How To Cook Rice 

 Hungry? There is nothing easier or more versatile than rice! Whether you are looking for an easy, filling side dish or an outstanding main attraction, you can get it with rice. This page contains lots of easy cooking methods and tips for easy ways with rice. What’s your favourite?

Soaking

 Soaking is actually a part of the cooking process and is an essential procedure when cooking sticky rice, as it relaxes the grain. 

Rinsing 

 Rinsing rice is usually not necessary, and it is important to note that it has nothing to do with the cooking process. Rinsing made sense when rice contained impurities (dirt, twig particles, bugs, and polishing additives). Modern processing techniques remove impurities and excess starch. Some rice is polished, mainly for appearance. Water polishing is the common method used today in the U.S. However, certain types of rice from other countries may have excess powdered starch clinging to the grains due to more primitive milling techniques or equipment, and some may be coated with talc, glucose, starch, or other coatings to improve appearance. These rices need rinsing.

Jasmine Rice from Thailand*

 There are both brown and white varieties, and cooking times vary.

 General directions: 

 Rinse if needed, and use 1 1⁄2 parts liquid to 1 part rice. Allow 15 minutes to cook.

 * With basmati and jasmine rice (and other aromatic rices), it is best to follow directions in specific recipes for the dish you are preparing.

Chef’s Tips 

 Try substituting the water you cook your rice in for stock or broth! Make it easy and simply add a bouillon cube for great flavour!

 Have rice left over? Toss it in a soup or quickly stir fry with eggs, green onion and a bit of soy sauce for yummy fried rice!

Rice Cooker 

 1 part rice

2 parts water

1 tbsp butter or oil

1 tsp salt

 Directions: A rice cooker is an easy way to make tasty rice! Simply add ingredients to the cooker, cover, and follow instructions provided with your appliance. Most rice cookers use a ratio of 1 part rice to 2 parts water, making it easy and flexible to cook more or less rice as you need!

Glycemic Index

GI stands for Glycemic Index and is a measure of the impact of food on your blood sugar. Foods with a high GI tend to quickly raise your body's blood sugar levels, by contrast foods with a low GI will raise them more slowly and over a longer period.

The glycemic index range is as follows:

** All GI figures are based on studies conducted at the University of Sydney. Consult a dietician for specific healthcare information.