If you need a quick and simple side dish to make with your meal, rice is one of those cupboard staples that is always there for you. White and brown rice are the most basic varieties, but there are many more interesting ones like basmati, black, jasmine, wild, and bomba. Whatever method you chose for cooking and serving your rice, it is a dish that can be altered in more ways than you may think. But if you like to prepare meals at home, it's one of those important dishes you should learn.
Even though rice seems simple, there are a few tips to remember if you want to cook it precisely for your next dinner. When preparing rice, one of the most frequent foods found in the average household, there are a number of factors that come into play, including the equipment you use, the preparation you do beforehand, the timing, and the manner. Get ready to take some notes; there are various rice hacks you can master.
The Cooking Vessel
There is an important characteristic of your cookware that you might not be thinking about because not all pots and pans are manufactured equally. Grab any old saucepan that will fit your rice, but before you turn on the burner, examine at the pot, and specifically, the bottom. A flat-bottomed pot is necessary for rice cooking successfully. The flat-bottomed pot will ensure that your rice receives an even dispersion of heat on any type of stove, which is necessary for ideal rice cooking. When the rice is done cooking and you want to keep your side dish warm in case anyone wants seconds, a pot with heat retention capabilities will also come in helpful.
To ensure that the rice cooks properly, whether you use a pot or a pan, your cookware must have an airtight lid. To further guarantee that your rice has the ideal consistency, take into account an airtight cover with an air vent.
Reheat
The beautiful thing about rice is that it's a simple dish to make in bulk in advance whether you're meal prepping or if you want to make sure you have enough leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. There are a few ways to reheat rice so that it still tastes as good as it did when it first came off the stove. Splashing a little water on top is one way to re-hydrate it if you are heating it in the microwave. For each cup of rice that you are reheating, you should add a few teaspoons of water. To aid in the steaming process, you should also make sure your rice is covered with a damp paper towel. You can have your dinner ready to go in just a few seconds because rice doesn't take long to heat up in the microwave. The simplest and fastest approach, which can be completed in less than a minute, is to microwave your rice.
There are other kitchen appliances you may use to reheat rice if you'd rather not use the microwave. Did you know, for instance, that you could reheat rice in the oven? If you're boiling up a lot of rice, perhaps for a big group of people who want leftovers, then this method might be your best bet. The oven will, however, take a little longer to reheat the rice than, say, a microwave, which can complete the task quickly, which is obviously a disadvantage. Similar to the microwave approach, pouring liquid back into the dish before applying heat is crucial when warming rice. This will prevent the rice from becoming dry when it is reheated. Put the rice in an oven-safe dish after the liquid has been added, and make sure the dish has a lid to keep the moisture in while you reheat.