Cook Perfect White Rice

Cooking rice might seem like a lot of trouble, but it's not. Cooking the perfect rice is really quite easy. The biggest mistake people make is they refuse to leave the rice alone and they keep lifting the lid and stirring the rice. But, if you just let the rice be, it will turn out perfect every time. Read on to learn how to make the perfect white rice with no fuss and no hassle.

To cook the perfect rice, you will need:
long grain white rice
water
salt
a saucepan with a cover

Decide how much rice you need to cook. The ratio is 1 part rice to 2 parts water. If you are feeding one or two people, use 1 cup of rice and two cups of water. For 3 or 4 people, use 2 cups rice and 4 cups water.

Pour the rice and water in a good saucepan with a nice, heavy bottom. Add a sprinkle of salt and stir. Turn your burner on high and place the covered pot on the burner. Stand there and watch the pot by lifting the lid every 15 seconds or so. As soon as the water boils, stir the rice one last time, turn the burner to low, cover the pot, and set a timer for 14 minutes. Do not lift the lid again! Just let the rice cook for 14 minutes. It will turn out perfect every time!

If you want, you can also add a tablespoon of butter to the pot before it boils. Or, for flavored rice, you can use chicken broth or beef broth instead of water. Using broth gives the rice just the right flavor to match the meat you are serving. You can also add a teaspoon of chopped chive or parsley for little green flecks of color. And if you want to get very daring, you can add some almond slivers.

If you have a large family and you need to make very large servings of rice, invest in a good saucepan that you will use for rice. You want the base of the pot to be large enough so that you never fill it more than half way with rice and water.

If you end up with leftover rice, it is very easy to heat in the microwave for lunch the next day. Or you can add the rice to any soup. You can also mix it with vanilla pudding for a poor man's version of rice pudding. And you can turn the rice into fried rice by frying it in a pan with a bit of butter and soy sauce.

This method only works with long grain white rice. Brown rice or wild rice will not cook using this recipe.

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