Mistakes to avoid when making rice

Making rice seems pretty easy until the dish is ready and you realize that you just made ugali using rice. Or even worse, some of it remains uncooked – a total waste of time and money.

The art of making rice is something you master with time and you can finally perfect it so long as you are willing to. If your rice does not always give you the results you wish for, you are probably making some mistakes.

For more distinct rice, avoid making these common mistakes:

1. Too much heat

Cooking rice(Wikimedia Commons) Pulse Live Kenya

Unless you want your rice to turn into porridge or ugali, always cook your rice under moderate heat. Too much heat makes the grains burst open releasing the starch and what you get is will seem like a different dish altogether.

2. Treating all the rice the same

Different cooking rules apply for different types of rice. For instance, the amount of water and heat varies from one brand to another. Do your research before you start cooking.

3. Not washing your rice

Rice in water(Medical News Today) Pulse Live Kenya

Some people will tell you that you should not be washing your rice lest you lose the flavor. But besides the dirt that may come with the rice, not washing it may not give you the results you want. Wash it until the water is less cloudy or soak it for some minutes prior to cooking. This will make it less clumpy once it’s ready.

4. Stirring

Rice is very delicate while wet and on fire. Stirring it will break it into pieces making the starch settle at the bottom. Then, the pot will get stickier and before even the rice is ready, it will start burning.

5. Opening the pot

stirring rice(BBC Good Food) Pulse Live Kenya

It’s tempting to open the lid to check the progress but that should not be the case. Opening the lid releases the steam thus regressing the cooking.

6. Not letting it steam

After cooking, don’t stir or serve your rice immediately. Instead, let it sit for some minutes to allow any left moisture to distribute evenly. Otherwise, stirring it immediately will make the rice sticky.