How to cook rice

For the absorption method.If it is white rice,you wash the rice in a pot . Put your hand in and swish through the water .It is lovely feeling the grains of rice coming through your fingers.Dont do this if it is an electric rice cooker pot that has a non stick finish.The coating will probably get sanded off.The Tiger brand has a better finish, but the trouble with many people is that they then put a wet pot into the rice cooker which will severely shorten its life if not blow the fuse there and then.When I have had rice cookers back to get repaired, I see bits of food and oil around the base too.Best to wash the rice somewhere else and then put it into the rice cooker pot.Severe digression.Mind you, electric rice cookers do work on the absorption method anyway.
Actually, the type of rice is important.Even white rices are different.Australian short-actually medium grain-rice needs less water than its long grain counterpart.American long grain needs more water,American short grain rice needs more than Australian short grain, but less than American long grain.Bhasmatti rice from the Punjab region needs even more water than American rice.Sri Lankan samba rice is a bit like American.
Thai Jasmine rice may be about the dryness of Australian long grain.Chinese have a long grain that is very small and very dry.It does not need to be cooked the night before if you want to make fried rice.
After washing the rice till the starch comes out and the water is clear, then you smooth off the rice making a flat surface.The way of judging how much water to put in for the cooking is to put your finger through the clear water and see where the water level is on the joints of your finger.
Australian short grain rice is usually to the moon of your finger nail.Australian long grain may see the water level go a bit higher.Just experiment and change the level next time according to how you would like the texture and fluffiness.A huge amount of water gets you rice porridge.This is popular for morning meals, and you may put meats or vegetables into this.I think it needs chinese pickles too.
Now put the pot onto the stove, and bring it to the boil.When this has been achieved, and sometimes you can leave the lid on to do this, then turn the level of external heat down to a minimum.Gas is quite instantaneous for this, and I hear that Induction cookers will do the same thing.But as for electric element cookers, I guess you may be on your own there.Probably leave the lid off and turn down the heat when it boils, but wait for things to settle down before putting the lid on.
At this stage, with the heat source at the barest minimum, you are pretty safe to go away and prepare the rest of the meal, or just wait the 15 or 20 minutes which will see your rice ready.There is no harm to leave things for even longer as long as the heating is very tiny.So if you are new to this , maybe you better hang around and watch things, at least for the first few times, till you get it right.
People talk of rice cookers, and we have some from China and a top brand from Japan.As for equipment, we also have a Vacuum cooking pot that is like what some people call a Dutch Oven.
Basically, you have and enormous wide mouthed, fairly rugged Thermos into which another pot that is used for cooking can be placed.When both lids are shut, then the not slow cooking begins.Although the cooking is at a fully boiling temperature, the food does not get overcooked. Also, even when cooked, food can stay hot after cooked food is removed to be served.
Apart from an easy cooking style, this method of cooking seems to retain the colour, taste and nutrients of food very well.