How to Cook Rice
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the rice in three to four changes of water until clear.
Bring three cups of water to a boil.
Add the salt and lard to the boiling water.
Add the drained rice to the boiling water.
Cook and dry
Boil for about 15 minutes, keeping the cover slightly ajar.
Remove the cover and let the rice dry for 5 minutes.
If using a gas stove, lower the heat.
Let the rice dry for 20 to 30 minutes.
If using a wood or coke stove, place the cooked rice on the back to dry out.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Its starch absorbs water and swells, becoming tender and forming the body of the dish.
- Water
- Hydrates the starch and carries the heat that cooks the grains through.
- Lard
- Adds fat that coats the grains, giving richness and helping them stay separate.
The step that matters
Boil with the cover slightly ajar. Keeping the lid partly open lets steam escape while the rice boils, so the surface does not turn gummy and the grains cook without becoming waterlogged. Letting the cooked rice dry afterward firms the grains further.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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