Rice is cooked in millions of households every day, and it’s one of the world’s staple foods, but it’s a dish that some people struggle to cook correctly. According to Good Food, cooking rice is “easy” provided you follow a few simple rules. Do so and you’ll “never make a clumpy, sticky or glutinous mess again”.
There are only “two rules” when it comes to rice, which include measuring rice by volume and “never” stirring the rice as it cooks, or it will break up and turn sticky. Some recipes even call for a knob of butter or a spoonful of oil to help separate the grains before they cook. Whilst cooking rice on the stove is the most common method, cooking it in the oven means you’re less tempted to stir it or check on it.
To cook rice in the oven, start by preheating the oven to 180C or 160C Fan and then taking one cup of basmati rice and rinsing it well in a large bowl of water.
Rinsing the rice helps to remove the starch that often makes the rice turn sticky once cooked. The water will need to run clear before you move onto the next step for “the most fluffy results”.
Once rinsed, tip the rice into a medium casserole dish and pour over two cups of boiling water. Rice recipes often call for a ratio of 1:2, meaning you add twice the amount of water as rice.
Cover with a lid and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for a further five minutes before removing it and fluffing it up with a fork to check it is separated.
What’s more, you’ll never end up with crusty saucepans because the rice will fall away from the edges of the casserole dish straightaway.
Basmati works best when cooked in the oven but you can also try long-grain white rice and jasmine rice. Brown rice can be baked, but it’ll often require a longer cooking time.
Good Food also says you can cook rice in the microwave by simply adding half a cup of extra water and cooking the rice on high for six minutes, followed by eight minutes on medium.
The rice should be covered with microwaveable wrap to trap the steam and moisture, and placed in a large heatproof bowl.
