by Daniel Oh · About 5 minutes to read this article. · 10 Comments
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Korean Rice – today is a tutorial on how to make Korean white rice.
Now cooking rice may look easy no? Pour rice into a pot, with a few scoops of water and just let it cook.
But question: How consistently do you make perfect, fluffy rice?
Cooking rice is tricky – especially if you’re new to Korean cooking.
Today, I will teach you an easy way to get delicious results, consistently!
KOREAN RICE VS OTHERS
Koreans eat short-grain white rice.
Yes, it’s the same type of rice that the Japanese eat (aka sushi rice).
But it's different to Chinese rice – which is a medium-grain rice. And different to Thai rice (Jasmine Rice) and Indian rice (Basmati Rice) which are long-grain rices.
Short-grain rice release a larger amount of starch when cooked. This extra starch makes the short-grain rice feel sticky and a lot easier to eat with side dishes.
Or in the case of sushi, helps stick well to the raw fish slices.
There are a few steps that most Korean homecooks do when cooking rice. Let me explain why:
WHY RINSE THE RICE?
For practical reasons – we want to flush out any small bugs or bad grains from our mix.
WHY SOAK RICE IN WATER BEFORE COOKING?
Soaking the grains in water allows rice to start swelling without any heat. This swelling reduces the actual cooking time.
And a shorter cooking time mean less of the aromatic compounds (and nutrients) are volatilized and lost in the cooking process.
Note: For short-grain rice, you’ll only need to soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
DOES THE AMOUNT OF WATER CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE RICE TYPE?
Yes it does! For short-grain white rice, a 1:1 ratio of water-to-rice is perfect.
If you want to cook brown rice or multi-grain rice, you’ll need to pre-soak the rice for longer and add more water to the pot before cooking. Same applies to medium-grain or long-grain rices.
HOW CAN I MAKE MY BROWN RICE TASTE BETTER?
First, you want to soak the brown rice in some water. Hydrating the rice before cooking makes the rice grains taste much more tender and smooth - I recommend 8 hours of soaking for brown rice.
If you are making brown rice or other multi-grain, mix in some Korean white glutinous rice (this is best!) or Korean white rice!
Mix a ratio of white rice (50%) + brown rice/multigrain rice (50%). The white rice will smooth out the texture a lot!
Alright, I hope you try out our technique. Let us know if it’s increased your success rate! Tag us on IG - we love seeing picture of your cooking.
-Daniel Out! 🕺
P.s. If you're cooking (or eating alone) at home - don't get too lonely! Play our latest discussions in the background and enjoy some food-for-thought 🙉:
Perfect Sticky Rice Everytime
Here are a few tips to get that perfect sticky rice for your Korean meal.
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Ingredients
- Short-grain white rice (1 cup)
- Water 1 cup
- Note: 1 cup of rice will be enough for a 2-person serving. Use more if you need - just remember a 1:1 ratio rice to water.
Instructions
Use any cup and fill it up to the brim with rice.
Then pour the rice into a pot (or your rice-cooker bowl). Rinse the rice in cold water. Then pour out the residual water. Rinse and pour-out the water 4-5 times or until the residual water becomes clear.
Then re-fill the pot with cold water and let the rice soak for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, pour out the residual water from the pot - try your best not to lose any rice grains as you pour out the water.
Then use the same cup from Step 1 - and fill it up the brim with water. Carefully pour the water into the pot with the rice (or rice cooker bowl). Now, you should have a 1:1 ratio of water-to-rice in the pot.
If you have a rice cooker, place the bowl in the cooker and turn it on. Then you're finished.
If you do not have a rice cooker, simply place a lid on the pot (important!). Then put it on the stove - on high heat and bring it up to a boil.
When you hear the pot boiling, reduce the heat to a medium. Let it cook for 5 minutes (keep lid on).
Then reduce heat to a low. Let it cook for 10 more minutes (keep lid on).
Then turn off the heat. Let it rest for 5 more minutes (keep lid on).
Total cooking time should be roughly 20-25 minutes.
Notes
- 1 cup of rice = 2 person serving
- The residual rice water from Step#2 can be saved in a plastic bottle as stock base for Korean stews. It is a good alternative to anchovy-dashima stock. You can use it to cook Kimchi Jjigae or Korean Beef and Radish Soup.
- If you are cooking sticky brown rice, let the rice sit in cool water for 4-5 hours (rather than 30 minutes). Then use a 1 to 1.25 ratio (1 cup of rice, use 1 & ¼ cup of water)
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About Daniel Oh
Hi Neighbors - Daniel here! I'm not a professional chef, but an avid home cook. If you're new to Korean food, come try our simple homestyle recipes. Master the essentials and add Korean cooking to your repertoire!
Reader Interactions
Comments
Andres says
Do you let it rest on the warm stove or off the warm stove?
Reply
Jarvis D Womack says
Lmfao it means when you empty the water you put back in the same amount of clean water........ lololol wow
Reply
Emily says
Your method works every time for me and we now have sticky rice a few times each week. Thanks so much!
Reply
Mary Abramczyk says
It is perfect! I used Egyptian white short rice.Reply
Chef Xam says
Step 5 is so confusing it could mean 3 things and not sure if the water goes outside the bowl in the cooker or in the rice. No matter how many times you read it it, it just gets more confusing. Edit with some clarity in mind.
Reply
Dan-yul says
Hmm, yes I made a slight modification to the text. Not sure it clarifies for you - you want to add the water into the pot with the rice. If you're using a rice cooker - then of course, add the water into the rice cooker bowl.
Reply
vex says
What brand of rice cooker would you reccomend ? do you think a 30euros rice cooker would be able to make good rice ? As i've reasearched that yours is pretty high end
Reply
Danny! says
Hey Vex! Cuckoo is the most popular brand in Korea and very durable. I havent had a problem for the last 10 years. For sticky rice, I would try to go for the ~$100 range. (Btw- I am using Cuckoo CR-0351FR).
Reply
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