Jamaican Cookery News

There are three types of rice

• Long grain; it is firmer than the others and is used for fried rice
• Short grain is starchier and softer; Japanese sushi requires the use of short grain rice
• Glutinous or sweet rice is usually used for desserts and stuffing

Watch video, how to cook rice without a rice cooker here

I use a medium-size cast iron pot to cook rice. ; the iron holds the heat and because of the thickness of the material, the rice is not easily burnt.However, the size of the pot depends on the amount of rice that will be cooking

Ingredients
3 cups of white long grain white
1 tablespoon margarine or butter or cooking oil
1 cup water
salt to taste
In Jamaica, we add margarine, butter or cooking oil to the pot when cooking rice. The rice is starch; it needs flavour. It is much safer to use less water and gradually add water until the rice is cooked and has the firmness that is desired, therefore I am using 1 cup of water

Method
Put the rice into a large container. Pick the rice, that is to remove any foreign objects from the rice. Wash the rice by rubbing between hands. (some brands require no washing, however, I always wash the rice before cooking.
Step2
Drain off the water, then wash the rice again, drain off water. Repeat until the water is clear.
Add 1 cup water , salt, margarine and the rice in a medium-size pot, Use a fork to stir,cover and bring to boil over high heat. Cook the rice over high heat until about 75% or most of the liquid evaporates and holes form on the surface of the rice.

step3
At this point the rice is not cooked, if you should feel the rice grains, it hardy-hardy as we say in Jamaica.
What I will do is to steam the rice. Lower the heat to the lowest, Pour half-cup of water all over the rice, then use a sheet of foil paper to cover the rice, then cover the pot. The heat will make the foil paper generate water, and that water will help to steam the rice. Steam the rice for 20 minutes.

step4
After twenty minutes, uncover the pot, remove the foil paper, taste the rice, if some rice grains are still hard, pour a small amount of water all over the rice, cover with the foil paper, cover the pot and steam the rice for 10 minutes. If the rice need more salt, sprinkle a it all over the rice as well. After 10 minutes, the rice should be well-cooked. Use a fork to fluff the rice before serving.