Posted: 12/22/2004 2:28:37 PM EDT
|
OK...I need some help here. I am trying to cook sticky-rice like they serve at Japanese restaraunts. I have a small (cheap) rice cooker and some "Cal-Rose" rice. Here is my problem: When I cook the rice per the instructionsm the rice kernels seem to break apart. It seems that the restraunt rice is more "al dente"(sp). I am using the recipe on the bag "1-1/2 cups rice, 2 cups water." It's just not the same when I make it. Any suggestions? Different rice cooker? Rinse the rice first? more water, less water? Thanks for the help! |
| Rice problems usually have more to do with the rice itself than the cooker. Try new rice. Get short grain japanese e.g. Niko Niko rice, or go to a health-food store where they have lots of kinds of rice and you only have to buy the quantity needed. If that doesn't work try cooking it on the stovetop to see if it's you cooker. |
|
Some Asian guys I knew in college all used some technique where they put water and rice in a pot in such a proportion that something measured to one of their knuckles. I never could figure it out. Is this the same as sushi rice? I've been trying to make that and can't seem to get it where I want it to be. Every Asian person I know uses a Zojirushi rice cooker and I've even seen them in restaraunts. They are fairly expensive but I'll probably end up buying one soon. |
| The calrose rice should be ok. That is a short grain rice I've cooked before. Here's what you do: get a real japanese rice cooker. They have a hinged lid and look kind of like a pressure cooker (worth the investment). With it will be a small plastic measuring cup. Fill the cup up to the top with rice. That is one cup. Put as many cups in as you want , wash the rice several times in the bowl insert, fill the insert with water to the water level indicated on the inside of how many cups you put in, let it sit for about 1/2 hour, then hit the cook button. 20 minutes later you have perfect rice. As good as a Japanese restaurant. My wife is Japanese. She taught me how to cook rice. Really, the rice cooker is worth the investment. |
| new2ars: Normally, when I cook Texas AA rice, I put x amount of water. If the rice comes out too hard, I add more water the next time when I cooks the rice, which will make it a bit more mushier/stickier. I think you're going have to adjust the water. Try increasing your water to 2.25-2.50 cups of water, and increasing approximately 0.25 cup of water each time you cook the rice, until you get the consistency you want. You're gonna have to experiment a bit. |
Hah! I'm Asian and use the first knuckle as a measurement tool - and it comes out perfect every time  Rice for sushi is flavored with a few tbsp. of rice vinegar, sugar and salt. |
Not ON the rice, while your cooking it... If you go to "Blood, Bath and Beyond" you can get a good rice cooker for 25$. Saw a good one at target for 20$ |
+50 on the rice cooker. Used to think it was just for asians, or lazy round-eyes.  Broke down & bought one when I was making two kettles of red beans & rice for a convention, and needed LOTS of rice. Fell in love with it. Use it all the time, unless the recipe specifically calls for instant rice. (Cheaper, too) My "Martin Yan" version was $26, IIRC. Also nuoc-mam (vietmanese fish sauce).  Still love it, though I haven't been able to tolerate too much since I got too drunk one night (many years ago) and my smoked fish & rice came back up with the vodka & cranberrys I decided to try...  ETA - there is a world of difference between rice brands, and how they interact with different cookers. Experiment experiment experiment. |
|
I ended up buying a $150 digital rice maker and now my sushi rice comes out perfect every time. Something I didn't expect was the rice maker takes longer to cook the rice than the pot method. Rice makers often have different water rice ratios than the packages suggest for the pot method. Anyway, perfect rice is worth the money if you like to make your own sushi. As another poster mentioned, make sure you get the rice vinegar and suger mix right, or use a rice vinergar with sugar already mixed in. |
|
