In the past, I’ve always cooked rice the traditional way. But many times it was too sticky, not done, or burned to the bottom of the pan. I never really enjoyed cooking rice. Until now.
Now, I use the “overwater method” for cooking rice: cooking it in a pot with extra water, like you cook pasta. According to a few different studies, cooking rice in a 5-to-1 ratio of water, and even soaking it overnight, reduces the arsenic in the rice by 50% to 80% (50% just boiling it like pasta; 80% if you soak it overnight and rinse before boiling).
For the overnight soaking method, you measure the amount of rice you want to cook according to your recipe or rice package instructions. Soak the rice overnight in enough water to cover it. Before cooking it, drain the water off, pouring the rice through a sieve or colander. Rinse the rice well. Add it to your soup pot or dutch oven, adding 5 times the amount of water as rice. So for 1 cup of rice, you would add 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. The cooking time will depend on what type of rice you are using. Check the rice for doneness often toward the last third of the cooking time. Once the rice is soft enough to eat, drain off the water, pouring the rice into a colander. Once the rice has drained, fluff and use it, or refrigerate for later use.
Another method of rice cooking is to add rice to a large pan or dutch oven, and fill the pot 3/4 of the way full with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the rice is nearly done, but al dente (still has a bite to it). Remove from the heat, drain it, and turn off the heat to the stove burner. Add the rice back into the pan, add a little amount of fat to the pan (vegan butter in our case), and a little salt. Place the lid on the pan and let the rice rest 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and fluff. Leave uncovered until ready to use.
The recipe below is the method I’ve used for cooking rice for the last year. I love cooking it this way, it’s foolproof. I mean, you could over cook it if you let it boil forever, unattended. But, most people won’t. I don’t soak my rice overnight, mostly because I don’t plan far enough in advance for my cooking. I hope you can try this method! I think you’ll really like it.
- If using jasmine or basmati rice, rinse the rice thoroughly two or three times to remove the starch. This will help to keep the rice grains from becoming sticky and clumping together.
- Bring the water and salt to a boil.
- Add the rice and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until it has reached the desired tenderness.
- Drain the rice into a colander.
- Fluff the rice with a fork and then place the colander of drained rice over a plate to cool.
- Put the rice into a bowl and fluff it with a fork occasionally until ready to use, or refrigerate until later use.
Love it! Do you have a source for the reduction in arsenic from soaking overnight? I’ve seen studies showing the higher water ratios re: arsenic reduction (even steeper drops at a 10-1 ratio if you have room in a pot) but the soaking was new to me!
Thanks
I’m sorry, I only have google for sources and have seen it mentioned by several people online. Since I cook my rice that way anyway, I didn’t do heavy research into the arsenic reduction, considering it just a side benefit to doing what I already do! It makes sense that more water would lead to further arsenic reduction, though. Thanks for your comment. I’ve been moving for two months and am just now checking in.