How to Cook Rice | Gluten Allergy | Gluten Free Diet | Allergy

How To Cook Rice

by Allergy Guy

There are many ways to cook rice, probably more than ways to do it wrong. In this article, we will look at a few ways to cook rice.

If you have celiac disease or a gluten allergy, rice is a great staple so you’ll want to know at least one way to cook rice properly. If you cook rice incorrectly, you won’t like it as much and it will be hard to stick to your gluten-free diet.

Cooking Rice the Wrong Way

Rice is suitable for a gluten allergyI’ve seen lots of people cook rice the same way they cook pasta: boil lots of water, add the rice, drain the water when the rice is cooked or overcooked.

There are several problems with this method.  First, the rice doesn’t taste as good.  Second, the texture of the rice isn’t nice.  Third, you could loose nutrients from the rice when you drain it, especially for brown rice since white rice is mostly starch.

Another mistake people make is starting with the wrong rice in the first place.

“Minute Rice” or its variations are neither tasty nor nutritious. This type of rice has not place in my kitchen.

If you want to really enjoy your gluten free diet, avoid the wrong way of cooking rice and do it the right way instead.  It takes just as long to cook (unless you use the wrong type of rice, see above) and tastes much better.

How to Cook White Rice Using The Basic Method

The easiest way to cook white rice is as follows:

  1. Measure out the amount of rice you need into a sieve,  for example 1 cup
  2. Rinse the rice to remove powdery starch
  3. Dump rice into a pot
  4. Add salt to taste
  5. For each measure of rice, add two measures of water, for example 2 cups
  6. Bring rice to a boil, then turn stove down to low
  7. Allow rice to simmer for 10 minutes
  8. Turn off stove
  9. Allow rice to stand, still on stove, for another 10 minutes

And that’s it, the rice is done!

Notes: Rinsing the rice is not absolutely necessary.  I usually don’t.  I makes the rice less sticky, so largely its a matter of preference. You can rinse the rice in the pot and pour out the water, if you’re good at doing it that way.  Using a sieve is easier.

The above works well for an electric stove which holds the heat after being turned off.  If you use a gas stove, you may have to leave it on a bit longer so that it cooks properly when standing without heat.  Please share your experience with cooking rice on a gas stove if you have any.

Fry The Rice First

A variation on the basic method is to put dry rice into a pot with some oil, and quickly fry the rice.  After a few minutes, add water in a 2 to 1 ratio, and cook using the basic method.

Rice Quantity

The amount of rice per person depends on how much a person wants to eat, and what else is being served with the rice.  A big eater might want ½ cup rice (dry), especially if there is little else with the meal.  1/3 cup is about right for a moderate eater, or a big eater who has a big meal to go with the rice.  ¼ cup is about right for small eaters.

What is your favorite way to cook rice?  Leave a comment and share your experiences.

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