Rinse it well, and throw it in the rice cooker.

Funny, for years making rice tortured me--could never get it to come out right, always too dry or too wet or something. Then somehow something clicked, I guess I just figured out the proportions and timing.

I usually make white basmati or jasmine rice, on the stove top. One part rice to about 1-3/4 parts water, bring to boil, turn down to lowest heat, cover, and cook about 15 minutes. Pretty foolproof.

Rice cooker. Set it and forget it.

I agree with clampers. Use a rice cooker. Ours is old and was a cheap model to begin with, and it still turns out perfect rice.

i cook rice like pasta - throw it in lots of salted boiling water, keep tasting it until it's done, then drain and serve. never once turned out bad. ever.

I eat mostly jasmine rice (new crop rice is the best if you can find it). Wash it of its surface starch, until the water is mostly clear. Then add water until it is roughly double the height of the rice. Stick it in my Zojirushi rice cooker, set it for regular rice cooking and wait until it is done (~30 minutes on normal setting).

I cook mostly basmati and I like my rice on the drier side.
1 :2 ratio of rice to water into a small pot (anodized bottom) and cover and about 20 min. Comes out great everytime.

I could never get brown rice to turn out well, until I tried Alton Brown's baked brown rice:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html

Turns out perfectly every time.

Rice cooker for everything. Short grain rice just use the included measuring cup and water goes up to the markings. Or if you've lost it then water up to the first joint of your thumb when it's resting on the rice. Basmati uses 2 c water for 1 cup rice. Can't get any simpler. Can even sauté rice with garlic, onions butter or olive oil in a frying pan then throw it in the rice cooker with water or stock and a little white wine or sake for easy pilaf.

well-rinsed rice and a rice cooker, definitely.

One part rice to two parts water. Throw it all in the pot together, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, cook for 10-20 minutes depending on amount , check to see if the water has been absorbed; if not, cook for a little longer if there is a lot of water. If it is only slightly watery I let it sit covered for a few minutes and that takes care of it. I used to rinse but discovered no discernible difference.

I'm "trying" to be a minimalist! So a rice cooker is just one more thing I don't need to clutter my kitchen. I just throw white rice (organic basmati) in a pan with a little less water than the 2 water: 1 rice ratio, boil it uncovered until there are holes on the top layer of rice and it looked like bubbling lava, put a lid on it and turn it down to the second lowest setting and let it cook until I see little to no steam leaving and then I turn it off for a couple of minutes before uncovering...perfect every time!

Way my mother learned from her mother. I think most Chinese cooks have learned this one.

Take any amount of rice and a suitable sized pot.. Level it off. Add water, till when you touch the top of the rice, the water comes up to your first knuckle. Depending on how you want it done (wetter, drier) adjust from there. Heat to boil, turn it to low. Should be done in about 5-10 (longer for whole grains...). Works every time. No measuring cups. If it sucks up all the water and is still dry, you can always add a bit more water at the end.

I have always done it stovetop and have figured out a little trick.

• Use a couple of tablespoons more water than is called for in the directions
• Set the flame very low for the simmer
• Shut off flame a few minutes before expected
(white rice - 17 min. instead of 20 and for brown rice, 45 min. instead of 50)
• let rice stand in the pot without opening lid and it will release all the grains on the bottom

I'm another rice cooker aficionado. Recently learned I can use to make quinoa too.

Rice cooker and coconut milk or chicken stock in place of water.

Ooh, that reminds me--the other week I made Jamie Oliver's chicken in milk, and per some commenter's suggestion I threw a cup of rice into the pot around the chicken. Partway through it started to dry out so added some water (next time will add more liquid from the start)--but when it was done it was AMAZING. Rice baked in milky, chicken-y liquid, like savory rice pudding. That is definitely my favorite new way to cook rice!

