<Ok, that one sounded better in my head than typed out!>

Since the (soldered in!) battery in our programmable rice cooker is pooched, we're back to cooking rice the old-fashioned way here at the Shiba Shack!  It's not a hardship by any stretch of the imagination, but not as convenient as pushing a button on the rice cooker.  Nonetheless, I'm always surprised by the number of poeple who are intimidated by the thought of cooking rice.

Anyhoo, we happen to like basmati rice here, and there are a couple of small steps you can take to make sure your rice comes out perfect every time.

1. Soak your rice ahead of time. for about 20 minutes.  This does  a couple of things: it hydrates the rice sufficiently that it cooks evenly; and it washes off some of the surface starch that causes the rice grains to stick together
2. Water =1.5X the volume of rice you use 
3. Use a pot that isn't too big! for up to 2C of rice, I use this 3 quart heavy-bottomed saucepan
4. Bring the water and soaked rice to a rapid boil and quickly lower the heat to the lowest setting on your stovetop
5. put a tea towel (or paper towel) between the lid and the pot.  This helps keep ALL the steam inside the pot, which makes for a nice fluffy texture

on my stove, I cook for 12 mins, turn the heat off and let stand another 10

#kitchentips   #cookingtips   #methods   #blog  

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Janice Mansfield is a personal chef who specializes in creating customized catering and baking for people with food sensitivities. A recipe developer and baker by day, by night, she enjoys delving into the history of classic cocktails and created a line of cocktail bitters for no other reason than she wanted chocolate bitters in her Manhattans! In her spare time, she documents the antics and unbearable cuteness her two Shiba Inus over at Life in the Shiba Shack.

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