I'm not sure if this is exactly what you are asking about, but here goes. Sticky rice, as I know it, is one where you have to actually pull the rice kernals apart. The kernals won't just fall apart. The rice can actually be shaped into balls or flattened out, and it will keep it's shape. If this is what you mean, then you are trying to cook it wrong. Don't mistake this with sushi rice. This rice has almost a sweet taste, and you don't even add a single ingredient. Here is how you cook it. First, go to an Asian market and purchase a metal boiling pot and a bamboo steamer. The bamboo steamer actually looks like a tall hat. If you ask for a rice steamer kit, they should know what you need. Then, you need to buy Sweet Rice. There may be several different brands. Doesn't really matter which one you get so long as it's Sweet Rice. Most people don't know this, but the most important thing to preparing sticky rice is to SOAK THE RICE IN A BOWL OF WATER FOR AT LEAST 4 HOURS. It can even be soaked overnight, but soaking for at least 4 hours will give you the best results. When you are ready to steam the rice, put water in the pot and set it on the stove on high, and leave the temp there. How much is not very important. Just be sure you have enough water to steam the rice for the duration of the cooking time, but not so much that it will touch the bamboo steamer. I usually have the water about 3 inches deep. When the water boils, scoop the drained rice into the steamer, set the steamer into the pot, and then cover the rice with a regular pot lid. Approximately every 5 minutes, remove the pot lid, pick up the bamboo steamer, and "flip" or roll the rice around to bring the top portion of the rice to the bottom of the bamboo. Place the steamer back on the pot and re-cover the rice with the lid to continue steaming. Usually 15-20 minutes of steaming is all you need. When the rice being flipped moves as a nice sticky ball, you are pretty much done. I've never tried cooking this rice in a rice cooker. This rice needs to be steamed, not boiled IN the water. The soaking of the rice and the steaming of it is what makes it sticky. I learned to make this rice a loooong time ago, and everytime I make it for someone new, I always have to teach them how to make it. It's awesome. |
add water until it covers thumbnail (about half an inch). As for making the rice slightly more sticky, you need to wash the rice. Washing does 2 things. One, it washes away the powder added to make sure the rice grains don't stick together in the bag, and it allows the dry rice grains to soak up some water. Even better if you can let it sit for about 10 minutes before you start the cooker |
|
I'm half asian and half white america. That being said I know your pain in trying to make good rice. I to use a cheap $30 rice cooker and I usually have diamond G calorose rice. My secret is to wash the rice before putting it in the cooker. I just swish it around in a bowl with water a couple of times. I use my hand to swirl it like a washer machine for about 15 seconds till the water becomes milky. Rinse and repeat no more then 5 times. Doing this too hard or to much will damage the rice so you just have to practice. I was tought the knuckle water measuring technique but today I just eye ball it. Basicly fill the water about your first pinky knuckle above the rice in your cooker. I never owned or grew up with any expensive rice cookers. Mom had 2 boys so growing up we always ate all the rice. My wife is from Japan, she doesn't eat rice over a day old. I also use this technique to cook her rice when she gets it, and man she buys this really expensive stuff every so often. If you want sushi rice then thats a whole different world. The rice has to be cooked normally then be prepared for sushi making. Get a book on the subject, I know enough to give you that much advice. |
|
You're using the wrong rice. In Thailand it's "kau neal" (sticky or "sweet" rice) and "kau gau" (normal white rice). Wash the rice then the sticky rice is soaked over night to soak up water. Then steamed for a good long time using a bamboo basket over a pot of boiling water. Yummy. White rice is cooked in the rice pots. |
For Basmatti rice (95% of the rice I "do") I do a 2/1 water rice ratio... all other rice I've always done a 1/1 ratio and covered the pot. YMMV - but That's the best I know. Sorry. OH! it might help a bit to put either a pat of butter or a bit of oil in w/the water before putting the rice in. I can't recall WHY this helps, but, IME, it does. Not a LOT, just a bit. Also, if you get your rice in the "ethnic foods" section of the grocery it may not be "rotated" as often, as they may not sell that much that often. Try an Asian market to get the rice, it's "newer". ;) Good luck!
