Took me 45 minutes to cook a single cup of rice last night - what am I doing wrong?

I was trying to make a cheap dinner, rice and beans, and I swear I stood over the stove for almost an hour watching that rice not cook. I put 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of water in a pot, brought it to a boil, then turned it to low and covered it. After 20 minutes it was still crunchy. Another 15 minutes and it was mushy on top but hard in the middle. I ended up just eating the beans by themselves and tossing the rice. My mom says I probably lifted the lid too many times. Anyone else struggle with something super basic like this? How long does rice actually take for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_murphy15d ago

Did you rinse the rice first... takes me 15 minutes.

fiona_carr2615d ago

Did your mom warn you to keep the lid on tight the whole time? I used to lift mine to check and stir, and it turned into a total mess, always took way longer than it should and came out weird. Now I set a timer for 18 minutes and don't touch the pot at all, not even to peek. Have to trust the steam to do its job through the lid. But rinsing the rice first helped too - gets rid of the extra starch that makes it gluggy. What type of pot are you using, something thin or a heavier one that holds heat better?

linda_reed14d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain so hard. I remember the first few times I tried making rice I almost gave up and just bought the microwave packs forever. It's honestly one of those things that seems dead simple but can really go wrong if you're not used to it. Your mom is probably right about peeking too much, I used to do the same thing and it would just trap all the steam and mess everything up. Also, the heat setting on your stove might be a bit off, sometimes "low" is actually still too hot or not hot enough depending on the burner. I switched to a cheap little $20 rice cooker a few years back and it sounds dumb but it's literally foolproof, you just set it and walk away. Don't beat yourself up over it, we've all been there, it's crazy how something so basic can be such a pain.