How to cook rice in a pot on the stove (my default), microwave or oven! My method to make steamed rice is simple and foolproof – no rinsing, no colanders, or any of the other fussy techniques called for in other recipes. Your rice will be fluffy and tender every single time – never gluggy or mushy. And I’m a rice snob!
Use this recipe for: medium and long grain white rice, and sushi rice (short grain). See separate directions for: jasmine, basmati and brown rice.
How to cook rice
Everyone should know how to cook rice perfectly – without a rice cooker! So today, I’m sharing how I cook rice, 3 different ways:
- Stove in a pot (13 min) – best results, my standard
- Oven (35 min) – most hands off way, easiest for big batch
- Microwave (12 min) – fastest, hands off way
Which rice to use for this recipe
Use this rice recipe for:
- long grain white rice
- medium grain white rice
- short grain white rice except sushi rice (which is a type of short grain rice, see below)
See separate recipes for:
- basmati rice
- jasmine rice
- brown rice
DO NOT use this recipe for:
- sushi rice – use the directions in this recipe
- wild rice (cook per this recipe), black rice, or other special rices
- risotto rice – use a risotto recipe
- paella rice – use this Paella recipe
- quinoa – follow this recipe
Wondering about the difference between rice types?
The general rule is that the shorter the rice grain, the stickier the rice. Sticky doesn’t meany gummy! It just means the grains stick together more, rather than being crumbly, so they are easier to eat with chopsticks.
The longer the grain, the less sticky it is. Basmati is the least sticky rice (Indian food isn’t eaten with chopsticks!), short grain is the most sticky. (eg. Sushi rice is a type of short grain rice, and it has to be sticky in order for sushi rolls to stay together. You can’t make sushi rolls with basmati rice!)
Rice to water ratio
For 1 cup of rice, you will need 1.5 cups of water for to cook rice on the stove or in the oven.
The water needs to be increased to 2 cups to cook rice in microwave.
If you rinse the rice*, reduce the water by 2 tablespoons per cup of rice.
* You don’t need to rinse rice to have fluffy rice if you use the right cooking method and rice to water ratio! More on the to-rinse-or-not-to-rinse debate below.
How to cook rice on the stove (my default method)
- Place 1 cup of rice (no rinsing!) and 1.5 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high – no lid;
- Turn heat down to low, cover with lid, and leave for 13 minutes;
- With lid still on, remove saucepan from stove and stand for 10 minutes; and
- Fluff with a rice paddle, rubber spatula or fork, marvel at perfect fluffy rice! {See recipe video for a good close up!}
This is my default way of cooking rice, and of the 3 methods I’m sharing today, it yields the best result – the closest to using a rice cooker. All the rice cooks evenly, the grains are tender but not mushy, and the surface of the grains are not mushy and gummy.
There is no need to rinse rice if you use my rice cooking method!
