Okay, let's start answering the question. Many factors play in this like, "What rice do I own?", "What way will I want my rice cooked?", and "Does Electric/Fire Stoves change the outcome?"
There are many, MANY ways to cook rice, but I'll just give Info on what I know.
(DISCLAIMER: I don't consider myself a "professional Gordan Ramsey approved walking alpha male" when it comes to cooking, but I do know how to cook food enough for my siblings and parents. Also if you get bad results, please don't sue me lol)
Rice : Water Ratios *Short Grain Rice - 1 : 1
Medium Grain Rice - 1 : 1 1/4
Long Grain Rice - 1 : 1 1/4
Jasmine Rice - 1 : 1 3/4
* If you can't measure your water because you're broke, do the first knuckle method, which is using your index finger (left or right hand, I don't care. Also assuming you WASH your hands while cooking so it being dirty shouldn't be a concern) and putting it into the water, if the water is on the first knuckle line, you know you have enough waterNow that that is out of the way, we can start with the procedures
How To Cook Plain RiceI'll give 2 ways, on the stovetop
(A) and instant pot
(B). The one I use will be linked
here.
A1A. Put your uncooked rice in any type of bowl, you're going to be rinsing it. Giving rice a bit of time under clean water gets rid of the surface starch because that could make the rice clump together or give it a gummy texture that people really don't necessarily appreciate. Continue this until the water in the rice become clear to see and filter the water out
2A. Using the ratio (check above) put the desired water and rice needed into a saucepan (or anything that can have a lid on it and can fit the desired rice. Remember, rice gets bigger when cooked so keep that in mind!)
3A. Make sure the heat is on medium, we don't want these to be undercooked nor burnt, this will give the rice and water to get to know each other
4A. When you see that the water is almost dried up (preferably when it's not visible but you can see it still throwing smoke) turn the heat to low, mix it gently and cover the pot with a lid, this will continue the cooking procedure using the steam. By breaking the seal (opening a lid on a pot, door to the oven, etc.) you are letting out heat and probably steam, out. While the steam may not matter as much in some recipes, the loss of heat could cause issues with cooking time, and therefore texture will come out jank and weird for your rice, so try not opening it too many times, but also make sure the rice is cooked through
5A. When practically almost all the water is gone, turn off the heat and let it sit for another couple of minutes to finish absorbing any liquid
6A. Take off the lid, fluff the rice with a utensil and let it sit for another 2 minutes or so, so that some of the excess moisture in the rice dries off
7A. Serve and enjoy!
--------------------
B1B. Put your uncooked rice in any type of bowl, you're going to be rinsing it. Giving rice a bit of time under clean water gets rid of the surface starch because that could make the rice clump together or give it a gummy texture that people really don't necessarily appreciate. Continue this until the water in the rice become clear to see and filter the water out
2B. Using the ratio (check above) put the desired water and rice needed into the instant rice pot (Remember, rice gets bigger when cooked so keep that in mind!)
3B. Flick the switch and wait until the cooker changes from "rice cooking" to "keep warm"
4B. Open the lid, fluff the rice with a utensil and let it sit for another 2 minutes or so, so that some of the excess moisture in the rice dries off
5B. Serve and enjoy!
If you have any more questions, ask away! I'll try to answer as many as I can to make cooking easier for you.
Oh, and also,
YOU CAN EAT PLAIN RICE AS A MAIN DISH OR AS A SIDE DISH. LET PEOPLE EAT THE RICE THEIR WAY. STOP MAKING THIS SUCH A BIG DEAL GOD DAMNIT.Update 1 - Anything I missed I apologize in advance, as airheaded as I can get at random times, there's things I look over upon and forget to add in
