How to Cook Perfect Rice (With or Without a Rice Cooker)

Because rice is the foundation of a Thai meal, it is an important basic skill to have for enjoying Thai food! Let me be clear: you do NOT need a rice cooker to make perfect rice, a rice cooker just makes it more of a hands-off process. I have cooked rice almost every day of my adult life, and I'll share all the tips and tricks you need to know. It may seem like a lot of things to think about, but once you know them, you'll cook perfect rice every time and in a snap!

Read on, or you can also watch the video tutorial below!

Video Tutorial: How to Cook Perfect Rice on the Stovetop

Cooking Rice Stovetop vs With a Rice Cooker

You may be surprised to know that the process isn't actually all that different between the two. The main difference is that once the rice goes on the heat - or the button is pressed - you can walk away from a rice cooker, but on the stove you have to stay and manage the heat and take it off heat manually, which isn't all that hard once you know how.

A rice cooker is simply a pot that knows when to turn itself off.

But the MOST important parts: Washing the rice and measuring the correct amount of water is still exactly the same with or without a rice cooker. Sure the rice cooker may have those lines that tell you how much water to add...but that only works if you're using the right kind of rice. E.g. If you cook jasmine rice in a Japanese rice cooker, you still can't use those lines.

Does the type of rice matter?

The method provided here works for all types of non-glutinous rice, BUT the amount of water required will change. Jasmine rice, short grain sushi rice, and basmati rice, not to mention white or brown versions of these, all require different amounts of water, which we will discuss below. If you're not clear on how these types of rice are different and which one you should be using, please see my post Types of Rice Explained - Jasmine, Sushi, Basmati.

Importantly, this process does not apply to glutinous (sticky) rice. See this post for different ways to cook sticky rice.

For Thai food, always use jasmine rice from Thailand (also known as "hom mali" rice). When you open a bag of jasmine rice, it should have a wonderful jasmine aroma. To learn more about jasmine rice and how to tell if it's genuine jasmine rice, watch this Jasmine Rice 101 video.

No matter what you do, don't use instant rice or rice from a box or parboiled rice!

The Most Important Question: How much water do you need?

Exactly how much water you need depends on types of rice, but also even the same type of rice can vary depending on the age and specific variety, not to mention your personal preference of rice firmness. But here's where you can start:

• For white jasmine rice, start with 1 cup rice to 1¼ cup water, but you may end up needing up to 1 ½ cups of water.
• For short grain white rice, start with 1 cup rice to 1 cup water. I find this 1:1 ratio to be quite consistent between brands, but you can get softer rice by adding 1¼ parts water.
• For white basmati rice, start with  1 cup rice to 1 ¾ cups water, and you may need up to 2 parts water.

I suggest you start on the low end of the range because you can add more water at the end if it turns out to be too dry, but there is no way to fix too-wet rice.

And it doesn't matter what kind of measuring cup you use as long as you use the same cup to measure your rice and water. Important to note that this is a ratio by volume and NOT by weight.

If using the rice for fried rice, I add slightly less water than usual, as you will add liquid sauces during the frying.

Choosing the right pot for stovetop rice

Use a heavy-bottom pot with a lid or foil to cover. The heavy bottom will ensure more even heat distribution, which will result in less chances of burning and hot spots.

A well-fitting lid is important in keeping most of the moisture in the pot. I prefer a clear glass lid so I can see the progress without having to open the pot. If you don't have a lid, you can also cover it tightly with foil, but this is a little inconvenient...so...get a lid!

Regarding size, the rice will expand about 3 times its volume when cooked, so choose a pot that is big enough for that. But don't go too big or you will risk losing a lot of rice to the bottom of the pot should it get stuck, which sometimes happens.

Why do we need to wash the rice?

Washing or rinsing rice is an important step which will prevent gummy rice. Your rice may look pristinely clean in the bag, but there is actually some lose starch that's left from the milling process, and we wash the rice in order to remove this starch.

If you don't wash the rice, what you'll end up with is rice that feels kind of sticky and gummy. Imagine adding a little bit of flour to your pot of cooking rice! That's what happens.

