Sometimes when I'm making Mexican dishes, I'll add some chopped up onion, cumin, chile powder and cinnamon. Even better if it's cooked in chicken broth.

I have all but given up on making rice -- it always comes out either burned or hard. Any tips?

I often add a couple of bashed cardamom pods, and, depending what the rice is to go with, a star anise.

Apointe - a rice cooker is a great thing!

apointe -- I bring my water to a boil, whisk in the rice, and then turn the heat down to medium-low. I simmer it, with the lid on, for about 40-45 minutes. This method always works pretty well for me (or, alternatively, get a rice cooker -- you can pick one up for about $20 and they work fabulously.)

I like to add tomato paste, garlic, cumin, and onions to rice when I'm serving it alongside Mexican dishes. Or I mix some with hummus for a quick lunch or snack.

Oh, I should point out that I typically cook medium-grain brown rice.

I have apointe's problem - with quinoa as well as with rice. Maybe I should skip the seasoning and use the burnt-ness in my favor: anyone have tips on "stuck pot" rice?

My partner cooks no fail rice every single time. In a small pot, combine 1 unit rice and 2 units water. For example, 1 cup rice and 2 cups water. Then add a dollop of olive oil or a little butter. Stir. Put on high heat. When the water boils, open the lid, stir ONCE, then put the lid back on and turn the heat down as low as it will possibly go. When you can't see the water anymore, turn OFF the heat and wait 5 minutes. Perfect rice every time.

I use cardamom pods and sometimes even turmeric! Just a liiiittle tiiny bit of it, makes the rice a nice yellow colour, and adds a very subtle flavour. Sometimes I grind some black pepper over the rice after it's done cooking, gives it kind of a smoky flavour.

My no-fail method of cooking ANY kind of grain is to cook it like pasta - in a large amount of salted boiling water. When it's tender, drain it and then throw it back in the pot with the lid on to keep warm until you need it.

You do lose some of the nutrients in the water, but the really essential ones are still in the grain itself. And if you're to the point where you're going to stop making rice anyway, trying this method is better than nothing!

cloves & fennel seed

Apointe, get a cheap rice cooker at target, can't go wrong.

I put my rice in the pot, then add a little sesame oil (enough to coat the rice). Then I add a bay leaf, a piece of cinnamon bark, and a few cloves. Swirl the mix around until the rice is coated, then add the water and cook as you would normally. Delicious and a great alternative to regular white rice.

I love to put turmeric in rice - it makes the rice turn an absolutely beautiful yellow color, and it gives it a really subtle flavor that makes it a lot more exciting.

Soy sauce, peas, chopped onion, a little ginger, and just a tiny dash of vinegar. It's not quite fried rice, but it's a good side dish.

I cook my rice in the crock pot-- three cups of short-grain brown rice, four and a half cups of water, and three to four hours on low. This makes a pretty sticky rice, but if you halve the proportions, it comes out loose. I have no idea why.

My fool-proof rice method is nice because it involves no measuring (at least not using measuring cups) and turns out great pretty much every time.

Put whatever amount of rice you want into a saucepan (one you have a lid for).
Add water slowly - at the same time extend your index finger and place the tip of that finger just at the surface of the rice. Continue adding water until the water reaches the first knuckle of your finger.
Place the pot on high heat until it begins to boil, then put a lid on it and reduce the heat as far down as it can go.
Leave it on low heat for 20 minutes, then remove from heat, uncover, and fluff - should be perfect! You can replace the lid to keep the rice warm and moist for a while.

I use this for various white rice varieties, amounts vary from 1 to 3 cups I'd say. Not sure if it would work on very large quantities or anything, as I've not tried it.

As to the topic of the post - I don't make rice that often as a side dish (usually part of the main dish if I'm doing stirfry) but I might give it a shot with some of the seasonings suggested here!

It's not really a seasoning, but sometimes I make coconut rice by replacing some of the water with coconut milk. You may need to add a bit more water than usual to make up for the thickness of the coconut milk. A pinch of salt helps to bring out the sweetness. It's perfect with a nice saucy curry!

I almost always add soy sauce, garlic, onions, and shredded carrot to the rice while cooking it, and I cook it in veggie stock, instead of water.

