On Fri 08 Apr 2005 02:52:48p, Dee Randall wrote in rec.food.cooking:

>
> "Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On Fri 08 Apr 2005 11:18:21a, Sheldon wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>>
>>>
>>> Dee Randall wrote:
>>>> "Sheldon" > wrote in message
>>>> >
>>>> > If it's real Basmati (imported) just be sure to wash it very
>>>> > well... only rice harvested in the US is fit for human consumption
>>>> > as packaged.
>>>>
>>>> Sheldon, yes, I do wash my rice pretty well. I've seen travel
>>>> pictures of the rice piled in the road, and I've been to Nepal where
>>>> people sit for hours picking lice off the top of each other's heads.
>>>> Yuk! Look what you've done now!
>>>> However, do you have any suggestions other than just 4-5 washings?
>>>> On all my veggies, I usually spray vinegar on them after rinsing off,
>>>> and let them sit on the counter for a while.
>>>
>>> Lice nothing... did you ever notice how there are no toilets within a
>>> hundred miles of those rice paddys... the rice paddy IS the toilet...
>>> not just for the water buffalo, all that human waste too.
>>>
>>> I wash Basmati until the water runs clear, I use a fine mesh sieve set
>>> into a pot. Then I soak it about a half hour. Drain, rinse, and
>>> cook.
>>> Soaked you only need one cup water to each cup dry rice. I find
>>> Basmati cooks up better if soaked. There are at least a zillion
>>> ingredients you can add to Basmati, or any rice for that matter.
>>>
>>> Sheldon
>>
>> Sheldon,
>>
>> Does the soak first, then cook in an equal amount of water also apply
>> to most other white rices?
>>
>> Thanks...
>
>> Wayne Boatwright
>
> Wayne, I don't soak my Japanese rice. For me, it makes it too mushy.
> And it's mushy enough without soaking. However, other's might.

Thanks, Dee. Well, I don't ever buy Japanese rice. I actually find it too
"delicate" for my taste.

> I almost always go 1-1; sometimes 1-1/4 cup water to 1 cup rice;
> depending
> on the rice; for instance, I would go 1-1/4 with Tex-Mex without
> soaking, and perhaps 1-1 WITH soaking.
> I usually use a rice cooker, although I am capable of cooking rice on
> the stove.
> Today I put the rice cooker outside to 'cook.' Seems like a reasonable
> thing to do.
> Dee

I don't own a rice cooker, probably never will, not because I wouldn't want
one, but I cook rice rarely enough that it doesn't warrant the cost or the
storage space. I will definitely try some various ratios and try pre-
soaking. I've tried plenty of methods using non-soaked rice.

Unless I'm planning on using the rice in another dish, I really prefer rice
the way one most often gets it in Chinese restaurants, on the dry side and
rather "clumpy". I've never really been able to recreate that.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974