I spent most of my married life cooking rice the old-fashioned way, you know, on the stove. I wasn’t always happy about how it turned out, and I finally succumbed to the allure of a rice cooker four or five years ago. And I never looked back. The rice was perfect every single time.
I didn’t
want to think about how I would return to cooking rice without a dedicated,
electricity-dependent rice cooker. Of
course, I have some instant rice prepared (it is so easy to DIY instant rice, link below) and ready to go, but only a few
pounds.
How would cooking rice work out if I had to do it over an open fire? What if we were using a camp stove? That would take a lot of precious fuel, and
it’s not like we could just make a big batch and refrigerate the leftovers. We've already covered how to cook pasta quickly to conserve fuel, but I just didn't know what to do about rice, other than turning it all into instant rice, which I didn't want to do because of the short shelf life.
Some questions and concerns just have to sit on the back burner until the answer presents itself. I don’t even remember where I read this solution to cooking rice quickly. It may have been in the comment section on a Youtube video.
To cook rice using less fuel:
- Boil regular rice 6-7 minutes and remove from heat.
- Do not remove the lid.
- Insulate the pot by wrapping it with towels or blankets.
- Let sit 20-25 minutes.
- Remove lid, fluff with fork, and serve.
That was all
I had for directions, so I gave it a try, with a couple of modifications. I preheated the pan on the stove and added a
teaspoon of cooking oil before adding the rice and water. As I was cooking long-grain rice, I used 2
cups of water to 1 cup of rice. And I
also added ½ teaspoon of salt.
Everything else was exactly according to the directions above.
I would not
say it turned out perfectly. My rice was
a little sticky, but it was completely cooked.
And not a single grain stuck to the pan, so I didn’t have a mess to
clean up or any wasted rice, both important issues to me. So overall, I am satisfied and will
definitely use this method for cooking rice when there is no electricity. One thing I have noticed is that I want to use a much larger pan than I normally would for a small amount of rice. Because the rice is to boil for five minutes, it wants to boil over in a small pan. Use a larger pan to avoid making a mess.
I’ll continue trying to perfect the results while the grid is still up, however. I’m pretty sure that if I cut back on the water, I can achieve a result that is a little less sticky as well. I figure I’ll reduce the amount of water I use by a couple of tablespoons each time I use this method until I get the consistency I desire.
Jennifer I look forward to your results. A straw box cooker is useful all around but the recipes need adjustment as you found. Less water lost through cooking process.
ReplyDeleteStill experimenting. I've reduced the water to 1 3/4 cups to 1 cup rice. It's still sticky. It makes Becky happy because she likes it that way.
ReplyDeleteThis is similar to how I make oatmeal. Boil water, add oatmeal, put a lid on it, turn off flame. It’s perfect in about 20-25 mins.
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestion!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I've been contemplating how I would cook rice in a grid down situation so this is timely.
ReplyDeleteMy rice maker bit the dust and doubt I'll be buying another so it's back to doing so on the stove.
I've wondered about cooking the rice and pressure canning ahead of time or would this be a mistake!
Pressure canning rice is not safe. Your best bet would be to cook rice and then dehydrate it--in other words, make your own instant (Minute) rice. That way you just have to bring it to a boil, cover it, and remove it from heat to have rice ready in 5 minutes with only a couple of minutes of fuel consumed.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer. I appreciate your input. Doing the instant rice seems a smarter move.
Delete