My Secret To Making Perfect Rice Without a Recipe

For the longest time, simple long-grain white rice was my Achilles heel in the kitchen. No matter what I did, rice turned out gluey, water-logged, or even (for a fun change of pace) scorched on the bottom. I felt frustrated and rather embarrassed. How hard is it to cook a pot of rice?

This all changed on one of my first days in culinary school when I was tasked with making rice for a component in another dish. When I nervously asked my chef-instructor if there was a particular way he wanted me to prepare it, he shrugged and said, “Just boil it like pasta,” then walked away to help someone else.

Mind. Blown.

My Trick for No-Measure Perfect Rice

I’ve since learned that boiling rice is a common way of preparing long-grain rice (or any grain, really) in many cultures around the world, and it’s easy to see why. You don’t need any special pots, measuring cups, or even a water-to-rice ratio. The rice also cooks the same regardless of heat source, type of rice, or amount of rice. Boiling rice is truly the easiest, most unfussy method that I know.

Fill a pot with water, add the rice, bring it to a boil, and simmer until tender. Drain the rice, return it to the pot, and let it steam in its residual heat until you’re ready to serve.

Super easy, right? It’s nothing fancy, but I promise it gets the job done. This method makes rice with distinct, individual grains and a fluffy texture, best eaten with a spoon or fork.

My technique works best with long-grain white rice, like basmati, Texmati, jasmine, or long-grain brown rice. You can also use it to cook short-grain rice (or barley, farro, or other grains, for that matter), but you’ll lose the unique textures and sticky, starchy properties from cooking those grains using other methods.

How To Make Boiled Long-Grain Rice

You can cook any amount of rice you like, as long as you use a big enough pot. One cup of dry rice will make about four cups of cooked rice, so just scale up or down depending on how much you need to make.

1. Fill a pot with water and add the rice—the rice should be covered by several inches of water and have enough room to bob up and down (about a 1:4 ratio of rice to water). If using, add at least one teaspoon of kosher salt per cup of rice. Stir a few times to make sure the rice and water are mixed.
2. Let the water come to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce the heat until it maintains a gentle bubbling simmer.
3. Cook the rice until it’s barely tender. White rice will cook in roughly 10 to 15 minutes. Brown rice will cook in roughly 20 to 30 minutes. Stir the rice a few times during cooking when you remember. Taste it as you get toward the end of cooking to test its doneness. It’s ready when it’s no longer crunchy but still a touch too firm for your liking.
4. Drain the rice: set a strainer over your sink or a large bowl and strain the rice and cooking liquid. (You can save the cooking liquid for other cooking projects.) Shake the strainer a few times to fully drain the rice.
5. Immediately after straining, while the rice is still hot and steamy, transfer the rice back to the pot and cover with the lid. Let it stand off the heat for 10 to 15 minutes. The steam trapped in the pan will finish cooking the rice and help give it a perfect texture.
6. Uncover the rice, fluff with a fork, and serve.

A Few Helpful Pointers

• If you strive for individual, distinct grains, try rinsing the uncooked rice a few times before cooking. This washes away the excess starch from the grains. You can also toast the rinsed grains in a little butter or olive oil before adding the water, or toss the cooked rice with a little butter or olive oil when you transfer it back to the pot for steaming.
• Scrub and clean your strainer right away after using, so the starch from the rice doesn’t have time to dry on the strainer. Trust me, dried rice starch is very annoying to clean.