+1! (Only I'm not 1/2 Asian.. but I'm 1/8 American Indian ;) Oh, and I prefer the basmatti rice `cause it just takes 10 minutes, and that's NOT an "instant" or anything - it just is what it is, bring to a boil, add rice, turn down after it boils again let simmer for the remainder of the 10 minutes, and it's prefect EVERY time, and no damn rice cooker ;) |
100% right At least according to my wife and brother in-law. (thai) I have seen my mother in-law do this many times, and the rice can be shaped and tastes great too. Tex78 |
|
I'm 100% Asian born in the old country so I know something about cooking rice First, anybody who add salt, butter, etc. to rice should be taken out and shot in the back of the head immediately. Rice is sacred and nothing is allowed to touch it except water. Second, anybody who uses electric rice cooker of any brand is a lazy SOB. Rice should be cooked in metal pot over medium heat. Cal Rose rice is okay. Just wash about 3 cups of rice under running water for about 1 - 2 minutes in the pot to remove any impurities and insects. Do not over wash the rice and if the running water is clear then you just over washed the rice so start over again with new rice. Next, add water to the pot and lay your hand palm side down on the top of the rice. You need to add enough water to just cover your knuckles. Put the pot over medium heat (high heat will burn the rice on the bottom of the pot) with the lid on. After few minutes water in the pot will boil and you will see steam come. Lower the heat and just let the water and rice mixture to simmer for about 3 minutes. Finally, lower the flame to almost nothing and let the moisture in the pot steam the rice for 15 - 20 minutes. Most important is that once the pot is placed over the flame you should never open the lid. Don't peek inside the pot as rice are very shy and will not cook correctly if you watch them. IF you follow this instruction even you round eye devils will be able to make perfect steamed rice Any questions? Part II - How to serve rice will be posted a little later. I have to get back to work now. |
Magic my ass. I bet you are one of these lazy round eye devil 
|
|
I'm glad I read this thread,The sticky rice that I've seen the Asians eating & sharing,Has puzzled me.Now I know the ancient secret of steaming the rice into a sweet/sticky ball. Tommrow I'll stop by the market & find the steamerhat thingy...And check out the tofu floating in the washtubs along with the bags of small dried fish with seeds for eyes.... & Hopefully see an Asian Beauty or two.
|
I think the elephant brand is "Zojirushi" or something close to that. Paul hit on it -- sticky rice is a different species of rice. It's like the difference between sweet corn and popcorn and Indian corn and cow-feed corn, you have to buy the right stuff for what you want to make. Asian supermarkets will have it. It is also called "glutinous rice". |
|
Thanks everyone for all of the information! I took a little trip to the asian supermarket accross town. I came home with: A steamer basket (2 actually, my daughter thinks it makes a great hat.) A big aluminum steamer pot. 3 lbs. of sweet rice (opaque white, and almost round) Some cat gland...er, I mean fish sauce (where the He// does that stiff come from anyway?!?!). I am going to try the soak and steam method. I also checked out the rice cookers for making other types of rice. I am going to do some research and probably pick one up. The Japanese make rice cookers with more options than my Honda! I think I saw one with a plasma TV and massage chair built in. I'll let you know how it goes. |
This is all you need to know. |
| OK guys I am japanese and eat rice every day, night and ect. I dont know what type of rice cooker you have but its mostly a little over 1 to 1(a little over) with the rice you mentioned your rice cooker should do the rest. Sushi rice is cooked in the same way, In sushi they might add different shit to it, depends on the type of sushi, their are different types, cone, maki, and the sushi bar type. Some rice cookers have built in steamers/warmers. Too me you cannot over wash rice, its the talc youre washing off, who wants to eat that! They use talc so the rice stays loose in the bag untill washing. Any thing else I can answer? |
Fish sauce is made from small fish and salt fermented for a long time. The juice is extracted and boiled. Good fish sauce should be clear and brownish in color. Go easy on the stuff. Very easy to over do it. |
Brown color? I think its philipino "Bagaoong"(spelling) Stink! |
Thought that was a bit different too, but then again, I know several people back home in Indiana who mix their rice with milk, sugar and cinnamon. [shudder] |
|
UPDATE!!! I tied out the "Basket and Pot" method as suggested by Treelo. It turned out AWESOME! Wow, this stuff is delicious! I tried some of the cat gland juice (aka fish "sauce") also. Now, that crap is the epitome of NASTY! But, it will come in handy for "flavoring" a few drinks at the next office gathering, if you know what I mean. I am planning to get a good rice cooker (Zujiwama brand or whatever it was) in the near future. In the meantime, I am going to REALLY enjoy the "pot and basket" sweet rice! BTW...the pot cost me $7.50 and the basket was $2.50...what a deal for a new rice cooker! Thanks again!! |
|
Don't cook rice al-dente.. you don't want crunchy rice, that's bad. If you want sticky rice, use more water and cook it longer, that will help release more of the gluten and make it stickier. Nishink rice is the rice usually used for sushi, and gets pretty sticky if done right. Though, for sushi rice you season it with rice vinegar, salt (teensie bit) and sugar after it is cooked, and serve cold.. but it's fine hot, too. |
 Now you will suffer the same fate as I have. I have passed on the knowledge of sticky rice making to you. Now you, whether you want to or not, will be teaching all those you make it for, just how to do it. Enjoy...you now know how to make the most delicious kind of rice...in my opinion anyway. |