How To Cook Rice ( Long grain, Medium grain and Short grain)

I love rice so much, I don’t think a week will pass without me cooking rice up to 3-4 times either by having it as plain or combining it with some nourishing ingredients.

Rice has been saving lives for a very long time, hahaha. No matter how bad your cooked rice turns out to be, that does not stop you from cooking it, again and again. Sometimes it comes out fine while sometimes it is mushy, crunchy or clumpy, but we keep cooking and eating it either way. 

Cooking rice is quite easy but there is the reason you do not get your rice right. This is what we will be addressing in this blog. Shall we?

What We Know About Rice

Rice is a staple dish for many people in the world. We have two major types of rice which are white rice and brown rice. White rice is the most consumed but brown rice has the best nutritional benefits. Rice generally are gluten-free and they are mostly made of carbohydrates and a few proteins.

The rice can further be divided into long-grain rice, medium-grain rice and short-grain rice. Asides from food, rice can also be used as part of ingredients in making drugs and some cosmetics for facial treatment and that is amazing.

Which grain is the best?

Some will say they prefer the short-grain rice to the other grains because it is sweeter when you use it to prepare any type of rice dish. Still, you will hear some say they prefer the long grain because it is never gummy and mushy.

For me, I prefer long-grain rice for making plain rice as a side dish and short-grain rice for making jollof rice, fried rice or any type of rice recipe.

The different types of grain serve different purposes and they are unique in their own way. The length of the grain determines what the texture and consistency of the rice will be when cooked. What you need is to be able to identify the type of rice you are cooking and cook it accordingly.

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How to cook the perfect long-grain rice on the stovetop

Long grain rice takes a longer time to be ready than the other categories of rice because it is 4-5 times as long as its width when it is cooked. It is firm, fluffy and it separates on its own.

Read Also, How To Cook Quinoa On The Stove

How to cook perfect white rice (long-grain)

Use 2 cups of water to cook 1 cup of rice. I.e The ratio of rice to water is 1:2. If it is 2 cups of rice you are cooking use 4 cups of water. If it is 3 cups of rice use 6 cups of water and if it is 4 cups of rice use 8 cups of water and if it is 5 cups of rice use 10 cups of water and so on.

How to cook the perfect brown rice (long-grain)

Use 2½ cups of water to cook 1 cup of rice. For 2 cups of rice use 5 cups of water and for 3 cups use  7½ cups of water and so on.

How to cook the perfect medium-grain rice on the stovetop

Medium grain rice is a little similar to long grain rice but it is sweeter, moist, tender and can be stickier when it is cool. 

How to cook the perfect white rice (medium-grain)

Use 1¾ cups of water for 1 cup of rice. For two cups of rice use 3½ cups of water, for 3 cups of rice use 7 cups of water and so on

How to cook the perfect brown rice (medium-grain)

Use 2¼ cups of water for 1 cup of rice. For 2 cups of rice use 4½, for 3 cups of rice use 9 cups of water and so on.

How to cook the perfect short-grain rice on the stovetop

Short grain rice is almost round in shape, even though it has a high starch content compared to other grains it is still the most consumed due to its sweetness in taste. It looks moist, tender and even sticky if not cooked with the right proportion of water. 

Check out my YouTube Channel – Adun’s Kitchen

How cook the perfect white rice (short-grain)

Use 1½ cups of water for 1 cup of rice. For 2 cups of rice use 3 cups of water, for 3 cups of rice use 4½ cups of water, for 4 cups of rice use 6 cups of water and so on.

How cook the perfect brown rice (short-grain)

Use 2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. for 2 cups of rice use 4 cups of water, for 3 cups of rice use 6 cups of water and so on.

Tips for cooking the perfect rice

Final note

You can spice up your rice to make it special. You can have it as jollof rice, fried rice, curry rice, lemon rice, coconut rice, saffron rice, ginger-soy rice and many more other ways.

Have you ever had a bowl of badly cooked rice before? What caused it and how did you feel? Share your experience with me in the comments.

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