Best Fluffy Rice Tips For Making The Perfect Side Dish

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Rice is one of those dishes that’s insanely easy to f*ck up, but once you master it, you’ll have a best friend for life. And even though it’s cheap, it’s better to not waste an entire batch of rice, right? If you want to be known as the rice guru of your social circle, here are three tried-and-true tricks to keep in mind as you cook.

Rinse your rice.

Many chefs and home cooks believe not rinsing your rice will lead to a sticky texture… and not in a good way. An initial rinse removes surface starch that leads to that extra stickiness. Rinsing your rice is especially important with imported rice like jasmine and basmati. And if you want to go one step further, soak your rice beforehand to give the grains a head start on cooking, ultimately giving your rice a fluffier texture. However, skip the rinsing and soaking when you’re looking to make creamy rice dishes like risotto or sticky rice for sushi.

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Keep an eye on the liquid ratio.

It’s easy to forget about rice while it’s cooking. The ratio for cooking rice is always 2:1 (water to rice), but depending on how high you have the heat set, the liquid can evaporate at a faster rate than your rice cooks. If you let the amount of liquid get too low, you’re likely to end up with a burnt bottom situation, which means a third or half of your rice won’t be fluffy (or even edible). Keep tabs on the water ratio and make sure you can always see liquid close to the surface of the rice when it’s cooking.

Let the rice rest before fluffing.

If you’re hungry, it might be hard to practice patience when the rice is done cooking, but it’s worth it for the fluffiness factor. Once all of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked to your desired texture, let it sit uncovered for 10 minutes. After you give it the chance to steam, fluff it with a fork. Stirring rice with a spoon is an easy way to break the grains into smaller pieces, and chances are you want your grains in all their full-length glory.

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