Steamed Rice

Learn how to make steamed rice that is perfectly cooked, fluffy, and delicious in just 30 minutes. Whether you want to make long grained rice or medium grained rice, it's easy to cook rice on the stove, in a rice cooker, or in your instant pot pressure cooker. So say goodbye to undercooked, burnt, or mushy overcooked rice because you will end up with tender and fluffy rice every single time. Serve this white rice on the side of your favorite family dinners, and make leftovers to include in meal prep throughout the week.

Why You’ll Love Steamed Rice

• Steamed rice is an classic recipe to know. In my opinion, any cook should know how to make steamed rice. White rice is the perfect side for so many dishes — especially ones that are saucy so you can pour it over the rice. Try Instant Pot Beef Curry, Creamy Tuscan Chicken, or Cashew Chicken.
• It’s easy to make steamed rice. If you’ve struggled to make rice before, now is the time to learn how to make the best steamed rice. I'm sharing 3 ways to make steamed rice over the stove, in the rice cooker, or in the pressure cooker (instant pot). It turns out fluffy and delicious every time (no undercooked, burnt, or mushy rice over here!)
• It helps you maintain a balanced diet. Healthy grains are an important part of a healthy diet, and white rice is a better carbohydrate than pasta or bread. It’s lower in calories and takes more time to digest compared to wheat products, which means more energy over a longer time period and no carb crash.

Ingredients and Substitutions

To make easy Steamed Rice, you will need the following ingredients (full quantities in recipe card below):

• white rice - you can pick any kind of white rice. For instance, you can use long-grain such as Jasmine and Basmati or medium-grain such as Calrose.
• water
• salt - salt is optional, and it depends on the rice that you are making. For instance, many cultures tend to add a little salt to rice. But others, such as Asian steamed rice, does not have any salt.

You will also need measuring cups and a cooking pot, rice cooker, or instant pot (pressure cooker).

Do You Have to Wash Rice?

Whether you should or shouldn’t wash your rice is a highly controversial topic — although it shouldn’t be. Whether or not you wash your rice is a personal preference. However, washing rice does have benefits such as removing impurities, reducing starchiness and stickiness, and improving flavor.

I like to rinse rice in several changes of cold water first until the water runs clear. Then, I drain the rice in a large fine-mesh sieve or colander.

How to Make the Best Steamed Rice

There are three ways that you can make rice — over the stove, in a rice cooker, or in a pressure cooker (like an instant pot).

How to Cook Rice in a Cooking Pot

1. In a medium cooking pot, add rice, water and salt. Bring it to boil over medium heat, about 5 minutes.
2. Close the lid and reduce heat to low. Let the rice simmer for 15 minutes until tender and the water is absorbed.
3. Remove from heat and let the cooked rice rest for another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve warm.

How to Cook Rice in a Rice Cooker

1. Add rice and cold water in 1:1.5 ratio in the rice cooker (for 2 cups of rice, you need 3 cups of water).
2. Turn on the power and start cooking in the rice cooker. It typically takes about 15-20 minutes.
3. The rice cooker will automatically switch to 'keep warm' setting. Let the cooked rice rest for another 5 minutes and fluff with a fork.

How to Cook Rice in an Instant Pot

1. Add rice and cold water in 1:1 ratio in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker (for 2 cups of rice, you need 2 cups of water).
2. Switch the instant pot to pressure cooking mode on manual High and seal the lid (the steam release knob must be turned to the sealed position). Cook for 3 minutes. Once the time is up, let the instant pot slowly release the pressure for 10 minutes and then quickly release the remaining pressure by turning the steam release valve to the venting position.
3. Fluff with a fork and serve warm.

More Rice Recipes

• 30 Best Rice Recipes
• Cilantro Lime Rice
• Vegetarian Fried Rice
• Basmati Rice with Saffron
• Rice Pilaf with Carrots
• Curry Chicken Fried Rice

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