A Valentine’s Cake to Remember

There are so many different kinds of rice available. When you purchase rice, it is important to pay attention to the type that you buy so that you can prepare and cook with it accordingly. If you happen to pick up some long-grain white rice, here are some basic guidelines that will come in handy as you use and enjoy it.

Go easy on the water.

With some other types of rice, you have to use at least twice the volume of water as rice when cooking. If you use this much water with long grain rice, it will end up very soft. If you prefer soft rice, then you can certainly cook it using 2 cups water with 1 cup of rice. But most people do prefer their rice with a bit more bite, in which case, you'll want to use closer to 1 1/2 cups water per cup of rice. With long grain rice, you're better off erring on the side of using less water to avoid getting mushy rice.

Don't stir while cooking.

When you stir rice while it cooks, you break down some of the starches on the outside of the rice grains. This makes all of the individual rice grains stick together. Short-grain rice is often made this way, but long-grain rice just gets unpleasant when prepared with this method. As such, you really want to avoid stirring it during cooking. This is true whether you cook it in a rice cooker, on the stovetop, or by some other method.

Serve it under saucy foods.

There are so many different ways to enjoy long grain rice, but this type of rice really shines when served under a saucy dish. So, make your Asian-style stir fries and your curries, and spoon them over cooked, long grain rice. The long grains do a great job of soaking up the sauce while maintaining their structure.

If you do plan on serving your long grain rice under saucy dishes, then you can purposefully choose a variety that's suited to the type of dishes you plan to cook. If you plan on making Thai food, then look for a long grain variety called Jasmine rice. If you plan on making Indian dishes, then look for long grain Basmati. Vendors who sell premium long grain rice usually carry these varieties. Go to websites like this for even more options.

With the information above, you should be well prepared to make and enjoy long grain rice. Yum!