How to cook steamed rice?

Everyone loves crumbly rice, however, not every housewife knows how to cook it properly. Cooking rice is one of the most unloved activities for inexperienced cooks.The reason for this is that with any violation of technology, the rice either burns or remains uncooked. Thus, instead of a tasty porridge or savory side dish, you can get stuck together a lot of taste and smell.

Steamed long grain rice is a type of cereal, which experienced chefs prefer when cooking quality main dishes. Thanks to the sparing technology of pretreatment of cereal, the nutrients are preserved in 80% of the grain, and the grits prepared from such grains remain crumbly and nutritious. Nowadays, the shops offer a variety of rice cereals - it is white, brown and brown, as well as yellow and even black.

Steamed grain looks slightly transparent, it has a slight light yellowish tint and is stronger in comparison with the usual white grains. Parboiled rice is not a separate varietal variety of the crop, but only a method of processing the harvested grains with high temperature steam. As a result of this heat treatment, starch molecules begin to bind, which just gives the rice porridge significant viscosity and makes the dish sticky. That is why the problem is to boil well the steamed cereal, practically not worth it.

This product is extremely popular with supporters of the ideas of healthy lifestyles and proper nutrition - it contains a significant number of complex carbohydrates and fiber useful for the intestines, as well as a good set of mineral elements. When treating with hot steam, more than 80% of the nutrients accumulated in the cereal envelope, goes directly into rice, they become more nutritious and much less fragile. The characteristic yellowish color of steamed grain disappears when boiled, and the porridge becomes as milky white as when cooking ordinary round rice.

When the housewives cook the usual white rice, they remove the starch from it in advance - for this, the grains are soaked in cool water for several times and then washed until the liquid is completely transparent. Steamed rice loses a significant part of starch already at the processing stage, so cooking it is much easier than usual. Nevertheless, a certain amount of the substance still remains inside the grains, so before cooking it should be prepared.

To do this, take the required volume of cereals and prepare a pan, the volume of which at least twice exceeds the volume of grains. Rice is poured into a container, filled with cool water and soaked for a couple of minutes. Then it is necessary to wash the croup, for this you need to move the grains in the water with your hands, as if gently massaging them, the movements should be light, you should not press on the grains with an effort.

After these manipulations, the water will become slightly turbid - this is starch, coming out of rice, polluted water should be drained and all actions should be repeated. It is advisable to wash the rice for at least 5 minutes so that the water is changed three times. There is another way - rice is filled with water and left for 30-40 minutes, after which the liquid is drained, the croup is placed in a colander and thoroughly shaken. Thus, the raw materials eliminate excessive moisture.

Parboiled rice, as a rule, is boiled for about 25-30 minutes, this is due to the fact that after the factory steaming, the grains become much stronger and boil worse. Many housewives believe that once steamed rice can not be digested - then you can not follow the time when cooking. This is a big mistake. Yes, the steamed cereal is not boiled soft, however, it can burn, so try cooking to adhere to the established recommendations. Otherwise, instead of appetizing crumbly porridge, you risk getting a tasteless and absolutely useless product. Steamed rice is boiled in a proportion of 2 cups of ordinary water per 1 cup of rice.

Experienced culinary specialists have many secrets of cooking rice dishes. The classic traditional recipe assumes a relatively long boiling of cereals - in this situation, all the vitamin and mineral value of the grain is kept to the maximum. To begin with, the grits should be washed and left in water for 10-15 minutes, then placed on the stove and cook on low heat for about 7 minutes.

No need to stir the contents of the pan, as this will release starch, and instead of appetizing crumbly rice, you will get a dense lump of indefinite structure. After the allotted time, the water is drained and the rice is dried.

Washed grains are placed in a hot skillet and fried until the moisture evaporates completely - here the agitations do not harm at all. After this treatment, the rice is placed in boiling water and cooked for another ten minutes. At the end of work the porridge is thrown back on a sieve or colander and washed with cool water, and then sent back to the pan with butter. There are other options for cooking rice porridge.

• Rice is placed in a thick-walled pot and pour hot water, while the ratio of grain and liquid should be about 1 to 1.5. Then you need to put the pot on the stove and bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the flame, cover with a lid and cook for about half an hour. Salt, add butter and simmer for another 7-10 minutes.
• If you bought rice in bags, then cook it easy. For this, the billet is placed in a saucepan, poured with water and cooked over low heat without a lid for 20-25 minutes from the moment of boiling. Salt water should be immediately. As soon as the cereal is fully prepared, it is necessary to pick up the bag and place it in a colander in order to get rid of unnecessary moisture. After that, the bag is moved onto a plate and cut.

• Owners of multicookers can cook crumbly dish in it. To do this, rice is poured into the cooking capacity of the device at the rate of 1 cup of grains 2 glasses of water, rice must be washed in advance, and water can be used any - even from under the tap. The rice is cooked in the “porridge” mode, in some modifications of the multivarks a special option “Rice” is provided - then it is better to choose this mode. Cooking typically lasts about 25 minutes. After the device is turned off, the grits should be set aside for another 6-7 minutes, and then served.
• Steamed rice can be cooked in a double boiler. - then you fully preserve all its nutritional properties. Before cooking the grain, rinse thoroughly, and then additionally soak in heated water for 25-30 minutes, drain in a colander and allow the liquid to drain completely - this will take about 10-15 minutes. For 1 cup of cereal, take 2 cups of water and place in a double boiler - this dish is made about 20 minutes, the yield of the product is 3 cups of an appetizing side dish. In the process, you can sprinkle rice with lemon juice or add a little butter, while the porridge will become more airy and fragrant.
• In the microwave You can also cook rice porridge. To begin with, rinse the grain thoroughly and then transfer it to a container that can be used for microwave. Keep in mind that rice when cooking significantly increases in volume, so it should not take more than half a bowl. Prepare the dish with the lid tightly closed for about 15 minutes, and then leave it in the oven for the same time - then the cereal will become even softer and much softer.

Regardless of which cooking method you choose, there are a few basic principles for cooking steamed grain, following which will allow you to get the most nutritious and delicious dish.

1. Before cooking rice must be rinsed in water.Starch in the steamed grain is almost absent, but some of it remains - it is better to get rid of it in advance.
2. If you want to get a side dish as quickly as possible, it is better to pre-soak the grain for 30-40 minutes.
3. It is better to cook rice in a cooking container with a thick bottom, because in this case the dishes will warm up evenly, and the cereal will not start to stick to the walls of the pan.
4. Keep in mind that steamed rice when boiling increases at least 2 times, most often in 3.
5. This option of cereal is quite suitable for crumbly pilaf.
6. For a family of 4 it is enough to take 1 cup of cereal. By preparing this amount of grain, you will receive the required number of large portions of a side dish.
7. Steamed rice is not suitable for rolls and sushi, because they need a sticky mass - steamed cereal will give only crumbly grains that can not be rolled into a roll.
8. To make porridge as tasty as possible, after cooking, open the lid and cover the pan with a towel. Similarly, all the excess moisture will leave the rice.
9. For lovers of original and unusual food, you can recommend colored cereals - to get bright yellow grains, you can add curry or turmeric, and if you fry boiled grains with beet juice, you can get a rich burgundy dish. In this case, roasting should be carried out until the characteristic root flavor has evaporated.
10. Parboiled rice is stored in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days. Enjoy your meal!

You will learn more about how to cook steamed rice in the following video.