Why do most of us struggle to make perfect rice on the stovetop at home? The answer, Dan claims, is the standard ratio is working against us. It’s not our fault!
Buy our winning probe thermometer:
Buy our winning sauce pan:
Buy our winning rice cooker:
Browse our rice recipes:
Follow Dan on Facebook:
Follow Dan on Instagram:
Follow Dan on Twitter:
Check out our Is it Bad? series with Hannah Crowley:
ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America’s Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
If you like us, follow us:
Related posts
26 Comments
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
So for how long should I cook the rice on a simmer after it started to boil?
I cook Jasmine with a 2:1 ratio. Perfect each time. 1 C Rice: 2C Water. Boil the water, add the rice, put on low for 15 min. Perfection.
I have understood the rice ratio lie for a long time, however, I never thought to sous-vide the rice with exactly the right amount of water!! Nicely done! I also didn't think it would work for every type of rice, as most cookbooks give differing amounts of water for each type of rice, so good work for sorting that out for us!
Did the sous-vide method 1;1 ratio in individual bags, cook and freeze. Perfect and fast to thaw for any quick meal. Thank you.
2:23 like how much did it take? in minutes please
On page 159 of the great “Ken Hom’s Chinese Cookery,” Ken harm lays out essentially the same knuckle rule with this interesting twist: with the water at 1 inch above the rice, you bring it to a boil, and leave it uncovered until the water reaches the level of the rice. Then you cover it for 15-20 minutes.
Seven minutes and thirty seven seconds to say just that?!?
water(rice) = rice + c
where rice is amount of rice in grams and c is water to evaporate in ml. This function gives you amount of water required to make the rice in ml
I just tried the thermostat method and it cooked way too long and came out with horrible rice. For whatever reason, it took about 40 minutes to cook 2 cups of rice. The result was gummy with some burnt bits.
Very informative, thank you!
Sorry, Dan, but i still like bacon better than you?
Brown rice required 1:2 ratio, at least on my stove (electric) in a 16cm cast iron pot
The best way to cook rice? Buy a damn rice cooker fool!
You are so terrific. Thank you so much. How do I get that Japanese rice sprinkle? Have a nice weekend too. Mark
I've tried this so many times and end up with a pan full of pebbles. I'm just getting a rice cooker
Stop the music!
Dan, do these techniques also work with brown rice? That always ends up soggy at my house.
Good for those that live near sea level. For those that live at a higher elevation ratios are a bit trickier/ and it also depends on the amount of heat applied to the pot while the rice is cooking. So I use a pressure cooker and place the wire rack and support inside of the pressure cooker. Then I add 2 cups of water to the bottom of the pressure cooker pot. Next I use a stainless steel bowl which will hold 1 cup of brown rice and 1 and 1/2 cups of water. I heat the pressure cooker with the lid assembled until the stem comes out of the vent and set the pressure to 10 lbs. In a timed 20 minutes of cooking time under pressure, I turn the heat off and let the pressure naturally reduce until there is no longer any pressure inside the pressure cooker, about 20 minutes or so. The red indicator button falls and when I turn the valve to open there is no pressure escaping the pot. . I use a TFal dual pressure cooker. In the past I have also used a Mirror pressure cooker which uses the dual rings for the pressure toggle, one ring for 10 lbs and two rings for 15lbs pressure. If you hasten the pressure drop by running the cooker under cold water for a quick reduction of pressure, the rice will splatter all over the inside of the pot.
just buy a rice cooker
Now that makes sense I like it
1:1 has never steered me wrong in 30+ years of cooking rice
why not use a 1:1 ratio and then just pour in a half cup extra water?
As always Dan makes things more complicated, than they have to be.
I LOVE all "What's Eating Dan" series! Both fun and helpful! Dan is awesome! I find this video about rice exceptionally helpful!
Very nicely done! Thanks.
Something my moms been doing: heating the rice till boiling, then taking the pot of, wrapping it in a normal cotton blanket and waiting maybe 20 min. It comes out perfect each time.