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How to Cook Rice
2 rice cups (about 4 bowls, serves 2–3) · About 1 hr (30 min of this is just soaking the rice in water)
You can cook it in a pot with a lid, even without a rice cooker. The rice cooker way is at the end too.
① Measure and wash the rice→② Soak in water→③ Bring to a boil on medium heat→④ Cook on low heat→⑤ Let steam and fluff
What to buy
Rice
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How to make it
1
Measure and wash the rice
- Measure 2 level cups (2 rice cups) of rice with the measuring cup and put in a bowl
- Add plenty of water, stir 2–3 times, then pour the water out right away (rice soaks up the first water easily, so be quick)
- With the water poured out, swish the rice about 20 times with your fingers upright → add water and pour it out
- Repeat this about 3 times
How to tell it's doneWhen you add water, it is a little cloudy but you can see the rice on the bottom. You do not need to wash until it is clear.
Be carefulIf you rub hard, the rice breaks. Stir gently with your fingertips.
2
Put in a pot and soak in water
- Drain the rice in a colander and put in the pot
- Add 420 ml water (a little more than the 360 ml of 2 rice cups of rice)
- No lid needed. Let sit as is for 30 minutes (about 30 minutes in summer, 1 hour in winter)
How to tell it's doneThe rice has turned from see-through to bright white. This means it has soaked up water.
3
Put the lid on and bring to a boil on medium heat
- Put the lid on and set over medium heat
- From here on, do not open the lid (the steam escapes and the rice comes out hard)
How to tell it's doneLots of steam comes out of the gap under the lid, and the lid rattles and you hear bubbling. This means it is boiling.
Be carefulIf it is about to boil over, do not open the lid. Just turn the heat down a little.
4
Cook on low heat
- When it boils, turn to low heat
- Set a timer for 12 minutes. Do not open the lid
- After 12 minutes, turn to high heat for just 10 seconds at the end, then turn off the heat (this dries off water left on the bottom)
How to tell it's donePut your ear near the pot: the bubbling has stopped and you hear small crackling sounds. This means the water is gone.
Be carefulIf you smell strong burning, turn off the heat without waiting for 12 minutes.
5
Let steam, then fluff
- Turn off the heat and leave the lid on for 10 minutes (it keeps cooking inside during this time)
- Open the lid, wet the rice paddle with water, and fluff the rice by turning it over in big scoops from the bottom
- Cut it into 4 with a cross first, then fluff, so it all gets fluffed evenly
ReadyThe surface has lots of little holes, and the grains are standing up. If the bottom is a little golden brown, that is "okoge" (crispy rice), not a mistake.
＋
If using a rice cooker
- Wash the rice like in step 1, and put it in the rice cooker pot
- Add water up to the "white rice 2" line in the pot (use the measuring cup that came with the rice cooker)
- Press "white rice" and "cook". The rice cooker does the soaking and steaming for you
- When it is done, open the lid soon and fluff like in step 5
How to tell it's doneWhen the rice cooker beeps and switches to "keep warm", it is done.
📚 Learn more about this dish
🔪 Cutting & cooking tips
If it didn't work out
Hard, with a hard centerThe soaking time was short, or you opened the lid partway. Next time, soak 30 minutes or more, and do not open the lid until the end.
Soggy and too softToo much water. Next time, use 20 ml less: 400 ml.
The bottom burned blackThe low heat was too high. Next time, make the flame smaller. Do not scrape off the burnt part; just scoop the rice from the top.
It boiled overYou left it on medium heat too long. Turn to low heat as soon as it boils. It also happens if the pot is too small.
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