Rice starch

[badgerzez]

Please, I am a 14 year-old boy just trying to cook a nice dinner for my younger sister.

I purchased a bag of Botan Rice and some fish, the fish is microwavable so don't worry, but it's the rice i'm having trouble with. I made two batches, one for my sister, which was absolutely perfect, the other was for me, and it was terrible.

There was a sticky substance, and my dad said it was starch (note; that I didn't use any cooking surface like PAM on my batch, but did for my sister.)

I want to know whether or not that sticky substance on the bottom of the rice is bad for me, like if it's layers of grease from the pan .

Thanks,
badger

 

[BubbaGourmet]

badgerzez;

Your Dad is probably right. It sounds like the starch of the rice and it will not hurt you at all. By the way, props on cooking for yourself and your sister!

 

[badgerzez]

Oh thank you. I have some conditions with my stomach, so I didn't know whether or not it would hurt me.

Next week i'm gonna try sphagetti


Thanks,
badger

 

[AllenOK]

Tips for boiling pasta:

1) Bring the water to a rolling boil first.
2) Add salt, and about 2 - 3 T vegetable oil.
3) Add the pasta, and using a pasta server, stir the pasta while at the same time lifting some out of the water and dropping it back in. This coats the pasta with some of the oil on top, and helps to prevent sticking.
4) After I drain my pasta, I like to drizzle a little veggie oil over it and toss, to help prevent sticking. This is really important if you are prepping cooked pasta and plan on storing it in the refrigerator for later use.

 

[Haggis]

My personal preference is to only add oil to pasta if I am storing it and not serving it immediately. Don't have problems with pasta sticking together, give it a bit of a stir and its right.

Also its definitely not a pinch of salt, its a decent amount to give proper flavour. Another tip is, just before you drain the pasta get a coffee mug (or something else with a handle) and get a mugful of the water. This water can be used to thin sauces if they are too thick, or just loosen up the pasta dish in general.

 

[Constance]

If you rinse your rice off in a strainer before you cook it, it will remove that extra starch.
Good for you on learning to cook! Do you have a recipe book? If not, you could check your local library for "Joy of Cooking" or "Fannie Farmer" cookbooks. Both are good for helping the beginner.

 

[badgerzez]

Oh yes, thanks for the pasta recipes!

 

[KAYLINDA]

It is so great to hear that a young man is cooking. Just a hint for you. If you want to make larger batches of rice...when it is done....it can be put into packages and frozen. Then pop them into a microwave for a minute to warm.