How to cook rice in a saucepan

 How to: Cooking rice in the crockpot

Cooking rice in the crockpot

Cooking loose rice can be so easy! You can prepare rice in many different ways. The most common is to cook it in the crockpot. There are two methods: the soaking method and the water method. One thing's for sure - you'll get perfect rice that's a sight to behold.

Which method is better?

With the water method, you are definitely on the safe side when cooking loose rice, as the rice cannot burn. However, the disadvantage of this method is that the nutrients in the rice dissolve during cooking and pass into the cooking water.

So when you pour off the water, you also pour away all the nutrients. With the swelling method, no water is poured off and the nutrients are retained.

Cooking loose rice with a saucepan

Cooking rice with the swelling method

The amount of water needed and the cooking time varies depending on the type of rice, so here we take the data for cooking Basmati rice as an example of the swelling method.

1. Wash the rice twice to remove excess starch.
2. Put the loose rice in a saucepan with 1.5 times the amount of water and a pinch of salt.
3. Heat the rice on the highest setting.
4. Once the water boils, turn the heat to medium and let the rice simmer for about 15 minutes with the lid closed until the water has completely evaporated or absorbed into the rice.

Too much water in the pot will make the rice soggy. Too little water can cause the rice to burn on the bottom of the pot or cause the rice to cook unevenly.

Cooking rice with the water method

In the water method, loose rice is cooked in a lot of water, just like cooking pasta. Again, the cooking time depends on the type of rice chosen. For example, whole grain rice takes longer to cook than white rice.

1. Wash the rice twice to remove excess starch.
2. Put the rice in a saucepan with about 6 times the amount of water and add a pinch of salt.
3. Heat the rice on the highest setting.
4. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat to medium and let the rice simmer without a lid for about 15 minutes.
5. Put the rice in a colander and let it drain.

Be careful not to overcook the rice so that it doesn't absorb too much water and become mushy.