Building a Foundation... for Perfect Rice

Before culinary school, I couldn't make rice. I even struggled with instant rice most of the time. The rice touching the pan was always stuck to the pan and turning different shades of brown or black. The rest of it was either hard as a rock or mushy. It tasted just as good as you think it did. Now that I have a fool-proof way of making it, I absolutely love making rice!

I usually make long grain rice, but I flavor it a million different ways. Today, I will teach you my method. (Another day, I will teach you to make different kinds like coconut rice, Spanish rice, fried rice, cilantro-lime rice, and a citrus rice that goes really well with curry. Yum. Anyone else want Thai and/or Indian food right now? Me too.)

You only need to know a few things about this method. The ratio for rice:water or stock is 1:1.5. (Unless you use brown rice. Then you should use a 1:2 ratio. Also, you will need to increase the cooking time to about 45 minutes.) The only other thing I should mention, please use a saucepan that is oven-proof. You will probably regret it otherwise.

List of ingredients:

About 1 tsp of fat (you can use butter or any kind of oil- you need just enough to coat the rice)
1 c of your favorite long grain rice
1 1/2 c of stock (I usually pick the one that compliments the protein I am making for dinner)
Herbs and spices to taste

Instructions:

Step 1. Gather your ingredients and preheat the oven to 350*F.

Step 2. Melt the fat in a saucepan. You'll want this saucepan to have a lid, or you can just make sure you have some tin foil handy.

Step 3. Add the rice. Stir to coat the rice. Let the rice toast over medium heat for a couple of minutes. You don't want it to brown, but it will start turning white.



Step 4. Add the stock and any spices you are going to use.



Step 5. Increase the temperature so the stock boils. Stirring it occasionally.



Step 6. Cover and place saucepan in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 7. Remove saucepan from the oven and fluff the rice.



Step 8. Serve.

While the rice is cooking, you are free to worry about getting the rest of dinner ready. It is nice to throw it in the oven and let the heat surround it evenly and cook it perfectly. Plus, this rice is great the next day if you have extras!

If you are having a hard time cooking rice like I did, or if you are using instant rice, give this method a try. It is easy and regular long grain rice is usually cheaper than instant rice. (Read: If you can save money in the kitchen, you can have more money to buy cute shoes.)