There is no such thing as perfect rice imo, it's just too highly opinionated leading it to be a very variable opinion. Some people love it "wetter" or drier than others. I prefer mine a tad on the dry side of the average wetness of rice. For me it's all by eye, I've cooked rice enough times to get a nice feel for it (Filipino descent). I don't go by ratios or anything, more by water level. I do about 3 cups of rice, and 3 cold rinses, and load it with water till just about half an inch above the rice level, and use a rice cooker, same with using a pot (pot cooking boil it, when it foams (this can get messy if you've never been taught it), open the lid enough to release the pressure, but try to keep it as covered, and reduce till you think it looks good.). Rice cooker definately is the way to go for novices though, try to get one with settings so you have more control over the cooking if you'd like. Also, keeping rice, I'd suggest let it cool a bit, transfer it to a tupperware, then let it cool to room temp before covering and sticking in the fridge, the "sweat" it generates is bad for it if its warm I believe (I've had rice go bad on me in hours a few times because I rushed this). Again, rice preference is variable, if you want it wetter go for more water, drier, go for less. Type of rice as well. Shorter the more sticky it is, thus you need more water to cook. anyways, that's my methods. :P

A rice cook really does the best job.

But if I don't have one available I do it this way:

Wash the rice (I only use Basmati and Jasmin), fry in a little bit of butter until it's all glassy then add water (1:2 ratio - rice to water). Cover and let simmer until water is gone. That usually takes about 20 minutes for one cup of rice. You can see that the water is gone by lightly tilting the pan - if the rice stays where it's at, it's probably done. I also salt the rice when cooking it.

I mean a RICE COOKER not a rice cook.

It definitely all depends on the rice and the dish.

- long-grain: rinse until water runs clear, add fresh water up to first knuckle, set rice cooker. i buy 50lb bags so at the end of a bag, it needs more water than at the beginning.
- basmati and sushi/japanese medium grain: rinse, soak 30 min, drain 1 hr, add water (sometimes fresh, sometimes reserved from soak), set rice cooker.
- arborio: add hot liquid little by little and stir on stovetop.
- bomba/paella: saute with aromatics, add liquid, no stirring, toast the bottom at the end.
- fried rice: only use leftover cold rice! never ever freshly cooked.

I always burn rice if I do it on the stove, so I love my little $20 rice cooker. It makes it so much easier! I'm lazy about it, I just toss the rice and water in, and let it cook, then do everything else while I wait.

I have never, and I really do mean never, been able to make a single decent batch of rice. It's been a disaster every time...even with a rice cooker. My mom and siblings can make perfect rice in their sleep, so I joke that I missed the rice-making gene in our family. I haven't attempted to make rice in many years (I rely on Trader Joe's frozen rices), but Brooklynnina's rice-making transformation gives me inspiration to try again. :)

I cooked rice (come to think of it, exclusively short-grain white) in a pot using the methods above (rinse well, bring to a boil, turn down to low, leave the lid on, etc) for several years. There's a little rhyme in Japanese for it, and I could never remember the steps until I remembered the rhyme:
初めちょろちょろ、中ぱっぱ　赤子泣いても　ふたとるな
which is essentially "First choro-choro, then pa-ppa: even if the baby cries, don't take off the lid!"

I always thought that this was the sound of the quick boil first, then waiting through the simmer to when the rice is almost dry and pops a little, and the admonition to let it sit and steam before you take the lid off and serve. I may have interpreted it wrong, but it worked for me!

The end of the story is now I have a rice cooker but no heavy-bottomed pots (college apartment), so I cook short-grain white and brown rice in my rice cooker (never a problem!). I don't regret the switch at all; I can cook more rice at a time, and walk away from the process if I like. My cooker even plays music when the rice is done.

Unmeasured amount of rice - enough water to cover - bring to a boil for about 5 mins - drain & rinse - then the secret ala Jaimie Oliver - use a steamer basket of some kind to finish off for 8 to 10 mins. I haven't been able to over or under cook with this method and the rice comes out perfect every time.

