Rice – Microwaved rice, it’s not fluffy

microwaverice

In the student dorms I'm limited to a microwave. So I microwave the rice, put in a colander and drain it. But the rice is not fluffy, tried different rices but it just doesn't texture right.

What am I doing wrong?

Best Answer

People have a difficult time as it is, to make rice fully. The microwave isn't going to make it easier. A rice cooker is advised.

Here is what I would do (if I were stuck on a food-less island with only a microwave). And no, I'm not going quote any chef-books. Rice is one of those things you ask a grandmother or at best, an eastern cuisine chef.

Different types of rice will require changes to the timing below. Basmati and wild types take longer.

  • Wash the rice in cold water to rinse out the starch. You should start to see clear water in the bowl when you've rinsed enough times. This will take some of the sticky out of the rice.
  • Soak the rice in cold water for about 1.5hrs.
  • Place the rice in a bowl and add enough cold water to cover the rice plus one inch.
  • Nuke until the water is boiling but not much longer this should be about half of the suggested cooking time. The rice should still be somewhat uncooked and hard at this point.
  • Drain in a colander, rinse rice with cold water.
  • Put rise in a bowl and Cover with a cotton cloth. put in the microwave on low (say 10% power) and run for 5-10 minutes (or more if the instructions asked for long cooking time). The cotton cloth will absorb the excess steam and low power should allow the rice to get fluffy. The flatter the bowl (shallower rice) the easier to get fluffy rice.

You may have to experiment with timing a bit. I feel confident if you rinse the starch out first and finish with steaming on low with the cloth at the end, you should see results that put a sneaky smile on your face.

P.S. All bets are off if you're using something like minute-rice or uncle-ben's. Try with honest and real rice grains.