# Plain ole steamed rice. How clean do you rinse it?



## boomchakabowwow (Aug 1, 2019)

you rinse the grains until the water runs clear?


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## ian (Aug 1, 2019)

Not at all. If I want the grains separate I boil it instead of steaming it.


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## ojisan (Aug 1, 2019)

Depends on the type of the rice?


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## panda (Aug 1, 2019)

Yes, run water 20 minutes, it also presoaks the grains. Two birds, one stone.


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## Michi (Aug 2, 2019)

The Indian saying is “You must wash the rice seven times.”


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## Carl Kotte (Aug 2, 2019)

Michi said:


> The Indian saying is “You must wash the rice seven times.”



I prefer 17!


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## XooMG (Aug 2, 2019)

I just put the rice in my mouth 2-3 grains at a time, polish with my tongue, and spit into the Zojirushi. If it's a big pot, I get the neighbors to help.


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## Xenif (Aug 2, 2019)

Soak rice for 1 min, this is like the blooming step for coffee, it opens up the pours of the rice.
Wash rice, in a fine mesh strainer, so that the waste water dosent get reabsorbed into the rice (thats where the yucky flavours are), until clear
Soak rice, for up to an hour, the rice will turn opaque and crumbly 
Pour out excess water, drain, add proper amount of water (because rice is now fully hydrated)
Create a small "hill" of rice sticking past the surface water, helps with convection inside the pot. Add a few cubes of ice. Turn pot on. Wait patiently .
When the rice is cooked completely, stir (more like fold over) the rice so its not stickig to the sides. Put lid back on, wait a few more mins.
Enjoy the best rice you've ever cooked. No need to thank me.

Note: depending on variety of rice results may differ, this is based of medium grain, US grown, new crop


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## ian (Aug 2, 2019)

Xenif said:


> Soak rice for 1 min, this is like the blooming step for coffee, it opens up the pours of the rice.
> Wash rice, in a fine mesh strainer, so that the waste water dosent get reabsorbed into the rice (thats where the yucky flavours are), until clear
> Soak rice, for up to an hour, the rice will turn opaque and crumbly
> Pour out excess water, drain, add proper amount of water (because rice is now fully hydrated)
> ...



So, I’ll try this next time, but what’s the point?

I mean, does washing the rice really do anything other than remove some starch? It sounds like you’re claiming that there are impurities near the surface or something. Is this some documented result of the process by which you make white rice from brown? And why the ice cubes? You’ve already soaked the rice, so I don’t see the point of trying to prolong the cook.


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## 2bApical? (Aug 2, 2019)

ian said:


> So, I’ll try this next time, but what’s the point?
> 
> I mean, does washing the rice really do anything other than remove some starch? It sounds like you’re claiming that there are impurities near the surface or something. Is this some documented result of the process by which you make white rice from brown? And why the ice cubes? You’ve already soaked the rice, so I don’t see the point of trying to prolong the cook.



I'm reading that most if not all rice has arsenic in it and arsenic is not good for humans. Much of the arsenic can be washed out of white rice so washing until clear seems like a good idea to me. If you boil brown rice and then drain it then much of the arsenic is removed that way. Rice cooker for white, boiling for brown.


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## Kippington (Aug 2, 2019)

ian said:


> So, I’ll try this next time, but what’s the point?
> 
> I mean, does washing the rice really do anything other than remove some starch? It sounds like you’re claiming that there are impurities near the surface or something. Is this some documented result of the process by which you make white rice from brown? And why the ice cubes? You’ve already soaked the rice, so I don’t see the point of trying to prolong the cook.


Prolonging the cook can be a good thing, depending on how much rice you're cooking. A small amount of rice and water will boil super fast, resulting in an overly soft outside and a hard interior, but this can be countered by simply adjusting the heat appropriately.
Adding ice is one way of achieving that end, I guess...

Growing up, my mum always had a specific way of cooking rice in the microwave, utilising the low and slow settings. I gotta say, its astoundingly good and easily repeatable if you can be bothered working it out in the first place - I personally haven't bothered.


