Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
I've been meaning to post a stove top version of Japanese rice since I first posted the electric rice cooker directions. Most Japanese meals are served with rice so I wanted to post another option for cooking rice. The benefit to cooking stove top rice is that you get more flavor coming out of the rice, especially if there is toasted okoge (toasted rice) at the bottom of the pot. The con is that more often than not the rice will come out dry and controlling the heat is difficult, but once you make it a few times, you should be able to figure out the perfect temperature for your pot/pan.
There is a science to cooking rice and I'll try to explain it using a graph. You should note that controlling the heat is the most difficult part of cooking stove top rice. Please refer to the size and pot chart for additional tips.
Ingredients
2+(1/4) cups of Japanese medium grain rice (this is equivalent to 3 cups in Japanese units
2+(1/4) cups of purified water*
Pot or pan (see pot chart)
1) Wash rice according to the cooking with an
electric rice cooker directions. Drain water with a colander.
2) Add the rice and purified water to the pot and soak for at least 30 minutes. (During the summer or warm climates 30 minutes, during the winter or dry or cold climates 1 hour).
3) Turn on the stove on to medium heat and slowly bring to a boil. The rice should reach boiling at exactly the 10 minute mark.
4) Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
5) Turn off the heat and steam for 10-15 minutes.
If you want to add okoge (crunchy toasted rice) to the bottom of the pot, you'll want to turn the heat up to high for 1 minute before you turn the stove off.
*The rice to water ratio is about 1:1.2 but since the rice absorbs some water when you wash it, it will end up being 1:1.
Easy Directions in a chart.
*Source: Tokyo Gas
This graph show how to optimize the taste.
*Source: Tokyo Gas
This chart lists the various options you have for cooking stove top rice. As you can see, the temperature is almost the same for most pots and pans. You'll want to start it at medium and then turn the heat to low but this will vary slightly depending on your particular pot.
*Source: Tokyo Gas
After washing rice, drain and immediately add to the pot and add water.
I used a clay pot.
Add purified water to the pot.
Soak the rice in the water for 30 minutes to an hour.
Make sure the heat is on low so that the rice doesn't dry out during step 4.
The steaming step is very important for fluffy rice.
Fluffy fragrant rice. I added the okoge step.
Mmmmm Okoge...tastes like senbei (Japanese rice cracker).
Tokyo Gas Website
