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Home » Sides

How to Make the Perfect White Rice

UPDATED Jan 13, 2023 · PUBLISHED May 14, 2019 BY Maggie

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This perfect white rice is a great accompaniment to curries, stews, tacos, and more.  Rice is a staple in our house, especially white rice because I can actually get my kids to eat it.  I prefer brown rice, but consider it progress when they'll eat anything besides macaroni & cheese or veggie dogs.  White rice can be paired with virtually any meal for a quick and easy side.  I love it alongside sweet potato curry, jerk baked tofu, and baked falafel.

Perfect White Rice

White rice is a great addition to any meal because it only takes about 15 minutes to cook, unlike brown rice, which takes upwards of 45 minutes.  I like to cook my rice in vegetable broth or coconut milk, depending on what I'm serving it with, to add more dimension to my meals.  You can also add garlic, a bay leaf, or other herbs while cooking for even more variety.

How to make the perfect white rice

Rinse the rice

Making the perfect white rice starts with giving it a good and thorough rinse.  There are a couple of reasons for doing this:

  1. It removes any debris from the surface of the rice.  This is especially important if buying bulk rice since many hands have likely been in contact with it before making its way to your stove.
  2. Have you ever made white rice and it clumps together and gets gluey?  Rinsing the rice removes surface starch from the rice, which can make your rice clump together and become sticky.

Put the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold water until the water runs mostly clear.  You'll notice at first that the water straining out the bottom is cloudy.  When it starts to run clear it means that most of the surface starch has been removed.  If you don't have a fine mesh strainer, you can cover the rice with water and strain it several times, adding new water each time, until the water covering the rice is clear.

White Rice being rinsed in a strainer

Cook the Rice

When the rice has been thoroughly rinsed, add it to a saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid.  Add liquid to the pan with the white rice at a 1:1.5 ratio.  This means for every 1 cup of rice, add 1.5 cups of liquid.  As I mentioned before, I like to use vegetable broth or coconut milk as the liquid in my rice to add additional flavor, but you can also use water for neutral-tasting rice.

Cover with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil.  When the liquid is boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes with the lid still on.  Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.  The rice is now ready to be eaten.  Enjoy!

Perfect white rice

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Bowl of fluffy white rice.

How to Make the Perfect White Rice

This is a foolproof quick and easy way to make perfect white rice to accompany almost any meal.
4.75 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 3 cups
Calories: 225kcal
Author: Maggie

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white rice Jamine, Basmati, etc
  • 1 ½ cups water, vegetable broth or coconut milk
  • pinch salt optional

Instructions

  • Put the rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold water until the water runs mostly clear.  You’ll notice at first that the water straining out the bottom is cloudy.  When it starts to run clear it means that most of the surface starch has been removed.
  • When the rice has been thoroughly rinsed add it to a saucepan that has a tight fitting lid.  Add liquid to the pan, cover and bring to a boil.  When the liquid is boiling turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes with the lid still on.  Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.  The rice is now ready to be eaten.  Enjoy!

Notes

Serve perfect white rice alongside sweet potato curry, jerk baked tofu, and baked falafel for a well rounded and delicious meal.

Nutrition

Calories: 225kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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Head shot of Sarah Pilley.

Hi! I’m Sarah and I’m so excited you stopped by! I am a vegan recipe developer and bring a love for food and sustainability to Alternative Dish. My focus is on creating easy recipes that are friendly to those with food sensitivities and allergies. I believe everyone can enjoy healthy, delicious, plant-based food. 

More about me →

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