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## ian (Aug 2, 2019)

Kippington said:


> Prolonging the cook can be a good thing, depending on how much rice you're cooking. A small amount of rice and water will boil super fast, resulting in an overly soft outside and a hard interior, but this can be countered by simply adjusting the heat appropriately.
> Adding ice is one way of achieving that end, I guess...
> 
> Growing up, my mum always had a specific way of cooking rice in the microwave, utilising the low and slow settings. I gotta say, its astoundingly good and easily repeatable if you can be bothered working it out in the first place - I personally haven't bothered.



Interesting. What confuses me is that it seems like adding ice will mostly just keep the water for longer at a really low temp, which is basically just is a longer soak. Once the ice melts, it’ll still be going full tilt, no? It’s not like you’re going to continue cooking it at 80C or something afterwards. I guess I’m oversimplifying, since there are other things happening in the water when you add ice, but I’m a little skeptical that it will make a difference.

Then again, I haven’t tried it, so I should probably shove my skeptical attitude somewhere and go enjoy some awesome rice.


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## Kippington (Aug 2, 2019)

It's just speculation, I can't think of any other reason. Adding ice is not something I do myself, I just adjust the heat on the stove-top.


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## Xenif (Aug 2, 2019)

The idea is to start off with the lowest temperature water, apparently there is a correlation between fluffiness to the amount of time it takes to reach boiling. I've tested it a few times vs room temp water and indeed seems fluffier.
Rice is something you fine tune, like brewing coffee. Your water Ph and PPM is never going to be the same as mine, age of your rice, storage of the rice will also differ.


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## bahamaroot (Aug 3, 2019)

Rinse for a minute and put it in the Zojirushi works for me. My pallet isn't that sensitive.


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## ian (Aug 3, 2019)

Xenif said:


> The idea is to start off with the lowest temperature water, apparently there is a correlation between fluffiness to the amount of time it takes to reach boiling. I've tested it a few times vs room temp water and indeed seems fluffier.
> Rice is something you fine tune, like brewing coffee. Your water Ph and PPM is never going to be the same as mine, age of your rice, storage of the rice will also differ.
> View attachment 58100



Food for thought.


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## AT5760 (Aug 3, 2019)

Even though it’s not knife related, threads like this show KKF has a ton of non-BST life in it! Raised on Uncle Ben’s here. I’ve got no tips to contribute, but clearly plenty to learn.


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## dafox (Aug 3, 2019)

I rinse jasmine rice (the kind I eat the most) 3 times, in the pot (I've heard this can scratch the nonstick pot lining), dont use a strainer, works well for me. I have 6 cup and a 10 cup simple Zojirushi rice cookers.


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## Xenif (Aug 3, 2019)

AT5760 said:


> Even though it’s not knife related, threads like this show KKF has a ton of non-BST life in it! Raised on Uncle Ben’s here. I’ve got no tips to contribute, but clearly plenty to learn.


You would hope that with so many kitchen knife enthusiasts, that COOKING would be an integral part of the conversation around here sometimes! [emoji6]


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## Michi (Aug 3, 2019)

Xenif said:


> You would hope that with so many kitchen knife enthusiasts, that COOKING would be an integral part of the conversation around here sometimes! [emoji6]


To me, the knives are a means to an end, not an end. If I didn't like food and cooking, the knives would be totally uninteresting…


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## Keith Sinclair (Aug 6, 2019)

Cooked sushi rice at work rinsed 5 times till water clear. Since I read that rice contains arsenic I wash 5 times any and all rice that I cook in a Zojirushi. Like Jasmine use it to make Spanish Saffron rice. We also eat brown which is said to contain more arsenic wash till water clear let it soak than rinse again before cooking. Have read that rinsing brown rice gets out most of the arsenic also depends where the rice comes from.


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## DamageInc (Aug 7, 2019)

I started washing my rice more after getting hospitalized for arsenic poisoning. Incredible they get to sell such dangerous goods in supermarkets.


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## Kippington (Aug 7, 2019)

2bApical? said:


> ...rice has arsenic in it...





Keith Sinclair said:


> ...I read that rice contains arsenic...





DamageInc said:


> I started washing my rice more after getting hospitalized for arsenic poisoning.


Oh jeez... I didn't realise this was a thing I had to worry about. Thanks for the info.


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## boomchakabowwow (Aug 11, 2019)

Neve expected the words “arsenic” and “uncle Bens” to show up in this thread 

Both are horrific.


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## JoeWheels (Aug 11, 2019)

Great thread.

We were always told- "When you wash the rice; wash the rice!"


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