rice question

[Serephino]

How do I make non crunchy rice?  I don't understand it.  I put in more water than the package recommends.  I put a lid on the pot.  Why is it still crunchy? 

[Trieste]

There are a couple things that make rice crunchy. If the heat is too high, it causes the water to evaporate rather than soak into rice, so you may need to turn the heat lower. It could be undercooked, too, so you can try cooking it longer and just checking it every 10 minutes or so. If it's not instant-style rice, you can also soak it before you cook it. Last, the cover needs to stay on through most of the cooking. If you're taking the cover off every couple minutes to check it, the water will escape.

[Beguile's Mistress]

One cup of raw rice yields about three cups of cooked rice.

Measure out the rice you are going to cook and for each cup of rice add 2 cups water to a sauce pan.  A two-quart pan is perfect for 1-2 cups of raw rice since it expands as you cook it.

Approximate cooking times:

White Rice: 18 to 25 minutes
Brown Rice: 30 to 40 minutes
Wild Rice: 45 to 60 minutes

You can add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the cooking water if you like.

Once the water boils add the rice and bring back to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low (and I do mean low) and let the rice simmer WITH THE LID ON.  Don't remove the lid until at least 3/4 of the cooking time has passed (18 of the 25 minutes for example) and don't stir the rice.  The rice will be done when all the water disappears.  You can use a fork to quickly move the rice to see if there is still water in the pan but be quick about it.  Keeping the steam in the pan for as much of the cooking time as you can is key to making good rice.

[Oniya]

I'd always heard to put the rice and the water in at the same time, then bring it to a boil.  (Standard long-grain white rice, anyways.)  Turn down the heat to 'barely on', and leave covered for 15 minutes.

[RedPhoenix]

Use a rice cooker. 

[Oreo]

The shorter the grain, the more "sticky" it will be. However, that doesn't mean that long grain rice should come out grainy either.

This is how a Chinese friend taught me to make rice:

    * Wash and rinse rice a few times till there isn't any more murkiness.
    * Add water until it reaches the first knuckle of your index finger. The tip of your finger should barely touch the rice. (This generally works for any amount of rice.)
    * Bring to a boil, then turn to simmer. Check back in 10 to 15 minutes. If the water is mostly gone, and it isn't at the texture you like, you can always add a bit more water.
    * Let the rice stand for a few minutes after the heat is off.

If you are a multi-tasker, forgetful or just plain prefer to make things simpler, there are many rice cookers on the market today that are clearly marked for the ratio of rice to water and automatically turn off when the rice has finished cooking.

If you are looking to make the same kind of sticky rice you find in Oriental restaurants you can try a bamboo steam cooker.

[Cecilia]

If you are using brown rice, you don't need to rinse it.  Also, it takes about 40-45 minutes to cook brown rice unless you are using a pressure cooker.  (Only 22 minutes under pressure!) 

Some people use a pasta-style method of cooking rice where you bring eight cups water to boil and then pour in the rice and cook it "until it is done" before draining it.  I'm not a personal fan of this method, but some people swear by it.   

[Ryven]

The standard ratio for white rice is 2:1 water to rice.  Wash the rice if you wish.  Put both in a pot, bring to a boil, turn down to low and cover with a lid.  Check in about 18 minutes.  The rice should be done, but if not, just add a bit more water and pop the lid back on.  A good rule of thumb is to add less water instead of more because you can always add more later.  I've been told to season rice after cooking.  I can't remember at the moment exactly why, but I'm sure there's a reason.