I cook my rice in the rice cooker now -- it has a different setting for the brown rice, which I find really makes a difference (lower temp, not just longer!). Before the rice cooker, I always cooked white rice on the stovetop, pilaf style, bring to the boil and then down to the lowest setting on the stovetop, let sit for 10 minutes with the lid on. Brown rice got cooked in the oven, as our stovetop at the time was a little finicky and the oven temp was more even.

definitely use a rice cooker.

Wash the rice well, then i measure the water up to the middle of the first joint of my index finger from the top of the rice.

Never fails. Nice and fluffy every time.

If I don't use a rice cooker, then it's bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Then turn of the heat and let it sit there for another 10-15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and done!

I've been using a combination of Haiga-mai (half milled Japanese rice) and basmati. I like this combo as both rices can cook at the same rate.
I'm not a big fan of brown rice but really like the taste of Haiga-mai so, hopefully, I'm getting some nutritional benefit.
I use my rice cooker in about a 1:1 ratio of water to rice since getting new crop rices. They seem to need less water.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/496244

Rice cooker, but I like pilaf style, which is nearly impossible to mess up.

I grew up eating rice at least 5-7 days a week for the last 26 years and have eaten rice that's been prepared using many many methods from stovetop, baking, and multiple types of rice cookers.

With that said, I strongly recommend high-end Zojirushi and Tiger brand rice cookers. I just got a Zojirushi NP-HBC18 10-Cup (Amazon.com @ $250) that uses both Fuzzy Logic and Induction Heating and it consistently makes the best rice I've ever tasted with little to no guess work. Just follow the measurements for water/rice and you’ll have perfect fluffy rice. You can program it to cook soft, normal, hard, or sushi rice and also make congee. It also has a setting for GABA Brown Rice which makes the best brown rice I've ever had as well.

These models are indeed pricey but when eating rice is part of your culture and something you enjoy on a daily basis, it only makes sense to have the best rice that is prepared quickly with little prep and clean up. To justify the cost, a good comparison of this mindset would be relating expensive rice cookers with expensive coffee/expresso makers. Many Americans spend a lot of money on nice coffee makers because they make better coffee than the cheap $10 models from Walmart. They justify their expense because a daily cup of joe is something that’s enjoyed every morning.

Rice cooker. We just upgraded to a "fuzzy logic" one that makes perfect brown rice and congee, as well as plain white rice (our old - but cheap! - rice maker only made perfect white rice). They're definitely worth finding space in your kitchen.

This recipe for BROWN RICE we got from Good Eats never fails:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Boil enough water for 2 1/2 cups

In casserole dish with cover (or use foil), mix together 1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. olive oil

Stir in 2 1/2 cups boiling water

Cook, covered, for one hour

Firm but not dry, chewy, etc.

One of these days we'll get around to buying a rice cooker, but until then this is great. Tastes great and don't have to clean up the stove.

When I lived in England all the rice I made had directions that resembled the pasta cooking method-- boil until soft and rinse when it's the texture you like. Easy!

I haven't tried it with the rice in the US, but I'm hoping it can be done the same way despite all the "lower heat and fluff with fork when finished" nonsense.

I was a great rice-maker in the UK and feared it in the US, hence no cooking of rice since I've gotten back (3 years)!

Jasmine rice is my favorite! I haven't ever used a rice maker but it's so easy to make on the stove, who needs a special contraption? I just use the directions on the bag (I've got it taped inside my cupboard). Put 1 cup rice and 1.5 cup water in a medium pan, bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover for 20 minutes and it's done.

I guess I don't need that little piece of plastic taped inside my cupboard anymore... :)

Rice cooker. Any kind of rice, or even quinoa, gets the same treatment - measure with the little cup, and fill to appropriate mark on the side. Perfect every time!

I have failed at rice on the stove many times. Don't know why, I can handle many more complicated tasks...

archimom: I may have to try this. I've been cooking my steel cut oats like this recently (only takes 30 min at 375) and have loved the results. Thanks for the tip!

