Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cooking and rice

How do restaurants cook rice?

judytaos — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:07:57 -0800

How do restaurants cook rice?

Help me to not overthink a plate of beans (and rice)

availablelight — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:44:11 -0800

Rice and beans for the inexperienced and time-pressed cook? I have a 5 pound bag of (non-instant) rice. I have an assortment of bags of dried beans (a pound of kidney beans, a pound of black beans, a pound of navy beans, etc.). Am I imagining this, or is there a way to prepare a one-shot, one-pot/dish batch of rice and beans in the oven? (I do know that the beans will have to be pre-soaked, but that's about all I know-- my experience with dried beans is limited to including them in a long-simmering soup or stew--I've had bad experiences with bags o'beans in other situations)

I have other potential add-ins like spices, tomato sauce, veggies, etc.

How to cook rice in a clay pot rice cooker?

burntflowers — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:28:26 -0800

My husband and I received a Vita Clay rice cooker as a gift. We'd like to start using it, but it the recipe/instruction booklet is missing. Having never had a clay pot rice cooker before, I don't know:

a) what the ratio of rice:water should be, and
b) if there are any special things I need to do to take care of the clay pot.

I attempted to contact the company to ask for a replacement manual/recipe book, but they haven't responded to my requests.

Can't we all just get along?

Exchequer — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:15:27 -0800

Can I successfully cook brown and white rice together? The plan is to use a steamer with a 50/50 mix of the 2 varieties. If so, could you suggest a methodology? I prefer the brown, but I have a partial bag of white that I don't want to throw away.

Looking for cold grain salad tips.

kmennie — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 07:04:44 -0800

How can I improve my cold grain/bean/wild rice/etc salads? They are either too vinegary or too bland, and generally not as good as it seems they should be. They also don't seem to last as long in the fridge as deli-made ones, and are generally just a bit more tired and blah than the stuff I get out of good delis and catering shops and so on.

I dump in too much vinegar and get predictable results (pool of liquid, overwhelming vinegariness), but skimping on the vinegar always leaves me thinking "This needs more vinegar." Apparently not, but what does it need? Salt? More oil?

Thoroughly reliable recipes and general hints appreciated.

Steamed Rice with what?

bigmusic — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:12:56 -0800

Steamed Rice with what? I'd like to use my rice cooker more often. I'm looking for recipes that take five to ten minutes that I can add / pour over / serve next to my steamed rice. Bonus: What are some things I can add to the rice cooker as the rice is being cooked to make it a one pot meal?

Out of the Frying Pan into the Ire

YamwotIam — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 02:51:50 -0800

What's the sticky glutinous gunk I get on the bottom of the pan when I try to fry rice? Here's how I make it:

Day 1: Make rice (Basmati, if it matters).
Day 2: Attempt to fry rice on medium-high heat with scads of sunflower oil. Gunk results.

Is there a name for it? How do I avoid making it? Alternatively, are there some recipes that thrive on the stuff? I've heard that some cultures use it to good effect, particularly when the gunk fries up into a delicious crispy chip-like substance which I can't, however, scrape off the bottom of my pan without ruining the pan.

Help me graduate from Cooking for Idiot Dads 101!

Got rice [cooker]?

Xere — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 20:05:42 -0800

I wish to end my barbaric method of cooking rice in a saucepan. I'm stuck between the Zojirushi NS-LAC05, NS-ZCC10, and NS-TGC10. I've checked the product comparisons. Will I miss not having "Extended Keep Warm" - and how is that different from the already-present "Automatic Keep Warm" anyway? What in the world is this "Rinse-Free" and "Sweet Rice" settings, and will I miss them? Is "Cake" decent? Why is picking a rice cooker so complicated? My old rice cooker occasionally spat out globs of so-called "rice" at me before finally breaking down on me. I've now decided to invest in a decent rice cooker. Zojirushi seems to be the way to go, and I'm stuck between three and dear God I must make the perfect choice.

I cook for only myself, so the 3-cup NS-LAC05 seems the way to go in terms of size. But it lacks the bells and whistles of the other two (5 cups). If I make rice for just one person in a 5-cupper, will the rice dry up and the bottom and end up terribly dry and unluxurious?

