How to Cook Rice | Student Cooking Basics #3

Next to pasta, rice is one of the most common things cooked by students. However, often, I see people buying microwavable rice in pouches! Which is such a shame when you think about how expensive those pouches are and how easy it is to buy a bag of normal rice and cook it. Plus, for the same price, you get about 10 portions instead of just one!

Check out my other student cooking basics:

#1 How To Make Béchamel Sauce | Student Cooking Basics
#2 How To Cook Pasta (Properly) | Student Cooking Basics
#4 How To Make Bulgur | Student Cooking Basics

Types of Rice

There are many different types of rice, for example, basmati, jasmine, brown, arborio or paella rice to only mention a few! All are cooked slightly differently and used for different dishes, but since this is a student cooking basics post, I will be focusing on two types a student is very likely to cook: basmati rice and brown rice.

Do you have to soak rice before cooking?

Some say you should soak basmati or brown rice for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Whilst that may help the rice to cook evenly, as a student who wants a quick dinner, I wouldn´t say it isn´t absolutely necessary to do this (hopefully the rice gods won´t kill me for saying that).

I never soak my rice and think the rice turns out absolutely fine! The thought of soaking the rice beforehand might be worth trying if I have the time someday, but for now I´ll quite happily live without it. Especially as I like cooking brown rice which already needs about 25-30 minutes to cook anyway!

Cover Basmati Rice — Cover basmati rice and simmer in double the water.

cook-brown-rice — Cover basmati rice and simmer in double the water.

The Difference between Cooking Brown and Basmati Rice + TOP TIP

I used to think that all rice had to be cooked in double the amount of water and with the lid on. Whilst that may be true for basmati rice (see below), brown rice needs a lot longer to cook and absorbs a lot more water! I wish I had known that sooner – that would have resulted in fewer burnt, undercooked rice incidents back in first year!🤣

I don´t know if that is necessarily the “right” way of doing it, but I now cook my brown rice in a big pot of water, and then just drain away any excess in the end. That´s a lot safer and an absolutely fool-proof way of doing it!

TOP TIP: Also, my top tip for you when cooking rice is to use (part of) a vegetable stock cube to season the water! It adds so much more flavour than just adding a pinch of salt. Trust me (my flatmate said it was a life changing tip, haha!)!

How to cook Basmati Rice

To make perfectly fluffy basmati rice, you need to cook the rice in double the amount of water and leave it to simmer with the lid on.

Pour water into rice — Pour the boiling water over the rice.

Allow about 60g of rice and hence 120ml of water per serving. To avoid weighing, I cook two servings of rice by filling a normal-sized mug half-way with rice (which is roughly 120g). Add the rice to a pot, then fill the mug all the way to the top with boiling water and add that to the rice. Season with a pinch of salt or half a vegetable stock cube and briefly stir to make sure it has dissolved. Transfer the pot to the heat, cover and then simmer the rice with the lid on for exactly 12 minutes!

After 12 minutes, all the water should have been absorbed and the rice should be perfectly fluffy!

How to cook Brown Rice

As mentioned above, because brown rice takes longer to cook and absorbs so much more water, you have to cook it differently to basmati rice.

In terms of how much rice to make, I weigh out about 50g of uncooked brown rice when making it to serve alongside a curry and 70-75g when it is the main component of my dish (for example, in a stir-fry).

To cook, bring about 500ml per 50g of rice to the boil in a pot and dissolve half a vegetable stock (per 500ml) in the boiling water. Simmer (uncovered!) for about 25-30 minutes until the rice is cooked through. If you think there is not enough water in the pot at any stage, add a little more. Taste it near the end of the cooking time, you are aiming for it to still have a bit of bite and not be complete mush.

Strain the rice through a sieve to get rid of any excess water and you are good to go!

Serving Suggestions

Some fluffy basmati rice is the best accompaniment for a curry there is (as well as these 2 Ingredient Naan Breads)! And I have loads of curry recipes on my blog for you to check out! Of course, for a healthier twist, you could also serve some brown rice with your curries!

I also really like using rice to cook delicious one-pots like a pilaf, or combine it with loads of colourful veggies in a healthy stir-fry. Check out some of the recipes below for inspiration: