I grew up thinking that rice was something that was generally boiled in a bag in a minute (stepmother #1 was not from the great cooks). As you can imagine, not the tastiest type of rice. Of course I now cringe at the thought of that sodden mess, never mind the idea of heated plastic.
Maybe as a result of this awful initiation into the world of rice, I would say I am still not the savviest in that department; though I do prepare it quite often. Usually I just make it pilaf style with garlic, olive oil and a bit of salt. Rice to broth or water in a 1:2 ratio. I have made brown rice, wild rice, jasmine and mixtures but for most every day things, white seems to go best.
Recently my friend R. was visiting for dinner. The rice still wasn't prepared so she offered to help. She was shocked to learn my rice to liquid ratio. She said it should always be 1:1, otherwise the rice would be too soggy. Apparently her Cuban heritage gives her license to claim superiority on the rice front, yet I was still doubtful. Why do most rice packages give directions using the 1:2 ratio? Did I have rice all wrong all these years? That night, we ended up using my ratio and she promised that when we had dinner at her place she would cook it her way.
Since I couldn't wait that long, I decided to experiment tonight. Instead of the 1:2 ratio I tried 1:1.5 The rice was drier and had a nice texture..maybe she is on to something. It was a fine accompaniment to our platter of black beans, avocado and soft tacos. Another pantry dinner for the lazy.
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3 comments:
I always use the 1:1.5 - 1.75 ratio and I've been happy w/the results. 1:1 always seems dry to me especially when the rice is drier (or maybe I mean less porous). I'm thinking of basmati or black rice. Anyway rice is nice.
I have no ratio, in fact, other than risotto, I've only cooked rice once in my adult life, and that was last weekend. I adhered strictly to the recipe ;-)
When it comes to basmati rice, I swear by 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups water. (1 to 1.5) Boil water, add rice, put on lid, and if you have a crappy old electric stove like I do, turn off the heat and let the pot on the burner for 17 minutes. Perfect every time. If no crappy electric stove is available, then the faintest flame should do it.
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