Those well-versed with rice cookers, please enlighten me.

My rice lusts for your delicious recipes!

Jonsnews — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:32:00 -0800

I need some tried and true suggestions for stuff to go on top of my rice. I'm getting into the habit of making large batches of rice, making something to serve on top of it the first night, then making fried rice the second night and beyond. But I am out of ideas of things to put on top of it. So far I have been doing chicken/sausage (like a smoked sausage) stir fried with some garlic, onions, veggies, and oyster sauce, oil, etc etc.
So what are some other great things I can serve up on top of white rice.
Things to know:
I have a cooking skill of 16 with a +1 Apron of chefery.
I do not live in or near a large town, so my ingeredient selection sucks, and my nearest ethnic store is a hour away.
I'm not a huge bean fan. At least not baked or in chilli. I can be influenced though.

Arroz con pollo de Rosalia (Question about rice)

Ferrari328 — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 07:47:05 -0800

What's up with this rice cooking stuff? Based on this thread Arroz con pollo de Rosalia I decided to try it and it was really delicious, but the rice was all mushy? The recipe says the dish should be wet but it also says to cook the rice using high heat until most of the liquid has evaporated (about 20 min) and then cook it in the owen for another 20 minutes and this doesn't seem right since rice normally cooks in 20 minutes. It also said to pre-soak the rice for an hour and I forgot that but wouldn't that have made the rice even more mushy? It called for short grain rice and I used medium grain, but would that make such a difference? Is this calling for some secret type of rice? I must admit to being in the dark about converted rice etc and all the varieties. I used "White Rice enriched medium grain"

I'll have the rice. But could you ask chef to add a little extra foot?

popcassady — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 07:14:47 -0800

What was in my pilau rice, human skin? I found this little treat in my pilau rice.

Not wanting to cause a fuss, I put it (and its friends) to one side. No one else on my table had anything similar in their food.

I'm not sure what it is but it has the look, feel, texture of human skin -- the thick stuff that foot pickers like to peel off.

I had a close look at it this morning. I couldn't make out any noticeable 'fingerprints' nor could I see anything like plant cells. It doesn't smell of anything other than the general aroma of the dish in which it was served. I am reluctant to taste it.

What is this thing? Is it the rind of some exotic fruit, or was I the target in a cruel game of humiliation.

Ricey goodness! YUM

JonnyRotten — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 19:11:26 -0800

I am looking to increase the amount of rice in my diet. I am looking for suggestions on totally awesome rice cookers, and general ricey advice! What cooker do you all suggest?
What brand of Furikake Should I purchase? I've never had it before but read some glowing recommendations to try it.
What other things can I get to kick up the rice portion of my diet? Totally kick ass soy sauce?

Links to purchase would be awesome as I am nowhere near a asian market or any place that would sell this kind of thing.

Basically heres the scoop. I'm sick of dieting. I think I am going to supplement alot of my meals with rice with some kind of seasoning or condiment, then do like a rice with grilled chicken breast for supper to take to work or something. I would like to have alot of different tastes to keep the variety factor up. I like the idea of cooking a batch of rice in the morning and just having it for meals. It should supply some bulk to my diet and be lower fat with lots of otherwise good stuff. Not really looking for diet advice, just some background..

How can I learn to like brown rice?

lilboo — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 12:10:01 -0800

I have never liked the taste of brown rice, but I would like to try to develop a taste for it, since it is so good for you. Is there something that I can add to the rice to make it taste different (and possibly better?) Other suggestions for cooking or preparing the rice, besides the standard are appreciated.

How do you properly cook brown rice?

jpburns — Sat, 21 Feb 2004 06:54:11 -0800

How in the heck do you properly cook brown rice? I'm an ace at white rice, but last night I attempted to make the brown variety, and failed miserably [more inside...]. Here's what the package advised:

Boil 2.5 cups of water with salt and butter (if desired). Add rice when it comes to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Following these directions, the rice, while fairly cooked, was still swimming in water at the end of the 40 minutes. With white rice you can boil 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, put on low for 15 minutes (covered), and it's perfect every time.

Thanks for any tips...