How to Cook White Rice in a Rice Cooker, Perfect Rice All the Time

Cooking rice is perhaps one of the basic kitchen tasks, however, some people still find cooking rice a challenge. Today I will show you how to cook white rice in a rice cooker and master the perfect, fluffy rice all the time.

All about White Rice

Wherever your feet might lead you, there is one thing the world has in common, and that is rice. It could be any varieties such as white rice, brown, red, black, and even multigrain.

White rice is probably the most famous among all varieties because it is soft, fluffy, and can be eaten with almost any types of dishes.

If you take a closer look, even white rice alone seems to have various sub-varieties.

You can find some short-grain, medium-grain, long-grain, basmati, jasmine, and parboiled white rice.

Why White

After the rice grains have been harvested, they go into the milling process.

The more process the rice undergoes, the more polished it will become just like white rice.

So basically, white rice had its husk, bran, and the germ removed.

White Rice Advantages

A lot of health-conscious people out there are afraid of eating white rice because it lacks all the essential nutrients that our body needs including fibre, vitamins, and minerals.

White rice isn’t bad at all! You can enjoy a lot of health benefits from white rice just like these:

Top-up Energy

When you begin your day with lots of activities, you might need more energy to keep going and this is where you need white rice.

White rice has more carbohydrates than any other varieties. Carbohydrates are then turned into glucose or blood sugar in which your body will convert into energy.

White rice is best for those who are into bodybuilding because of the carbohydrates. They usually eat rice as part of their pre and post-workout meal. These carbohydrates are easily digested and drive amino acids into the muscles for faster recovery.

Digestion

If you are experiencing some stomach problems like diarrhoea, indigestion, gastroenteritis, and other stomach issues. White rice contains low fibre, which is the main reason why it is friendly on your tummy.

You can simply eat plain white rice or be more creative and cook rice porridge or use cream of rice when you feel that your stomach is not feeling well.

There are two of the most significant benefits of white rice and if we dig deeper, there can be more of its health benefits.

How to Cook White Rice

Cooking can either be easy or challenging for some people and rice is considered to be the baptismal recipe. 😀 It is not difficult to cook white rice at all! Let’s consider two effective methods to understand how to cook white rice better.

Stove Top Cooking

In most parts of Asia, we cook rice in a pot over the stove or charcoal and wood. It all depends on the available cooking option. The easiest for me is, of course, the stove top because you can quickly adjust the heat at any time.

Like most rice, the only important thing to consider is the water level. You only need to bear in mind the different rice to water ratio.

The general rule is 1:1 but then some brands may require less or more water level. A cup of rice is usually good 2 people.

How to Cook:

1. Prepare and wash your white rice (any grain type will do). Washing the rice will remove any impurities unless your brand uses Musenmai technology or the no-rinse rice. Don’t forget to drain it completely.
2. Place the rice on to the pot and add the right amount of water. The amount of water you add will determine the texture of cooked rice.
3. Add in optional ingredients like salt, oil or butter
4. Put the pot on stove top and turn on to medium high heat
5. When the water starts boiling, gradually reduce the heat to medium until all water is gone
6. Reduce the heat into its lowest when the water is gone. Stir and cover for 15 minutes more to let is simmer.
7. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork and allow it to steam for 5 more minutes.
8. Serve!

Rice Cooker Method

The easiest way to cook white rice is by using a rice cooker. What I like with rice cookers today is that they do more than just rice cooking. Most modern rice cookers offer settings for each rice type including white rice, brown rice, sushi, porridge and more.

We’ll be using Zojirushi NS-ZCC10, neuro-fuzzy logic rice cooker to cook the perfect white rice. This brand offers computerized technology with multi-menu settings. Check out how to cook white rice in a rice cooker:

1. Measure the rice using the cup included with the rice cooker. Usually, a cup of uncooked rice can double its size when cooked depending on the variety and brand
2. Rinse the rice if needed. Again to remove dust and other impurities. Drain the water completely after washing.
3. Place the rice into the rice cooker inner pot.
4. Measure the correct amount of water. Take note that the water level in a rice cooker is different compared to the stove top.
   • A cup of long grain may require 1 and ¾ cup of water
   • Short-grain white rice may need 1 and ¼ water
   • Medium-grain white rice can have 1 and ½ cup of water
5. Make sure all the rice and submerged in the water and wipe excess water in the edges and around the inner pot. At this point, you can add optional salt and oil for flavouring
6. Put the inner pot into the rice cooker and push the button for the white rice option of your Zojirushi NS-ZCC10.
7. Allow the rice to sit when the rice cooker turns to its keep warm mode.
8. Fluff the rice and serve!

Summary

There you go, we have finally learned how to cook white rice in a rice cooker plus a bonus intake on cooking it at the stove top. If we are to conclude, rice cooking depends on the water ratio, the heat we use and the variety of rice.

When we understand the different rice types and the practice the correct cooking process, we will surely get the best-cooked rice all the time. I hope you learned a lot if this is your first time cooking, it only takes practice to become an expert, right?