Two typical pieces of rice advice I don't understand how to reconcile are (1) rinse until water runs clear (and maybe even let it soak for a while, as per the Tilda basmati instructions I mentioned, for example) and (2) heat in oil (maybe w some onion added), à la rice pilaf, before adding water/broth. I often see these two pieces of advice given together (in a recent WaPo article on five steps to perfect rice, for example). It seems to me that if you rinse your rice and it goes into the oil wet you'll have a hard time toasting/sautéing it --- unless you wait a really long time after rinsing it to let it drain and dry out some. Is this what people do when they make rice pilaf, or do they skip the rinsing? Or will it toast/sauté well even if it's still somewhat wet?

Hi,

I am not a Basmati fan. It was far more tolerable once I did the 30-minute soak. It is not something I would do with other rices. From what I understand, this soak increases the length of the rice grain.

When Louisa Chu was talking about her youth back in January, I got the impression rice was not as clean as it is today. Picking foreign objects and rinsing was a necessary step. I am not sure how necessary it is today, though people still do it.

I have some Chinese and Italian short grain rices at home presently. When I made sticky rice for a Korean-style meal, I sensed my sister thought I made a mistake on how the rice was prepped.

My Mom has always been a one cup rice to two cups water. In general, I have not had a problem with it. That is until I bought newly harvested rice in Chinatown. I did not realize new rice needs less water, so the first batch was more like rice porridge or Congee.

I do have a fuzzy logic rice cooker, whose cup is not a standard American cup. I use the water level suggested at the side of the cooking pot. It does roughly come to my first joint on my finger. It is a firmer rice than what my Mom makes, though I am not used to it.

If I measure rice to water in the rice cooker, it is not the same rice I can make on the stove. I don't know why this is, either.

I liked the simple days when the only issue was buy long or medium grain rice.

Regards,
Cathy2

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Katie wrote:Two typical pieces of rice advice I don't understand how to reconcile are (1) rinse until water runs clear (and maybe even let it soak for a while, as per the Tilda basmati instructions I mentioned, for example) and (2) heat in oil (maybe w some onion added), à la rice pilaf, before adding water/broth. I often see these two pieces of advice given together (in a recent WaPo article on five steps to perfect rice, for example). It seems to me that if you rinse your rice and it goes into the oil wet you'll have a hard time toasting/sautéing it --- unless you wait a really long time after rinsing it to let it drain and dry out some. Is this what people do when they make rice pilaf, or do they skip the rinsing? Or will it toast/sauté well even if it's still somewhat wet?

I don’t see the conflict. When drained, there will be a small amount of water left which will quickly cook off. Sautéing the rice will create a different texture in the final dish. In general, you are not toasting ( browning) rice before cooking. You are lightly sautéing which will give you more defined grains after cooking.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

When Louisa Chu was talking about her youth back in January, I got the impression rice was not as clean as it is today. Picking foreign objects and rinsing was a necessary step. I am not sure how necessary it is today, though people still do it.

Regards,
Cathy2

My understanding is that you rinse the rice in order to remove the starch from the rice. Removing the starch allegedly keeps the grains of rice from sticking.

I don't notice much difference although I know that I lose rice down the sink when I rinse it.

jlawrence01 wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

When Louisa Chu was talking about her youth back in January, I got the impression rice was not as clean as it is today. Picking foreign objects and rinsing was a necessary step. I am not sure how necessary it is today, though people still do it.

Regards,
Cathy2

My understanding is that you rinse the rice in order to remove the starch from the rice. Removing the starch allegedly keeps the grains of rice from sticking.

I don't notice much difference although I know that I lose rice down the sink when I rinse it.

Growing up, my mom always said rice is dirty thus the required rinsing. But honestly I have no idea if this was legit true or something she learned growing up!

On the rare occasion when I rinse rice, I started using a fine mesh strainer to keep from losing rice. And it's easy to see when the water starts running clear.

I rarely rinse the rice.

For Basmati, I soak it in advance because it is an improved result. My issue with Basmati, I find it too dry. It certainly meets some people's expectations of non-clingy separate rice grains.

Maybe I might make side-by-side batches of rinsed and unrinsed rice, because now I am curious about the difference.

Regards,
Cathy2

I’ve been on a chicken rice kick lately— I’ve been subbing about a tbsp of chicken fat for the olive oil or butter and homemade chicken stock for some or all of the water. And I don’t rinse anymore—now that I use a good rice cooker, I don’t notice any difference.

The Uncle Rodger video above, has made the video private. There is a longer one, from the comedian's youtube channel though, here.

Thanks for the reply above, Lou. I will give rinsing + sautéing a try to see how it works for me --- or better yet, try Cathy's idea above of a side-by-side comparison of batches. I guess I will need to fill out a quadrant of four batches (rinse/no rinse, sauté/no sauté) to see which results I like best.

HI,

When I make a pilaf, I do start the rice in butter or oil, because that is the style for a pilaf. I am not sure you really want to invest time making it with or without sauteing. If you with to make pilaf, that's where you start.

I did this earlier this year and wish to explore it more when the weather cools: Persian-Style Rice with Golden Crust (Chelow). I went to a potluck a few years ago where someone came with this style of rice in a Dutch oven (I think). She had beginners luck with it turning out in one piece all nicely crisped on the bottom. When I made it, well it was chipped out more than sliding out.

Another dish I want to explore is biryani. What I am excited to see? The rice in various hues of golden yellow or reddish color of the rice. I like the visual as much as the taste.

I am keenly interested in rinse or no rinse. I am just starting to think this practice may be a hangover from another era when rice really needed cleaning. People I have talked to informally over the last few days, nobody has been rinsing.

In the same spirit, when was the last time you found a foreign object in commercially processed dried beans? Or when you rinse, do you really see dirt? I do give a quick rinse, but never see anything.

I look forward to your report once done, Katie.

Regards,
CAthy2

I always rinse, never soak, except sticky rice, that I soak as per commonly accepted method.

Proper basmati rice is fluffy, individual grains with no stickiness when cooked. The best basmati is aged, thus dehydrating, for 1 to 2 years.

Cooks Illustrated:
Matched against Indian imports, domestic brands suffered. Indian basmati is aged for a minimum of a year, though often much longer, before being packaged. Aging dehydrates the rice, which translates into grains that, once cooked, expand greatly, and more so than any other long-grain rice. American-grown basmati is not aged and hence doesn't expand as much as Indian-grown rice. American basmati proved not to be nearly as aromatic as Indian-grown basmati, and the cooked grains were soft and stubby.

Luckily, Indian rice is widely available in most supermarkets and costs about the same as domestic. While all of the imported brands we tested were acceptable, tasters overwhelmingly chose the longest sample as their favorite. Our advice if you can't find one of our recommended brands? When shopping, make sure that the label indicates that the rice has been aged.

I just don’t get how you cannot see a difference between rinsed and unrinsed rice. The only rice that I do not rinse is an Uncle Bens type of rice that has been par boiled before packaging.

lougord99 wrote:I just don’t get how you cannot see a difference between rinsed and unrinsed rice. The only rice that I do not rinse is an Uncle Bens type of rice that has been par boiled before packaging.

I look forward to Katie's report and may do one myself.

If you always rinsed, why not try not-rinsing?

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:I did this earlier this year and wish to explore it more when the weather cools: Persian-Style Rice with Golden Crust (Chelow). I went to a potluck a few years ago where someone came with this style of rice in a Dutch oven (I think). She had beginners luck with it turning out in one piece all nicely crisped on the bottom. When I made it, well it was chipped out more than sliding out.

It really almost requires a non-stick pan to work correctly. Check with any Persian folks you know, they have a non-stick pan hidden somewhere.

leek wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I did this earlier this year and wish to explore it more when the weather cools: Persian-Style Rice with Golden Crust (Chelow). I went to a potluck a few years ago where someone came with this style of rice in a Dutch oven (I think). She had beginners luck with it turning out in one piece all nicely crisped on the bottom. When I made it, well it was chipped out more than sliding out.

It really almost requires a non-stick pan to work correctly. Check with any Persian folks you know, they have a non-stick pan hidden somewhere.

I make a quick Asian version a few times a week for breakfast in a small, well-seasoned cast iron pan and it comes out perfectly. I’ve also made Tadig several times in my Misen pan (I like using that one because it’s lightweight, so easier to do the inversion onto the plate). If you follow the recipe (particularly the required amount of oil and proper temp/time), and your pan is properly seasoned, it should work. I’ve never found that I get the right “crisp” using non-stick. Here’s my recipe for the breakfast rice dish if anyone’s interested.