You may have heard that you need to rinse the rice until the water runs "clear". In my experience, I don't think it's necessary that the water is absolutely crystal clear. I go with "mostly clear," which takes me about 2-3 rinses for jasmine rice, and about 4-5 for short grain. The only time I rinse until crystal clear is if I will use the rice for fried rice, because it will help the rice grains separate more easily, but even then it is not crucial.

Why don't I add any oil or salt to my rice?

Iin Thailand and many other Asian countries, we serve our rice plain because the rice is supposed to be the canvas for other dishes, such as curries and stir fries. The rice is not supposed to be eaten separately, therefore it does not need to be seasoned.

Here's an analogy, the rice in Thai cuisine is like the tortillas for your tacos, and NOT the mashed potato beside your roast beef. You don't just eat a bite of tortilla, followed by a bite of filling...the two go together in one bite so the tortilla can be plain. Whereas mashed potato can be eaten by itself, so it needs to be seasoned properly!

Also, the practice of adding salt and butter to rice comes mostly from people who cook rice that comes from a box that...let's be honest...doesn't taste food on its own. But when you get good quality rice, such as genuine Thai jasmine rice, it is aromatic and delicious on its own and it does not need anything. I have heard stories of their people throwing away their boxed rice once they experience Thai jasmine rice - that's how different they are!

Armed with all this important information, now you're ready to cook!

Recipe

How to Cook Perfect Rice

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 3 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 23 minutes

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Fool-proof method for cooking rice on the stovetop, no rice cooker needed! This method works with other types of rice also, but you will need different amounts of water as indicated in the blog post above.

---

Ingredients

Save this recipe!

We can email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

• 1 cup of Thai jasmine rice, or another rice of your choice
• 1 ¼ cups cold or room temp water (for other types of rice, see the blog post above for amount of water needed)

Cook Mode Prevents your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice: Put the rice in the pot and cover with plenty of cold or room temp tap water. Swish the rice around with your hands until the water is very cloudy, then pour off most of the water (careful not to pour the rice down the drain!). Repeat, 2-4 more times until the rinse water runs mostly clear.
   During the last rinse, pour off as much water as you can. If you have a sieve that fits over the pot nicely, you can place the sieve on top of the pot with the curve sitting IN the pot, then pour out the water. If making fried rice, make sure the rinse water is quite clear to ensure the rice grains will separate nicely.
2. Add the measured amount of water to the rice. If you have a rice cooker, press cook and you're done! For stovetop, if you have a clear pot lid, put the lid on and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. If your pot lid isn't clear, leave the lid off for now so you can see when it reaches a simmer. (To avoid forgetting about it, I would set a timer to check on it every 5 minutes or so.) SEE NOTE.
3. Once the water comes to a gentle simmer, turn the heat down to LOW and maintain a very gentle simmer. Usually this will be your lowest heat setting for a small amount of rice. Cover the pot and let the rice cook, undisturbed, for about 20 minutes or until it looks done. Keeping the heat low will prevent your rice from burning on the bottom in case you let it go for too long.
4. Once the rice looks done at the top (it looks cooked with no bubbling, it's fluffy), check that the bottom of the pot is dry by inserting a rubber spatula along the side of the pot and push the rice aside slightly to reveal the bottom. If it's dry, cover and let it sit with the heat off for another 5 minutes to allow any lingering moisture  between the grains to be absorbed.
5. Taste the rice (especially for your first time cooking this particular rice, and even if you're using a rice cooker). If the rice is too firm or dry, it means you need to add more water. Drizzle a little water (2-3 Tablespoons to star) over the rice, cover, and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes on low heat. Next time, you can add more water from the start and avoid this extra step.

Join us on Patreon for bonus content and rewards!

---

Notes

Note: The best rice is cooked using low heat, so the grains are evenly cooked and minimal water evaporation occurs. You CAN start the whole process on low heat, which will simplify things, but I find it ends up taking unnecessarily long because it takes so long to bring the water to that initial simmer, so I prefer to get it to simmer quicker on medium heat. If you're in a rush, get it to a simmer on HIGH heat, keep an eye on it, then turn it to low once it simmers.