The recipe on rice packs I buy says rice should be boiled uncovered. Why is that? I tend to cover it while cooking as it lets me use much less power. Do I miss something taste-wise?
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1what kind of rice ? is the rice par-cooked ? or 5-minutes rice packs ? – Max May 05 '21 at 10:29
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@Max Basmati rice, not parboiled, cooking time 10 minutes. – Dmitry Grigoryev May 05 '21 at 11:11
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110 minutes is short for non-parboiled rice. Is there a long sitting time after that? – FuzzyChef May 06 '21 at 20:45
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1This is strange because apparently all rice cookers are covered, and 10 minutes seem way too short... I would choose to trust my experience rather than the recipe on the packs. – xuq01 May 12 '21 at 19:11
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You can cook rice covered or uncovered, it will not impact the flavor. The amount of liquid you begin with, and your cooking time, could certainly be impacted. There are several methods for cooking rice (covered, uncovered, and both). If you are using pre- or par-cooked rice, the directions are likely just a finishing step, formulated so that you don't over-cook the product. You could still use a cover, but would likely need to keep a close eye on it or experiment a bit to get a result you like.
moscafj
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There are a lot of different methods for cooking rice. If you use a method that is intended for uncovered cooking and cover the rice, the rice will turn out waterlogged.
If you want to cook your rice covered, you have to follow a method that is intended for covered cooking.
rumtscho
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1What do you mean by "waterlogged"? There's water remaining at the end of the cooking which I drain, so it hardly seems to be a problem. I get the point though: the suggested amount of rice/water is stated for uncovered cooking, if I put the cover on I should use more rice or less water, right? – Dmitry Grigoryev May 05 '21 at 10:27
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2There are methods intended for draining the water, this is not in itself a sign of a problem. I mean that the rice kernels themselves are waterlogged. – rumtscho May 05 '21 at 10:31
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If the recipe did not require you to wash the rice, then it would explain a lot. Without washing the rice, you'll be getting a lot of excess starch in the grains, and boiling with a lid on would likely result in it foaming-over (usually making a mess).
Did the recipe specify to cover it after the water is absorbed, or not cover it al all? Typical instructions for cooking rice on the stove include covering the rice after it boils.
Anastasia Zendaya
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Apart from the other answers given, certain types of rice and lentils when being boiled, create a lot of froth and bubbles. When the vessel is closed, these bubbles do not break up easily, and they build up and spill over the vessel. They also sputter quite a lot and leave a mess over the stove top.
AJN
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Sure, but for me the the whole point of covering is to reduce the power to the minimum, at which the water barely boils at all. Covering without reducing the power results in exactly the result you have described. – Dmitry Grigoryev May 08 '21 at 14:02