Sticky Rice

[lbb87]

Why is long cooking rice stickier than instant rice? What can I do to prevent the long cooking rice from being so sticky?

[TomW]

Throwing the conventional wisdom about adding rice to boiling water away, I have had great results with combining the rice & cold water, and letting it stand for an hour or so before slowly bringing it up to heat. I usually let it cook for 17 minutes, then stand for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Tom

[kitchenelf]

Rinse the rice about 3 times with cold water. The third time try to get as much water out as possible. Add the appropriate amount of water or chicken broth for more flavor. Bring the pot up to a boil, put lid on and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes and DO NOT take the lid off and do ever stir. After 20 minutes set it sit with lid on for 10 minutes. Then remove lid and fluff with a fork. Each grain should be separate. Don't mix and mash with a spoon.

The reason the rice is sticky is probably due to overcooking. Also, make sure you buy the extra long grain rice. The shorter the grain the stickier it will be.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by lbb87

Why is long cooking rice stickier than instant rice? What can I do to prevent the long cooking rice from being so sticky?

Instant rice is parboiled, that is, pre-cooked before packaging. As a result, the surface starch that causes the sticking has been removed. All you are doing is hydrating the rice and finishing the cooking.

With long grain rice, if you rinse it well and drain it before cooking according to the package directions, you should not have a problem with sticking.

Kitchenelf's method is a good one as is her suggestion to cook it in something other than water.

I've never tried Tomw's method. I'm not willing to wait almost 2 hours for my rice.

[TomW]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

...I've never tried Tomw's method. I'm not willing to wait almost 2 hours for my rice.

I fully understand.

My dinner preps generally give me lots of lead time for dinner. If I decide rice is on le menu, I put it in soak when I get home from work. Then I get a beer & read email. Then I thaw something if it is not in the refrigerator. Then I ....

You get the idea

Please give my idea a shot at your convenience. I have yet to find anyone else that does it this way or has ever tried it, and am looking for opinions.

Thanks,
Tom

[Michael in FtW]

As for the Instant Rice question: Andy is right. The process of par-boiling the rice cooks off most of the surface starch.

As for Tomw's method: I never tried it, but in theory - all you're doing is pre-soaking the rice, the surface starch will still be in the cooking water ... and it's the starch that makes rice sticky. Now, if Tom forgot to mention that after soaking for an hour he pours the water off ... it's a different story.

What I do with long rice: I put the rice in a bowl and run cold water over it ... swirl it around with my fingers for a minute or two, then pour the rice into a sieve, rinse it off, toss it back in the bowl, and repeat. I repeat this until the water in the bowl is no longer cloudy.
After that - I heat a pot with about 2-Tbsp fat/oil/butter per cup of rice - saute the rice until it's dry and toasty (4-6 minutes) - then add cold water, bring to a boil, slap the lid on and reduce to low for about 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and let sit for at least 10 minutes befire I fluff it with a fork.

[Stevie]

Michael, I used your method. Best rice I've ever made. Thanks