So many ways! I like short grain brown rice or white basmati rice for different things. I love my rice cooker for certain things and the 'pasta method' for other things. I also really like the Iranian rice that you get that has the crispy shell around it - I'm terrible at making it but it's so good!

Rice cookers are a BAD idea. My husband was taught how to make the best Basmati rice from an amazing chef in New Jersey. First you heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a sauce pan to medium heat. Throw the washed rice in. About one cup. Stir around with a wooden spoon until the rice is turns clear. Then add a full glass of water. At any point you should add minced onions and some crushed and minced garlic. Add salt and pepper, plus garlic salt. Taste the water. If the water tastes good then your rice will taste good, if it is bland, then your rice will be bland. My husband usually adds a bouillon cube. Usually you need to add another full glass of water. Cook until the rice is soft and the water is evaporate, stirring with a wooden spoon throughout. The rice will come out perfect every time. This is trully the best and only way to cook basmati rice.

For basmati - find a Persian Mom and do whatever it takes to get her to teach you to make chelo and tadig. The chelo is the cooked basmati and the tadig is the browned/toasted rice on the bottom of the pot - they are treated as separate dishes.

For everything else - a steamer or rice cooker.

How about some opinions on rinsing rice.

I am a believer in rinsing and soaking all white rices. Brown rice, I usually rinse and precook a little bit in the microwave to jump start the cooking.

Twice as much water as rice. Bring water to boil, stir in rice. Cover and turn down heat to almost off. Let cook for 20 minutes. Stir in some salt and butter. Eat :)

I have used a rice cooker, and I loved it, but it's just one more electric appliance for me to find a place for.

Rice cooker is the easiest way. I usually soak the washed rice in water for 10-15 mins before turning it on. The rice comes out soft and fluffy.

I got my rice cooker for $60-$70 5 years ago and replaced the inner pot when it got scratched alot. I love it.

Actually, there is such a thing as a Persian Rice Cooker. Both National and Royal Cook make them and they will make the Tahdig. Najmieh Batmanglij in her book New Food of Life gives instructions on how to make Persian rice in the National Deluxe. Apparently Persian rice cookers do not use
fuzzy logic........

Here is a little more:
http://mypersiankitchen.com/?p=1069
http://www.chow.com/recipes/11067

Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet. I use Julie Sahni's recipe for cooking basmatic rice in the microwave! It doesn't save any time, but the rice is perfect and is already in a nice serving bowl.

And the lazy girl pipes up . . .

add 1 cup rice, 2 cups water (or water & boullion, or broth) to a casserole dish with a lid.

put in microwave on High for 5 minutes, then on 50% for 15 minutes. fluff with a fork.

.

steamed rice - follow kasmas recipe here:

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/recipes/jasrice.html

$15 rice cooker. Make sure to follow the directions, ie brown rice takes about twice as much water as white.

Rice cooker. Does it perfectly every time, and any extra gets plastic wrapped while hot and goes into the freezer for later microwave reheating. (I usually eat koshihikari rice.)

Pre-rice cooker, I'd make it in a pot...just not as often, and it took quite a while to get it down. Maki's method is a good one.

If you don't have a rice cooker and you want white rice, my father's method is absolutely failproof, on a gas burner. 1.5 cups water to 1 cup rice. Put it all in a pot on the stove. As soon as the water starts to bubble (early boil), slap the lid on, and turn the heat down as low as you can. Time the cooking for 14 minutes (yes, fourteen); but don't take the lid off while it's cooking (important!). When 14 minutes is up, turn off the gas completely; but don't lift up the lid! Instead let it sit for a couple of minutes with the lid on (don't peek!). After a few minutes you can eat it. It's always 100% perfect white rice.

