Saturday 18 April 2015

How to make Japanese-style fluffy steamed rice :)


This is a very easy & cheap way to make Japanese-style fluffy steamed rice that I cook with whenever I miss rice my mother used to make in Japan :) 


So, here I use this lovely Arborio Risotto Rice from TESCO (£1.10 for 500g) :)
You can also use Paella Rice which will be very similar :)


Please allow 75g per person :)


Here is our beautiful 150g of rice!
Let's see how it will turn out :)


The very first important step is to wash them till they become somewhat transparent!
By doing this, we attempt to get rid of all the dust and rice bran :)


You don't have to rub them at all, but gently stir a couple of times :)


Get rid of the cloudy water...


and quickly repeat the same steps for around 3 times until you can see through water :)



I try to get rid of as much water as possible, but as I don't use drainer, it's almost impossible to get rid of all :D But no worries! It's alright leaving some bits of water here :D Just make sure to pour a tiny bit less soaking water in the next step to equalise :)


Now, let's prepare for soaking :)
Here, I use filtered water as the taste of cooked rice can change according to the quality of water!*
* Some people even use filtered water for the first washing step as it's said rice absorb lots of water when it's washed for the first time & when it's soaked into water :)


Please soak rice with 1.2-1.3 times more water :)
(e.g.) 75g of rice - 90ml of water

Or

You can also roughly measure by putting your middle finger into the water + rice, and see whether the water comes up till your first joint :D


Now, let's soak for around 30 minutes :)


Tadaaa :) They absorbed lots of water!


Here, I mix with 1/2 tablespoon of Mirin (sweet rice wine)*

*This is not must-do, but is supposed to make rice shinier and delicious :)


First, start with high heat for around 5 minutes to bring it to boil...


As soon as steam starts to come out,


...bring down to low heat for 10 minutes until water evaporates:)

Try not to open the lid the entire time though I know you will be tempted as I also get very curious about what's going on in the pod :D*

* I have to admit that as I use very small pot, I have to open the lid sometimes when the bubbles come out otherwise the hob gets super dirty...but oh well, ideally steam should not escape from the pot the entire time :)


After that, you can bring to high heat again for the last 5 SECONDS to fully get rid of remained water :)*

* This sometimes gives a little bit of nice crispy bottoms, but if you don't like it, you can skip this step as you like :)

Then, please allow another 10 minutes to warm them with steam with the lid on :)


Lastly, mix very gently to loosen the rice to allow them to get more fluffy :)*

* Try not to smash them, but rather gently bring the bottom rice to the top to make them breathe easily :)


Voila! :D

Here is my lovely fluffy steamed rice :)

Quick Summary:
STEP 1: Measure (75g per person)
STEP 2: Wash (till you can see through water) 
STEP 3: Soak (1.2× water + 30 min)
STEP 4: High-heat - boil (5 min)
STEP 5: Low-heat - simmer (10 min)
STEP 6: Steam (10 min)
STEP 7: Mix (very very gently!)

n.b. The cooking time may vary according to how much water left after soaking, and how quickly it evaporates. So please be attentive and spontaneous while cooking rice :)


Cheers!

xxxxx

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