I don't rinse it prior to cooking; I cook it like a pasta, in an excess of water, then rinse off the excess starch. Here's the details:

In this technique you treat the rice as pasta, boiling it in a much larger volume of water. You'll need a saucepan with a steamer insert. The size of the saucepan is determined by how much rice you want to cook. For a cup of rice, you need at least three cups of water, and four is better; so for cooking 2 cups of rice, you need at least a 1 1/2 or 2 qt saucepan with a steamer insert.

In the saucepan, bring to boil 3 or 4 cups of water to a full boil. Add salt if desired. Add 1 cup of rice, return to boil, stirring with a fork to keep the grains from clumping. Once it returns to a full boil, cut the heat to a mild boil and boil for 8 minutes. Put the steamer insert in the sink and strain the boiled rice into the insert. Run some hot water into the saucepan to get all the rice out. Run hot water through the rice in the steamer insert until you notice the water isn't too cloudy. Put about an inch of water in the saucepan, put the steamer insert over the water, cover the insert and put the whole shebang on high heat; once the water returns to a boil, cut the heat to medium low and steam the rice for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Basically, boil for 8 and steam for 10. The advantage to this method is that the individual grains of rice are not sticky and come out nice and fluffy and separate. Most of the excess starch gets washed away. My dad insisted that this was the only way he wanted rice cooked, so that was the way we had it in our house. (I think he thought rice cookers were a sign of laziness, if not moral decay.)

Here's the type of saucepan with steamer insert I'm talking about, at the link. Since all you're doing with this is boiling water, it makes no sense to spend a lot of $$$ for All Clad or other fancy pots; simple cheapo stainless is fine for this application.

Here is a link that might be useful: saucepan with steamer insert

Not regularly, but when I do I use one of these. It's a multi-tasker worth buying.

Yes, I rinse white rice. Start with the rice in a bowl. Add water, rub the rice lightly by hand, pour off excess water. Repeat. I do this about 3-4 times until the water is fairly clear. There's no need to be fanatical about this, nor do you need to scrub the rice hard which will break up the grains. You're just rinsing off the starchy outer dust which would make the rice stick together.

After rinsing, add the water you need and cook. I use a rice cooker most of the time, but I've also cooked it in a pot over direct heat, steamed it and microwaved it. This is all pretty standard in most Asian households.

Cheryl

Yes, I rinse rice. But I don't use anything to strain it. I just pour off as much as I can - I don't usually lose too many grains.

angelaid-

Sounds like you could use a fine screen strainer in your kitchen. I use mine for sifting dry ingredients instead of a flour sifter, sifting clumpy ingredients like coconut flour or powdered eggs before measuring them, as well as draining small seeds/grains/beans (and other things) that would fall through the holes of a colander. In fact, I have a nested set of three fine screen colanders that I use constantly in my kitchen.

When it comes to washing rice, it is one of those "choices" - and not so much about being right or wrong. But there are some things to consider....

"By law, rice for the consumer in the U.S. has been fortified with powdered vitamins that are removed when rinsed. If you want the vitamins (which are not necessary with a well balanced diet), then do not rinse. If you want the best quality cooked rice, then rinsing helps."

"Some rice -- short-grain white rice in particular -- almost always needs to be rinsed of the powdery starch that builds up around it during transport. Brown rice, since it still has its hull, doesn't create as much buildup in the bag or box.

All rice probably gets a little dirty between the farm and the store shelf. A good rule of thumb is to rinse new brands and varieties the first few times you use them. If the water's crystal clear, they may not need rinsing the next time."

I not only rinse brown rice - to get any debris and fine particles out of it - but I also sprout it. Sprouting increases the nutrition and it cooks much quicker.

"Japanese scientists presented research findings to the 2000 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies, which showed germinated brown rice had increased fiber, lysine, gamma-aminobutyric acid and other enzymes and amino acids by as much as 10 times the amount in dried rice."

-Grainlady

Grainlady,

Please post how you sprout your brown rice, I'd love to try it.

Thank you in advance - - Linda

Yes, Grainlady, please post instructions. After reading your post, I did a bit of checking online and I decided I didn't really want to do it since it is a 2-3 day undertaking. I don't usually think that far ahead when I want brown rice. I could handle 24 hours, but doubt I'd remember to start my rice 2 days before I want to eat it, LOL.

I use the same method I use for nearly all sprouts and I have something sprouting nearly every day - often have 2 or 3 sprouters going at once.

1. Rinse the rice.
2. Place in sprouter (which can be almost any container - a canning jar works well - cover with some cheese cloth and a rubberband. I have a line-up of Easy Sprout sprouters (see link below) in use and think this is the best out there for sprouting.

Food Safety Note: I always use citric acid water (1 t. per quart of water) for soaking and rinsing to aid sprouting and help prevent bacteria growth.

3. Cover with water - 2-3 times as much water as grain.
4. Soak overnight (8-12 hours).
5. Drain soaking water, rinse the rice and shake the excess water out of the container. Do not set in direct sunlight.
6. Rinse at least once or twice a day.

I only sprout them a day or two (it depends on the ambient temperature, or until the sprout emerges. I don't want a long tail. Rinse after they have sprouted then cook.

For more information about sprouting I'd suggest sproutpeople.org. They have detailed information and videos.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Easy Sprout Sprouter

It is your personal preference whether you rinse you rice or not.

However, do not ever ever ever wash Arborio rice.

dcarch

Only Basmati from India, since it says to rinse it. Lots of starchy water rinses off.

Grainlady,
THANK YOU!! Excellent directions. I'll start some tonight!

I do as Cheryl (jadeite) does.

Nope, I don't rinse. I like my rice kind of sticky and if I rinse it, the grains don't stick together as well.

Yeah, I know. I'm odd...

Annie

It seems a bit fussy to pour it into a separate strainer...I just rinse it out a couple of times, swishing the grains with my fingers, and then pour out the water.

I always make my rice in a rice cooker. I have a habit of forgetting about rice cooked on the stove. :)

Just basmati, for the reason christine said. I use a sieve like the picture for rice and quinoa.

I don't rinse my rice, but I do cook it in copious amounts of water. Just less fussy, for me. I don't have a problem straining it either. I have several..cough..colanders, but my vintage tupperware colanders holes are small enough for rice not to get stuck much and it's not currently in circulation in my kitchen but the old star pattern colanders holes are small enough for most anything too. Modern colanders got too lazy I think and just whacked large holes in them. Smiles. Can't wait for an extra fifteen seconds for things to drain properly.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tupperware Colander and she has star pattern ones too. I might need some of her stuff. LOL

I do as Cheryl (jadeite) does.
During my life I saw as much clean rice as "dirty" rice. Rice mixed with strings of hemp from bags, rice containing some mouse droppings, etc. No way I will take it for granted that rice is always clean.
Olga

I cook rice all the time...and I never rinse it. It doesn't come out sticky either. I like to add a big glob of butter to it while it cooks too.

Some rice can be coated with talc and should be rinsed.

dcarch