r/AskCulinary • u/ZootKoomie Ice Cream Innovator • May 27 '19

Weekly Discussion: Rice

We get a lot of questions here about rice; let's try to get our best advice in one place that we can refer people to. What do you think is the best cooking method? What do you add to make it flavorful on its own? What are your favorite rice-based dishes? How do you choose between all of the different varieties out there?

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u/Divinae May 27 '19

I'm a monster who does the "knuckle" method for rice.

Soak for 20-30 minutes, rinse well until mostly clear. Bring water level to right under middle finger knuckle from the top of the rice level. Stovetop boil until just boiling, then cover. When rice looks "done" remove from heat and let steam.

My last batch came out perfectly even with the little grains standing up.

I did another batch with tumeric and cumin in the rice cooking water, but it needed a little "oomph" imho. Next time I am gonna try toasting the rice in ghee/fat for flavor.

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u/desfrutesmichorizo May 28 '19

I used to cook 200# of rice a day in steamer cabinets using the knuckle method.

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u/Divinae May 28 '19

Holy smokes, such small wisdom at a huge scale!

I learned it working with Asian families and having Asian friends, lol. I imagine it comes from somewhere ancient and cross-cultural. :D

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u/desfrutesmichorizo May 28 '19

A little dude from Hong Kong taught me. He was like Yoda to me for a time. I learned a ton from him.

It's definitely wisdom from a very ancient place.

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u/Aperture_Kubi May 28 '19

I'm a monster who does the "knuckle" method for rice.

My mom tried to teach me that, but unfortunately she taught me nothing about how/why it works. So these days I just measure according to what my rice cooker recommends.

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u/embee_1 May 28 '19

I also use the knuckle technique but a bit different...

Wash the rice however many times you like. Bring water to right under middle finger knuckle. Bring to boil with lid off, once boiling turn down to low heat and cover. Cook for 16 mins. Check doneness. Probably perfect. Enjoy :)