Cooking rice can be a minefield, but one home cook's recipe could help ensure your rice is perfectly cooked and full of flavour — and all you need is one common ingredient from your fridge.
Why Rice Can Be Tricky
If you've ever attempted to cook rice from scratch without falling back on boil-in-the-bag packets or microwaveable pouches, you'll know just how fiddly the process can be. Without a dedicated rice cooker, you need to make sure you've used precisely the right amount of water so your rice doesn't catch on the bottom, but equally isn't still soggy once it's done. Plain rice can also taste rather bland, so it's hardly surprising that people often try to inject some flavour by adding a splash of sesame or coconut oil to the pan, or by cooking the rice in chicken stock instead of plain water.
The Simple Solution
However, according to one woman on social media, you don't need to bother with either of those ingredients to achieve perfect rice. All you require is one everyday ingredient from your fridge, and a little patience. Naveen Jaspal regularly shares recipes and cooking tips online, and recently uploaded a TikTok video in which she revealed her foolproof approach to making perfect basmati rice each and every time.
Naveen said: "I was asked over the weekend how I make my rice, so I'm going to show you the easiest way. The only thing is, there are multiple opinions on this. I believe my way is the best way."
Step-by-Step Method
The woman started by scooping her rice into a cup to measure out the portion she wished to prepare. She then transferred her rice into a saucepan and rinsed it thoroughly to remove excess starch. Before doing anything further, she left her rice to soak in fresh water for "at least 20 minutes".
Once the rice had soaked, Naveen drained away the water and used the very same cup she had measured her rice with to add one cup of fresh water. This would be the water her rice cooks in, and it should be precisely the right amount, as it creates an exact one-to-one ratio by using the identical cup throughout.
Then came her secret ingredient. Rather than reaching for stock or oil, Naveen dropped a knob of butter into her pan.
She said: "I'm going to put this on the hob on a medium heat and keep an eye on it. Once I see the water start bubbling, I'm going to turn it down to setting one or two on the gas, and then I'm going to watch for it to run out of water."
"This is a really important part: you never, ever stir your rice."
Naveen explained that you can use a spoon to nudge a small section of the rice aside to check whether any water remains, but you should avoid stirring it altogether. Once the water has fully evaporated, switch off the hob and allow the rice to steam for a further 5 minutes.
She added: "And that, ladies and gents, is how you make rice."
General Rice Cooking Tips
There are many different techniques when it comes to cooking rice, and while Naveen uses a 1:1 ratio of rice to water, most recipes will tell you to use a 1:2 ratio, so you use twice as much water as rice.
You can follow these steps as a general rule for cooking rice:
- Rinse: Measure your rice and place it in a fine-mesh sieve. Rinse under cold water, gently moving the rice around with your hand until the water runs mostly clear.
- Add water: Place the washed rice in a saucepan and add cold water. The general rule of thumb for white rice is double the amount of water to your rice, and half a teaspoon of salt per cup of rice.
- Boil: Bring the uncovered pot to a rolling boil over a medium-high heat.
- Cover and simmer: Once boiling, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid. Let the rice simmer undisturbed for around 15-18 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.
- Steam: Remove the pan from the heat and let the rice steam in the pot for another 10 minutes. Once this is done, you can take the lid off and gently fluff the grains with a fork to separate them.
