Saturday, January 28, 2012

Jasmine rice

As I mentioned in the fried rice entry, jasmine rice is sticky. Don't bother hoping that you will get separate grains; indeed, stickiness is useful, enabling you to pick up a clump of rice with chopsticks.

I was a little sceptical about the instructions on my packet of Biona jasmine rice: put the rice in a pan, cover it with twice its volume of water, bring to a simmer, cover, and leave on a low heat for 20 minutes. After that length of time, I suspected, a good deal of rice would be stuck. However, I tried it, turning down the flame as soon as bubbles reached the surface of the water, and inserting a heat disperser between pan and hob. It worked. Yes, I had to work loose some of the rice, but not with a chisel.

Basmati rice takes 10 minutes to soften, in my experience. Jasmine rice takes longer.

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