What happens if you stir rice

Sushi rice. Remember what I said about not treating all rices the same? This produces firmly cooked rice, which is perfect for tossing later with vinegar dressing," according to Japanese culinary expert and instructor Hiroko Shimbo in her book "The Japanese Kitchen. If you have a gas stove, use the smallest burner. Bring your rice and cooking liquid up to a boil, then pop the lid on your pot and turn the heat all the way down to its lowest setting. Then walk away and do something else while you wait for your food to finish cooking.

Cooking rice at too high a temperature can result in situations where the rice cooks unevenly. The outside might be soft, while the inside is still hard and raw. You might even have some parts burn while other parts are completely raw, which is decidedly not delicious. You can do either or both if you like. The most important thing is to make sure that you definitely season it at some point. Rice like pasta, and like most foods benefits from proper seasoning.

Don't worry, even pros are guilty of some of these rice-cooking faux pas. No doubt, everybody loves this super versatile grain—it can be used in dishes such as stir-fry, risotto , burritos, sushi , and Chinese takeout. A life without rice would be pretty sad. Watch out for these pretty common mistakes you could be making when whipping up your latest rice recipe.

And give it a nice fluff when done. The directions on the package are a road map, not a law. Over a billion people depend on rice as a food staple. But surprisingly, there's some confusion about how to cook it. Do you stir it? Should you let it boil the whole time? What's the proper liquid-to-grain ratio? And if the lid of the pot doesn't fit, then steam escapes.

This also causes the liquid to run thick rivulets of starch down the pot, which is just an inconvenience for cleaning the pot later. It's better to stick with the recipe and get a tight lid. Different recipes call for particular rice varieties. Arborio is traditional for risotto, jasmine rice compliments Asian dishes, and short-grain rice is preferred for sushi. And each type of rice requires a little adjustment in liquid and cooking time.

Brown rice has an outer coating of bran, which needs a little more liquid and time to cook properly. If you are using any other type of rice than long grain, do a little research to make sure you've got the right method. Rinsing the rice removes the dusty starch that is created from the grains rubbing together in the package.

Less starch equals less gummy rice, which is the desired result. Everyone has their challenges in the kitchen, and chefs are no different. Chef Darin prefers a different method of cooking rice. His method involves heating a pan and toasting the grains with some fat to get it lightly browned, adding the liquid of your choice, closing the lid, and placing it into a preheated oven for 30 minutes at degrees Fahrenheit.

The rice comes out and sits and is fluffed to perfection. Chef Darin also recommends trying to treat rice like pasta. Put it in a large pot of salted water and boil until it's tender. For people that are rice-challenged, it's another method," he says. A key part of Chef Darin's method involves toasting the rice in the pot before any water is added. This injects the grain with a nutty flavor. The two parts liquid to one part rice, or ratio, is recommended by Chef Darin, in all but a few rice dishes.

If you only add water to your rice, it will be bland. There are so many flavor options with this versatile dish.