Washing rice properly: the best tips and tricks
You should wash rice thoroughly before preparing it. In this article, we explain why this is important and how you can best do it.
Wash rice - reasons for and against
Rice is a natural product. This means that there may also be impurities in the rice. You can remove them by washing them thoroughly. Here you can find out which arguments speak in favor of washing rice and which rice you should prepare naturally.
- With polished rice there is a fine dust. Although this is not harmful to health, it makes the rice sticky.
- Wash the rice thoroughly before cooking, on the one hand remove this fine polishing dust. On the other hand, you wash out starch in one go. Then the rice does not become so sticky, but remains loose and grainy.
- There are rice dishes that only really taste when the rice sticks. These include, for example, risotto and paella, but also sushi and milk rice. You don't need to wash this rice, and you shouldn't.
- By the way, you should never wash cooked rice or rinse it with cold water. They would wash out the starch. You also lost the nutrients, minerals and vitamins contained in the rice.
How to wash rice properly
As already mentioned, thorough washing removes impurities and superfluous starch.
- Put the rice in a large bowl before cooking and cover it well with water.
- Stir the rice in the water with your hands. You will notice that the water becomes cloudy. This is excess starch.
- Drain the rice over a sieve. With a rice basin, pouring is even easier.
- Repeat the washing process until the water remains clear. Before the actual preparation, you should also soak the clean rice.
In our next post, you will learn how to properly cook bag rice.