The key to great basmati rice is to wash it. FIVE times. Seriously. It makes a huge difference. I heard it many times but did not believe it until I tried it. Basmati rice is aromatic and not only does washing remove the excess starch, it releases the aroma of the flavor. After that it goes in the rice cooker.

I live in Japan and have had a couple of rice cookers, and it's really not that much more effort to just do it yourself in a pot.

1. wash and soak the rice until the grains turn bright white
2. drain off the soaking water and add 1.5-2 cups water per cup of rice (depends on how well it has soaked)
3. bring to a boil, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low and allow to cook for 20 minutes.
4. turn off the heat and allow to sit for 20 minutes more
5. fluff with a fork

It's easy and perfect every time. How much harder is it to do this than to rinse and soak the rice (which you should always do even with a cooker), measure water and rice into a rice cooker and press a button? It's no more cleaning and you don't have to store an unwieldy cooker and the only extra "effort" is turning the heat low, putting on a lid, and turning the heat off and using a timer (or watching your watch).

Seriously, making rice isn't as labor-intensive as something like bread. Rice cookers are popular in Asia because people eat rice for breakfast or need it just after coming home from work and can't waste the time. It's not because rice is hard to make.

if you cook rice for whole family, of course rice cooker is the best. How about if you only cook rice for your own (1 bowl of rice), do you still use rice cooker?

Try steam rice. I always use the first knuckles method (yes, i am chinese), it even applicable on a bowl.. and steam like normal.... you got a perfect one bowl of rice.

I make short-grain brown rice (purchased in 25lb sacks from an Asian grocery) in the crock pot. I rinse it well, then use 2 cups of rice and 3 to 3 1/4 cups of water and cook it on low for 4 hours or on high for 2. (I have my crock-pot on a Christmas tree timer, so I can put everything in when I leave for work and it turns on at the appointed time before I get home). This method does make a fairly sticky rice, especially if cooked on "low."

If I make it on the stovetop, I use 2 cups of rice and just under 4 cups of water. Boil the water, add the rice, bring back to a boil, then turn it to "simmer" for 45 minutes and NEVER stir it. Works for me every time.

Microwave. :( I live in an RV so I don't have space for a rice cooker. As for cooking on the stove top, even the lowest heat is much too high (propane stove) and I end up with rice boiling over and needing twice as much water as it should, even if I keep stirring. So, I make a week's worth in the microwave (2 to 1 water to white rice ratio and 20 minutes on high and start with a 3 to 1 and 30 minutes for brown then add water if needed) and freeze individual portions.

I have yet to meet a type of rice I don't love; it just depends on what I'm doing with it. For a stirfry, I like brown. To go with fish or chicken, I like jasmine or basmati. For breakfast or a quick snack, I like sticky white.

I like rice plain (which is why I favour it over potatoes and pasta), but sometimes I'll add a couple of drops of liquid chicken bovril. Gives it a surprisingly rich flavour that doesn't mask the sweet taste of the rice.

@sandrayyp - I am only cooking rice for myself, and, yes, I use a rice cooker. Usually, I make about 3 servings, and put the extra in the fridge or freezer.

I've used several different types of rice cookers and the design does make a difference, sometimes a very big difference. Though cooking rice isn't complicated, it does require consistency and the right size pot relative to the amount you're making on the stove.

I often eat about 1/2 cup of rice per meal. Cooking 1/2 cup of rice on the stove frankly is a pain in the butt considering I don't own a pot quite the right size and there's going to be issue of controlling the heat correctly when cooking that small of an amount.

Granted, most rice cookers on the market don't do well when cooking as little as 1/2 cup, but my Zojirushi 5-cup Neuro Fuzzy does so admirably. In fact it's so good at compensating that I don't have to presoak most rice, except for basmati which really benefits with at least an hour soak if I'm recalling correctly.

Furthermore, unlike the mid-range non-stick cookers, the rice is pretty much consistent from the bottom and the sides as to the center. No crust what so ever. So clean up is a snap.