Apointe

I use a Zojirushi rice maker with fuzzy logic. It's a bit more on the expensive side but it has worked perfectly for everything I have put in it. I use it for quinoa and steel cut oats as well. It's great because I just pop them in and it takes care of all the work and plays a song when it is ready. I can also set it up in the morning and set the timer on it so the rice will be done right as I get home (for when I am having a quick dinner). My roommate uses it for unconventional things and has a rice maker cook book.

@apointe, here's my rice method (works with plain old white rice, calrose, basmati, & jasmine). For enough to feed two adults, boil two cups water in a heavy pot. Once the water is boiling, add 1 1/2 cups of rice, stir, lower the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork (bring the fork all around the edge of the pot, and lift the rice up from the bottom of the pot). It can be served at this point or it can sit, covered, to keep warm.

I use a calphalon pot for this, as the le creuset type of enameled cast iron tends to get too hot (making the rice burn instead of simmer).

I can't seem to make brown rice in a rice cooker.

So I bake it. It's Alton Brown's method. Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a small baking dish. Bring the water to a boil (same proportions as stovestop) on the stove, then pour over the rice in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for about 1 hour.

It's perfect every time.

My parents always cook rice in water with bouillon. I use chicken broth now.

I will 2nd the greatness of the Zojirushi. We got it primarily to have an easy way to make sticky rice- but it's nice to save burner space too.

What solved my long standing rice cooking issues was getting rid of the 2:1 ratio, it's not the same for all rice. Oddly reading the bag instructions cleared up the aldente or soupy experiences I'd had in the past.

Not being a rice loving kid, I DID love it when my dad would add curry powder, some salt and raisins to rice (before cooking) man, I could eat just that for dinner (still.)

oh my gosh so many options!

i usually add a boullion cube the water, so that adds flavor right off the bat.

1. my mom puts a handful of fried onions into the cooking water and steeps for a couple of minutes before adding the water. delicious.

2. i love toasting whole spices a bit of oil - usually what south asians call kaala zeera - "black cumin" (i'm not sure what it is called in english!") and then add the rice to the now-cuminy oil, then water.

3. if i'm doing a stir fry and making rice in a rice cooker along side, i add soy sauce and chopped bok choy to the rice cooker.

Alton Brown's baked brown rice method is the best! That's the only way I make rice now and it always turns out great.

i make a lot of mexican rice.
a little bit of veggie oil throw in the rice, some diced tomatoes, onions and bell pepper. and stir until the rice gets really toasty. add the bouillon (tomato and chicken flavor) add some garlic powder, ground comino some pepper and add the water until rice is done. After all the water is evaporated and rice is done I top the rice with chopped cilantro. Pico de gallo on top makes it even better. yum!

Cinnamon stick, usually. Sometimes a couple whole cloves and peppercorns instead.

We have a $15 rice cooker we bought at Target and we use it for everything from rice to quinoa. Makes good oatmeal, too!

I love rice with cilantro but have never been sure how to make it. When I've eaten it at restaurants, the cilantro is still all green and the rice has a lime-cilantro flavor. Any ideas on that? Add when the rice is cooked? Or before?

I read an easy method for perfect rice in a pot every time and have used it many times with success. I don't like the idea of a rice cooker for a job that is so simple. It's like buying an appliance to boil potatoes in.

1. Rinse the rice and soak it until the grains turned very white.
2. Drain and add 2x the amount of water as rice (e.g.,1.5 cups rice, 3 cups water) in a heavy bottom pot with a well-fitting lid.
3. Heat uncovered until it starts to boil.
4. Put a lid on it, turn the heat down low and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not touch the lid!
5. Turn off the heat, allow the rice to sit unheated with the lid on for 20 minutes. Rice is done perfectly.

There's no need for salt, oil, etc. The rice will turn out perfect. The pan also should not be hard to clean as long as you don't allow the rice residue to dry out. Just fill the pot with water and let it sit while you eat, or just keep the lid on if you leave rice in it while you eat.

The only problem with this method is you can't add things during cooking as this post discusses.

I often add a couple of bashed cardamom pods, and, depending what the rice is to go with, a star anise.