook out before the rice is done so you will have an interesting dish of scorched, crunchy rice - not very appetizing. If you cook it too slowly, you can end up with rice that is gummy and very starchy. That is not very appetizing either. The key to perfectly cooked rice is allowing it to rest.

So, let's talk about how to cook rice perfectly the old fashioned way: on the stove top.

• Measure your rice. One cup is generally enough for 2 to 4 servings, depending on how hungry your guests are.

• Measure your water precisely.

  Wait! When you cook rice, whether it is 1 cup or 10 cups, you keep your water to rice ratio, two to one. One cup of rice requires two cups of water.

• This is an optional move here, but it still is worth mentioning. Rinse your rice. Some folks do this, some don't. The reasoning behind this is supposedly that the rinsing removes the starch from the rice. You may find that it works for you and it may not. That is why this step is optional. You can also soak it for a while which seems to lessen the cooking time as the rice has already begun to absorb water.

• Select a pot that has a well fitting lid. Place the rice in the bottom of the pan and cover it with the measured water. You may opt to throw in a dash of salt - I love pure sea salt crystals (some people even drop in a couple of pats of butter).

• Place the pot, covered, over a medium high heat until it comes to a rolling boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Do not remove the lid.

• After simmering for 5 minutes, turn the heat completely off. Leave the pot covered, do not lift the lid to peek, for 10 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and test it to make sure that it is fully cooked. If your ratio of rice to water was correct, this should not be a problem. If the rice is still crunchy, keep the lid on the pot and add about ¼ cup of water to the rice, recover and let it sit as it steams a little longer.

If you use Chicken Stock in place of water, you may find that you need a little more liquid in which to cook the rice. If you add onions, garlic and other seasonings you will definitely need to adjust the liquid by increasing it. If you watch your heat and timing, you should have no problem making the perfect pot of rice and you’ll be showing people how to cook rice perfectly too.

More Chicken and Rice Recipes

Chicken and rice recipes are very popular. Rice goes well with most chicken dishes especially stews, casseroles, curries and chicken with sauces.

Listed below are a few of my favourites.


Spanish Rice and Chicken

Chicken Casseroles and Stews

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Chicken ala King

Top Of How To Cook Rice

Chicken Curry Recipes

Guide to Buying Chicken

Chicken Recipes Homepage