Since ancient times, rice is rightfully one of the most delicious and healthy side dishes. It combines wonderfully with fish and meat dishes, and is one of the main ingredients in many oriental dishes.
Almost every housewife knows how to cook delicious rice, but it is not always possible to achieve the desired result when cooking it. How tasty a dish will turn out is influenced by many factors. This is the right choice of variety, and the preliminary preparation of cereals, and even when to salt the rice when cooking.
Beneficial features
Rice with proper boiling preserves almost all the useful properties, and there are a lot of them. Complex carbohydrates, which are part of the composition, are able to provide the body with the necessary energy for a long time. There is practically no fat and very little protein in the boiled product, which makes it an ideal component of numerous diets.
Rice also contains B vitamins, as well as calcium and phosphorus. All this, as well as the fact that eating rice helps to eliminate toxins and cleanse the body, made dishes from it very popular.
Varieties and their application
Depending on which dish will be prepared from rice, you need to choose the right variety.
For a loose side dish, it is better to choose varieties of long-grain rice. Moreover, the chefs believe that the longer the grain, the more crumbly the dish will turn out.
Kruglozerny is not at all suitable for preparing a side dish, it contains too much starch content and is very sticky. But such varieties are optimal when creating sushi, filling for a pie or rice casserole with raisins.
Mid-grain varieties contain a little starch, so they hardly stick together. They are recommended for the preparation of paella or cabbage rolls.
When to salt rice? Very often, the answer to a question depends on the variety and how it will be prepared.
Crumbly side dish
In order to cook a delicious crumbly side dish of rice, you need to follow simple rules.
Before cooking, rinse the groats thoroughly several times. This should be done until the water becomes clear. Using such a simple procedure, starch is washed off the seeds and the rice will not stick together during cooking.
If time permits, the washed product should be soaked in cool water for several hours. Croup saturated with water will boil more evenly, and its taste will become more saturated.
Water for the preparation of long-grain rice is used in a ratio of 1: 2, i.e., two glasses of cool water are needed per glass of cereal.
With this method of preparing a loose side dish, you do not need to salt the rice when cooking. Many professional chefs are firmly convinced that with this cooking method, salt is very harmful, it destroys the structure of rice grains, making them more brittle and sticky. You can add salt to taste already in the finished dish.
It is also not recommended to stir the rice during cooking, do not lift the lid so as not to interfere with the process.
Even if during cooking it seems that there is not enough water, in no case should you add cold water.
Medium Rice Porridge
If you do not cook a side dish, but the basis for cabbage rolls, meatballs or porridge with vegetables, you need to cook rice in a completely different way. With proper cooking, the cereal is very tender and slightly sticky.
In this case, the cereal should also be washed to remove impurities and impurities, but it does not need to be soaked at all.
There are different opinions about when to salt rice when cooking in a pan. Usually, every housewife determines this for herself empirically.
When preparing rice for cabbage rolls or porridge, it is better to salt the water in which the product will be cooked.
Add cereals to boiling water, then cook over low heat until cooked. To prepare medium-grain rice, the amount of water is calculated in a proportion of 1: 2.5 (two and a half glasses of water per glass of cereal).
Rice porridge will turn out even tastier if you add butter or vegetable oil to an already cooked dish and leave it for ten minutes under the lid.
You can cook medium grain rice not only in water, but also in vegetable broth. If desired, spices are added to the broth for taste (pepper, bay leaf, rosemary). To give the finished dish a golden hue, you can add a pinch of turmeric to the water. It is recommended to add spices and spices at the same time as pickling rice.
Delicious rice in a pan
A very rich, interesting taste is obtained from rice cooked according to the Eastern tradition, in a cauldron. If there is none, don’t be upset, it can be replaced with a frying pan. The main thing was that the pan had a wide, even bottom, along which rice was spread in a thin layer.
If the boiled product will be used as a standalone dish, you can improve its taste by frying it a little in melted butter. You can also add spices, a few cloves of garlic, chopped onions and carrots to the frying oil.
At the end of the process, rice is leveled in a pan, a thin stream is poured into water or broth.
When cooking in this way, there are two options when salt rice. You can salt the oil, in which rice grains will be fried, or you can add salt to the broth. You need to add it at the rate of: a teaspoon per 200 ml of water or broth. If desired, the amount of salt can be reduced.
After adding water, close the pan tightly with a lid, bring to a boil, then reduce the degree of heating and simmer over low heat until the water evaporates. When the rice is cooked, let it infuse for another ten minutes without lifting the lid. Fantastic taste guaranteed!
There is no consensus on whether to salt rice during cooking in this way. Many lovers of this product believe that adding salt deprives the cereal of its unique taste.
How to cook rice for sushi
For the preparation of sushi use round-grain rice varieties. It has a high starch content, during cooking it turns out to be sticky, and then the sushi keeps its shape well.
Before cooking, the rice should be washed well with cool water, rubbing the grains with your hands. Rice should be washed until the water becomes completely transparent.
Rice is transferred to a saucepan for cooking and pour water, approximately in a ratio of 1: 3. Water does not need to be salted and seasonings added, with the exception of a piece of seaweed combo (optional). The main thing is not to forget to get this piece before boiling the liquid.
Rice for sushi should be cooked on low heat for about 15 minutes. It is not recommended to open the lid or stir the grains.
Do I need to salt rice for sushi? The clear answer is no. Boiled and slightly chilled, it is seasoned with a special mixture of rice vinegar, sugar and a small amount of salt. It is this dressing that gives the rice for sushi an indescribable piquant taste.
How to serve boiled rice
Rice is a fairly versatile side dish that blends wonderfully with almost all products. Serve the boiled product well with dishes of stew or fried meat. No less tasty rice with fish.
Boiled rice is good with almost all kinds of vegetables (green peas, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms), which is enough for imagination.
For children, and for adults, sweet tooth, rice is very tasty to combine with dried apricots, raisins or favorite jam.
It’s absolutely easy to prepare delicious rice for different dishes, the main thing is to choose the right type of grain, to know if and when to salt the rice, and not to overdo it on the fire for longer than it should be.