How to wash rice
Don't feel like washing the rice in a hurry? If you want to enjoy your rice to the fullest, you shouldn't skip washing it, whether you use the swell method in the saucepan or a rice cooker. We tell you why you should wash your rice and how to do it right.
Why does rice need to be washed?
Advantages of washing your rice before cooking it
Washing rice is very important for the taste and texture of the grain. By washing white rice, you rinse away excess starch particles that typically stick to the rice grain after polishing. The rice gets a looser consistency, becomes nicely grainy, thus does not stick together so much, does not become mushy and can develop its full quality.
In addition, washing the rice grains removes any impurities, which cannot always be ruled out in a natural product, even despite controls. For both consistency and health, washing the rice grains is a very good idea and should not be skipped if possible. Basmati rice, sushi rice and many other varieties develop their flavour best after washing.
How to wash the rice
- Step 1: Put your uncooked rice in a bowl and cover it completely with cold, clean water.
- Step 2: Use your hands to move the rice in a circular motion. The excess starch of the rice grains will make the water milky and cloudy.
- Step 3: Carefully pour off the water and make sure that the rice grains do not fall into your sink.
- Step 4: Repeat the process 2-3 times until the water remains almost clear.
Tip: Washing rice is even faster with a rice washing bowl! The water can be easily drained through an extra opening.
Which rice does not need to be washed?
There are several types of rice that do not need to be washed before cooking. These risotto rice and paella rice. These types of rice naturally contain more starch, which is elementary for cooking these types of rice. When this starch is washed away, the important sticking properties are lost. However, these are urgently needed for the consistency of paella and risotto. Do not rinse several times in order to maintain the optimal consistency. If you still don't want to do without washing, then only wash the rice once. This way, only a little starch is lost, and the rice grains retain their slightly sticky characteristics.
For the patient: Let the rice soak
To achieve the best rice results, you can also soak the rice after washing it. To do this, first drain the rice in a sieve and put it in a pot with fresh water. Now let the rice soak for 30 minutes. To avoid soaking your rice with too much water, we recommend that you drain the rice well after soaking.
Advantages of soaking
Soaking allows the rice grains to expand to the maximum and shortens the cooking time. The rice becomes less brittle and breaks less often. This way, your rice will turn out well.
The solution: Premium Rice Washing Bowl
We can understand if you don't want to wash your rice every time before cooking. However, this is often due to wrong equipment. If you wash it in a normal bowl and tip off the excess water with your hand in front of the bowl rim, then it's easy to make a mess. Why wash rice if it ends up in the sink? As rice fans, we have a pretty practical solution: with our stainless steel rice washing bowl, cleaning rice grains is never a problem again. Our bowl has a small-mesh sieve casting at the top of the bowl, which makes it easy to pour off the excess water. The ideal kitchen gadget not only for rice. It is also ideal for washing fruit and vegetables. Thanks to the non-slip silicone base with tilt function, it always stays in place.