1/2 cup pre-cooked rice
1/2 tbsp sesame oil (Based on my pan—use enough to cover pan with a thin layer of oil.)
2 tsp ponzu (or 1tsp soy sauce + 1 tsp rice vinegar)
1-1.5 Cups of chopped Asian greens/veg (amount depends on what you’re using and how much veg you want—if lots of greens, you’ll need more (any combo of Napa, Bok Choy, Gailan, mustard greens, Sum Choi, zucchini, flowering chives, green onions, mushrooms, spinach, cilantro, Chinese celery, etc.)
1 tsp minced ginger (more if you like a lot of ginger—can add mince garlic instead or in addition as well)
1 large farm egg
Homemade or Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp.
Chopped cilantro for garnish.

Heat small well-seasoned cast iron or frying pan on high for a couple of minutes. Add sesame oil. Heat for a minute then add rice and mash down with spatula so that the bottom of pan is covered edge to edge and rice is flat. Let rice crisp in pan for a couple of minutes. Mix all veg together, including ginger. Add on top of rice and turn heat down to medium. Add Ponzu or Soy sauce/vinegar combo. Cover most of pan with a lid and cook for another 2-3 mins. Crack egg into pan and cover again. Cook egg to desired doneness (I like set whites, runny yolk—I usually cover again and cook for 2-3 mins or so).

Depending on your pan and stove, you’ll want to monitor pretty carefully so that the rice doesn’t burn, but if you use enough oil, it’s pretty forgiving.

Remove from pan with spatula and plate, garnishing with the chili crisp and cilantro.

boudreaulicious wrote:Here’s my recipe for the breakfast rice dish if anyone’s interested.

I'm interested. Saved, going to make later in the week. Thanks for posting.

G Wiv wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Here’s my recipe for the breakfast rice dish if anyone’s interested.

I'm interested. Saved, going to make later in the week. Thanks for posting.

Since I never measure anything, I’ll go do a test run to make sure the amounts are accurate . And when I say it’s quick to make, that’s because I make the rice and chop up a gallon ziploc bag with all the veg and ginger at the beginning of each week...

By the way, the rice made with chicken stock and fat is particularly good in this...come to think of it, it may be a contributing factor as to why the rice crisps up so nicely.

leek wrote:It really almost requires a non-stick pan to work correctly. Check with any Persian folks you know, they have a non-stick pan hidden somewhere.

All my non-stick are frying pans, which I did not use for this. I bet you are right about that aspect.

leek wrote:It really almost requires a non-stick pan to work correctly. Check with any Persian folks you know, they have a non-stick pan hidden somewhere.

We make arroz con gandules with Goya products and Rico rice in a Staub dutch oven. No problem with sticking and a respectable pegao forms.

Rinsing rice also significantly reduces your arsenic exposure.

The Battle to Invent the Automatic Rice Cooker

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/r ... c8c05e4c9a

zoid wrote:Rinsing rice also significantly reduces your arsenic exposure.

Yes, there's that, which is why I started rinsing rice in the last couple of years; I never did before. It's also why I stuck to (ha ha) Lundberg rice for a while:

"In the U.S. as of 2010, about 15 percent of rice acreage was in California, 49 percent in Arkansas, and the remainder in Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas. That south-central region of the country has a long history of producing cotton, a crop that was heavily treated with arsenical pesticides for decades in part to combat the boll weevil beetle."

When enriched rice came about (to help battle vitamin deficiencies), some where around 1956 (at least in North Carolina), there was a big push to not wash rice, as it defeated the purpose of the enrichment. Probably where many US residents learned not to wash rice.

How The French Make Rice = https://www.newyorker.com/culture/kitch ... -make-rice

Dave148 wrote:How The French Make Rice = https://www.newyorker.com/culture/kitch ... -make-rice

I have not read it yet, I bet they boil and drain.

Wrong! I cannot wait for the weather to cool to give this a shot. It sounds fabulous.

Regards,
Cathy2

Cathy2 wrote:

Dave148 wrote:How The French Make Rice = https://www.newyorker.com/culture/kitch ... -make-rice

I have not read it yet, I bet they boil and drain.

Wrong! I cannot wait for the weather to cool to give this a shot. It sounds fabulous.

Regards,
Cathy2

Me too. Merle’s been on a rice kick lately and I want to change things up a bit.