Since it's microcomputer controlled it adapts quite well to cooking different types of rice, plus grains and other legumes. Cooking glutinous rice is no problem. Don't have to soak this one either. The current model, I believe, has specific setting for these specialty rices, so they probably do even a better job.

Once you figure out the ratios you can cook all sorts of rice dishes and what not. So yeah, instead of buying a small pot to cook rice and pretty much nothing else, I opted to getting a fancy rice cooker so I could make small amounts of rice, congee, glutinous rice, etc. Plus with the timer I can have things ready ahead of time.

Now, if you don't cook rice often then learning how to do it on the stove makes more sense than picking up rice cooker, even a cheap one; however, those microwave cookers are great for the occasional user and don't take up much room. If you use a casserole dish and lid, make sure it fits well so it keeps enough steam; otherwise, you're going to end up with boiled rice rather than steamed.

I make jasmine rice on the stove- a one to one water rice ratio with rinsed and mostly drained rice, then boil water, add rice, lower heat and cover- you just watch the steam till there's very little left and it's probably done in about 10-15. Mostly I don't screw it up, but its not 100%.

BUT. I also make sushi rice in the oven from this http://beyondsalmon.blogspot.com/2006/02/technique-of-week-how-to-make-sushi.html recipe and it's AMAZING- its perfect always. The only other part I'd add is that I rinse the rice and then let it drain in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. The texture always turns out just right.

I'm another fan of the rice cooker.

I'm surprise so many people are adding oil and salt to their rice. So unnecessary. That would completely change the flavour of the rice. There is a special wholesome flavour about plain rice that I know Chinese appreciate. That's why we eat a mouthful of plain rice before starting a meal.

Sure, oily, salty rice for specially occasions, but not for the everyday...

My husband, font of knowledge that he is, taught me a fail-proof and energy-efficient rice cooking method. I will never look back.

Follow any of the above for rinsing rice and measuring proper amounts of rice & water. Bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat, and wrap the pot up in potholders and kitchen towels, or a nice big wool sweater, or a cozy scarf.

Leave it, all tucked in, for about 20 minutes - a little longer for brown or wild rice.

There appears to be some magic involved - but seriously, it works. Every time. I'm always a bit shocked.

Another lazy girl -- slightly less than twice as much water as rice, cover in glass casserole dish -- 5 minutes on high 15 minutes on 50% in the microwave.

Perfect every time, and no additional kitchen gadget needed.

This is only for Jasmine, Long-Grain or Japanese rice:

One cup Rice - 1 3/4 cups water
(I use a one cup Pyrex Measuring cup - level cup for the rice, filled to the rim for the water)

In a saucepot with a tight-fitting lid: On High to a nice boil - then stir w/ a wooden paddle, turn off the heat and put on the lid - and leave it alone for 20 minutes minimum (Don't ever take off the lid early - even if it happens to bubbles over!)

When the time is up, remove the lid and stir w/ the paddle: Perfect rice every time!

The variation is to use stock rather than water to make pilaf - then stir in the chopped chives, green onions &/or saute'd almonds AFTER cooking.

Save any leftover cooked rice in the freezer to make perfect fried rice.

Arborio is a different story - It's only for Risotto, and it's always stirred the entire time:
1 1/2 cup rice for 4 cups stock a generous splash of dry vermouth or dry white wine.

Brown Rice - I've never figured out how to cook that properly.

this question just came up this weekend with a girlfriend of mine. I usually just use a rice cooker but at her house she didn't have one so we ended up cooking the rice on the stove top. we added 2 cups water for 1 cup of basmati rice and brought it to a boil and then lowered the heat and cooked the rice for about 15 minutes. turned out great! we were making yellow peanut rice, so we had also added a 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric too which brings some nice life to the rice.

for the first time EVER i made PERFECT rice! i did exactly the same thing as "chitra" above (minus the tumric) and it came out perfect! TRIUMPH at last!!!