The First Mistake Everyone Makes When Cooking Rice

Rice is one of those sneaky dishes that seems simple but can actually go wildly wrong if you don't cook it properly. Undercooked rice is like eating little river rocks. Overcooked rice is like eating shapeless mush. No one wants either. We looked into the reasons why making rice goes wrong for many beginner home cooks and found that it largely comes down to one thing: stirring.

There are a lot of great tips out there for cooking rice, but quite possibly the most important one is to not fiddle with your rice as it cooks. According to the IRRI Rice Knowledge Bank, Modern rice milling makes sure that 50%-60% of the bag you purchase (if it's from a reputable source) contains head rice. Head rice is classified as the whole grain, or at least 75%-80%, of milled and cleaned rice — the most desirable of the bunch. Why are we talking about this head rice? Well, when you stir your rice during the cooking process you tend to break all those whole, valuable pieces into smaller ones, which messes with cooking times and the quality of your dish.

Another mistake that people make when cooking rice is not allowing the rice to rest after it's cooked. We're telling you, rice is a lot more finicky than its ubiquitous nature would make you believe. By letting your rice rest after it's cooked, you will allow the steam in the pot to evenly distribute. Getting in there too early and fluffing or stirring the rice will result in stirring the dryer grains at the top with the softer grains at the bottom — which leaves you with uneven textures throughout. So continue not stirring your rice, even when it's finished cooking.

Your entire goal, aside from finding the perfect rice-to-water ratio, should be to keep the grains whole and unbruised. Once you've exercised otherworldly feats of rice-making patience, you can go ahead and fluff your rice for serving. We recommend using a fork for the fluffing process to further avoid smushing or breaking your rice, which is more likely to happen with a spoon. When you feel confident about your rice-making abilities, we have these delicious, hearty rice recipes that you should definitely give a try.