Return to Table of Contents

Cooking Rice

White or brown rice

1 cup of regular white or brown rice needs 2 cups of water for cooking

1. Put rice and water into saucepan. Heat until it starts to boil.
2. Reduce heat to simmer. Stir.
3. Cover pan and simmer (do not stir) for 15-20 minutes until rice is tender. All water will be absorbed by the rice.

Makes 3 cups of rice

Note: Brown rice will need 45-50 minutes to cook until tender.

Bright ideas

• You can make a fluffier rice by cooking it as you do pasta. Add 1 cup regular rice to 3 quarts boiling water; stir once. Return water to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 12 minutes or until tender; drain. If using brown rice, follow the same instructions but simmer 35 minutes.
• When cooking rice, adding salt to the water is not necessary. You can add a taplespoon of dried herbs to the water for a new flavor.
• You can reheat rice by putting in a saucepan and adding 2 tablespoons of water for each cup of cooked rice. Cover and cook over low heat about 5 minutes or until hot. You can also reheat rice by microwaving: cover the rice and heat on HIGH for 2-3 minutes.
• If rice is too firm you may not have cooked it enough, you may not have added enough water, or the saucepan cover was loose causing water to evaporate.
• If rice is too mushy you may have cooked the rice too long or added too much water to the rice.
• If rice is sticky you may have held the rice too long before serving or you stirred the rice during cooking.

Wild rice

1 cup of regular wild rice needs 3 cups of water for cooking

1. Bring water to a rapid boil. Add rice to the water.
2. Return water to boil, stir. Reduce heat to simmer.
3. Cover pan and simmer 30-45 minutes or until kernels puff open.
4. Uncover, fluff with a fork. Simmer 5 additional minutes.
5. Drain liquid from the rice.

Makes about 4 cups of rice

Recipe sources: Some information from Eating Right is Basic, Michigan State University Extension, and Betty Crocker supermarket magazine, Pasta Rice & Beans, used by permission of General Mills, Inc.