Rinse the Damn Rice!
People ask, “do I really need to rinse the rice? The short answer is yes. 100% yes you should rinse the rice. Some say it’s to rinse away some of the starches and prevent clumpy rice, some say it’s to remove the naturally occurring arsenic that is in all rice, but I think most would agree that at the very least, you’re rinsing away any dirt and debris. Here’s an article that I like, but feel free to search the entire Internet, where you’ll find many different opinions as to why, they still agree to rinse the rice.
How Much Water to Rice Ratio?
This is a tricky question, but I have found that using a multi-cooker and cooking jasmine rice, it’s 1:1 (1 cup rice to 1 cup water). Ignore the packing. I have noticed that all packages of Jasmine rice have different ratios. Some are more than double the water to rice (1 cup rice to 2 cups water). When I follow the package directions, my rice comes out like mush. It’s all broken and is starting to resemble mashed potatoes.
You can always add more water, so it’s best to experiment with your multi-cooker or rice cooker. At the most, I would never add more than 1 1/4 cups of water of liquid to 1 cup rice. Same should go for stove top cooking where you can actually check it near the end of cooking time and add more if needed.
Thai Yellow Rice
Equipment
- Multi-Cooker or Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Jasmine Rice (uncooked and rinsed)
- 1 Cup Vegetable Stock (chicken stock or water)
- 1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 Large Cloves of Garlic
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Turmeric
- 1/4 Teaspoon Saffron
- 1/4 Cup Minced Shallots (or 2 tablespoons dried shallots)
- 1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce (optional, but lots of flavor)
- 1 Tablespoon Butter or Oil
- 1 Star Anise optional
- 1 Cup Frozen Peas
- Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- 1/2 English Cucumber (sliced)
- 1 1/2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes (sliced in half)
- 1 Lime (cut into 8 wedges)
- 4 Green Onions (chopped)
- 1 Bell Pepper (any color)
- Thai Basil (optional but so worth it (or cilantro, or sweet basil))
- Red Thai Chilis (optional garnish – careful, they are HOT)
Instructions
- Rinse the rice.
- Add rice and all other ingredients except frozen peas and garnish ingredient to multi-cooker, set for “white rice”, and cook for the recommended time for your particular cooker (they are not all the same). I set mine for one minute less than recommended.
- While rice is cooking, cut up all your garnish and have the peas ready to add.
- Release the pressure, open lid, add peas and optional bell pepper slices, close lid and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
- Fluff with fork, place in a bowl or on individual bowls or plates and garnish (see list above).
- I highly recommend Thai basil over cilantro or sweet basil as it’s flavor is very unique and I think it adds a lot to this rice recipe. Serve with Thai Chicken Satay, or in place of white rice in other Asian dishes. Or eat it as a main vegetarian meal.
Notes
Nutrition
Step-by-Step Instructions
Rinse the rice.
Add rice and all other ingredients except frozen peas and garnish ingredient to multi-cooker, set for “white rice”, set timer for 9 minutes.
While rice is cooking, cut up all your garnish and have the peas ready to add.
Release the pressure, open lid, add peas and optional bell pepper slices, close lid and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
I highly recommend Thai basil (which I did not have on this day) over cilantro or sweet basil as it’s flavor is very unique and I think it adds a lot to this rice recipe. Serve with Thai Chicken Satay, or in place of white rice in other Asian dishes. Or eat it as a main vegetarian meal.